It’s hard to review a One Direction album without acknowledging the ever-familiar boy-band that created it.
Arts & Entertainment
Keep up to date on local art, new albums, and everything entertainment-related.
Pop Rhetoric: Cereal killer—Why Usher’s promotion is wrecking his image
Besides attracting local attention for walking around the Plateau wearing a raccoon hat before kicking off his current tour in Montreal, Usher has made headlines recently for following in the footsteps of generations of toy manufacturers and announcing that his latest single will be exclusively distributed as a cereal box[Read More…]
Deep Cuts: Shoegazey gems—Diamonds on the soles of your shoes
40 Days Artist: Slowdive Album: Souvlaki Released: May 17, 1993 Maybe Brian Eno’s production has something to do with it, but this song is almost too joyful to be classified as shoegaze. Verging on dream pop, the track opens with loud and pulsing synthesizers, while a quick tempo will have[Read More…]
Play Review: Six Characters in Search of an Author
Most theatrical productions that work well are not trying to reinvent the wheel. As long as the writing is solid, a play will generally be successful if it just sticks to the script with few extra flourishes. This isn’t really an option with Luigi Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of[Read More…]
Album Review: Nick Jonas—Nick Jonas
Nick Jonas’ new self-titled album is a steady step into maturity for the young artist. Still attempting to shake off the ‘boy band’ image he spent years perfecting with his brothers, he has moved into the world of ’80s-era R&B, and interestingly dedicated his PR campaign towards the LGBTQ community.[Read More…]
Album Review: Damien Rice – My Favourite Faded Fantasy
There’s a thread of tiredness that weaves through Damien Rice’s latest album and ties its eight tracks together. What My Favorite Faded Fantasy provides in consistency, it loses in its unoriginality: Each song is nearly identical to the others. The themes and the way Rice sings about them—“I love this[Read More…]
Album Review: Foo Fighters—Sonic Highways
Following the success of their Grammy-winning album Wasting Light (2011), the Foo Fighters’ eighth studio endeavour, Sonic Highways, attempts to trump its predecessor by extending its recording process to eight iconic studios across the U.S. More akin to a concept album, each of the eight tracks captures the spirit of[Read More…]
But first, let me renew Selfie
When ABC rolled out the promo for its new comedy Selfie, loosely based off the premise of My Fair Lady, millennials everywhere bemoaned its use of tired accusations that their generation was addicted to their phones, their Instagrams, and their hashtagged—you guessed it—selfies. For this reason, few were surprised when[Read More…]
Warhol takes the MMFA’s walls
With Warhol Mania, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) presents an eclectic collection of Andy Warhol’s illustrations, posters, and record art—but leaves the viewer to reconcile Warhol the artist with Warhol the advertiser. Through image repetition and his typical three-colour style, Warhol’s work remains dynamic and innovative in the[Read More…]
Album Review: Ryan Hemsworth – Alone For the First Time
Ryan Hemsworth’s Alone For the First Time follows his well-received Guilt Trips (2013) to constitute the Canadian producer’s third studio album. The record immediately offers a unique, somewhat melancholic tone with the opening track “Hurt Me”—something that remains present throughout. The minimalist electronic beats, coupled with a grounding percussion, mix[Read More…]
