The Tribune

bcscene.ca It’s challenging to listen to Dan Mangan’s song “Robots” without singing along with the refrain: “Robots need love, too / They want to be loved by you.” Those words may or may not be true, but you believe them when you hear them. Perhaps Mangan, the 27-year-old singer-songwriter from[Read More…]

Broughtupsy is the fresh debut album from reggae/dancehall duo Bonjay—and fresh is exactly what it is. Fronted by singer Alanna Stuart and produced by beats/effects master Ian “Pho” Swain, Bonjay brings an invigorating mix of dancehall rhythms and crisp hooks to the floor, displaying ample evidence that these two have[Read More…]

The Postelles are an English accent and a few cheeky lyrics away from being a full-fledged Arctic Monkeys knockoff, but unfortunately their debut lacks the complexity of a Monkeys tune. Instead, it’s pretty straight pop. The instrumentation is minimalist at best (though not at it’s best when it’s minimal), with[Read More…]

“Ice Cube is the West Coast” is the mission statement for his new album. But after 16 tracks loaded with self-indulgence, Cube and his small posse of gangster no-names, has-beens, and never-weres can’t give a decent reason for why he deserves the title of “Best in the West.” The album[Read More…]

Michael Franti & Spearhead is best known for its frontman’s vocal politics. On The Sound of Sunshine —Spearhead’s seventh studio album—Franti continues to preach, spreading a message of positive change through his music. Issues of world peace and social justice aren’t as prominent on this album as on previous ones,[Read More…]

Their music has been featured in Spiderman 3, they’ve opened for Coldplay, their last album was a contender for Canada’s coveted Polaris Music Prize—and you’ve probably never heard of them. Straight from the heart of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Black Mountain has spent the last six years perfecting their unique, ‘70s[Read More…]

When Johnny “Pops” Papalia, Godfather of the Hamilton Mafia, was shot on May 31, 1997, he left behind a power vacuum in organized crime in Ontario that would eventually become a revolution. As the head of the Hamilton Mafia, Johnny Pops had just one rule: his people could not deal[Read More…]

cufftheduke.ca Sometimes it pays to have good friends. Or, if you’re Toronto’s Cuff the Duke, good friends who are also Canadian rock legends. Last year, Blue Rodeo’s Greg Keelor approached the band and invited them to record some songs with him. “He came to us and said, ‘Let’s just record[Read More…]