As an M.I.A. fan, it feels like I’ve been waiting eons to hear a satisfying amount of new material from the London rapper and singer. Fortunately, Matangi doesn’t disappoint. This album has been a long time in the making, and is quite a departure from her last noise-heavy release, 2010’s[Read More…]
Arts & Entertainment
Keep up to date on local art, new albums, and everything entertainment-related.
West coast state of mind
Birds, Metals, Stones & Rain contains just the types of poems you might expect from a West-Coast Canadian lyrical poet like Russell Thornton, and then some, which is one of the reasons it manages to avoid clichés and remains engaging throughout. With Thornton’s Vancouver home as a primary backdrop, his[Read More…]
Sky Ferreira – Night Time, My Time
With so much recent attention on Sky Ferreira’s private life—most notably her September arrest for ecstasy possession—it’s a relief to finally hear some of her music. Thankfully, her first full-length release, Night Time, My Time is exciting and moody, featuring a wide array of potential singles. Although first single “You’re[Read More…]
Deep cuts
Headlights Artist: Eminem ft. Nate Ruess Album: The Marshall Mathers LP 2 Released: Nov. 5, 2013 “Headlights” is Eminem’s written apology to his mother. This may come as a surprise to fans of the rapper, as the bitterness harboured towards his mother has been far from secret. “But I’m sorry[Read More…]
Son Lux – Lanterns
New York-based Ryan Lott of Son Lux consumes our ears with Lanterns, his third album to date. Available worldwide on Oct. 29, this brainchild is 43 minutes of magnetic yet often indecipherable instrumentation. To say the least, Son Lux’s approach is left-of-field and transethnic, gravitating away from conventionality and familiarity.[Read More…]
Ryan Hemsworth – Guilt Trips
With a confusing mélange of tempo and genre, Ryan Hemsworth’s Guilt Trips is not a trip to feel guilty about, but rather a twisting, uncertain journey through EDM. Although technically well put-together, this short album could not possibly fulfill any function; Guilt Trips would not fit into any mood, situation[Read More…]
Main Attrakionz – Main Attrakionz x Tynethys
Oakland, CA rap duo Main Attrakionz, formed by Mondre M.A.N. and Squadda B, are poster children for the obscure cloud rap movement: an emerging genre known for ethereal lyrics and cascading synth lines hooked around amorphous beats. After losing their first mixtape when the hard drive holding their work crashed,[Read More…]
Arcade Fire – Reflektor
As Arcade Fire is currently riding the crest of their popularity, the band’s newest release could have consisted solely of white noise and people would have talked about how groundbreaking it was. Thankfully, Reflektor is so much more than that. A big step up from 2010’s The Suburbs, the album[Read More…]
Deep cuts
Love Me Artist: Katy Perry Album: Prism Released: Oct. 21, 2013 Like current single “Roar,” Perry is focused here on responding to the adversity of self-repression—except on “Love Me,” her impressive vocals mix some crooning in with the roars. The song’s light verses are reminiscent of U2’s “Beautiful Day,” but[Read More…]
Rock and roll heart
Legendary producer Brian Eno once famously remarked, ìThe first Velvet Underground record sold 30,000 copies in the first five years. I think everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band.î These thoughtful words say a lot about the type of artist Lou Reed wasóbut not everything. While[Read More…]
