When I finally reach Dan Deacon after a frustrating number of dropped calls, he apologizes for the poor reception, and tells me, in high spirits, that he’s “somewhere rural.” Deacon is currently traversing North America in support of his third album, and Domino Records debut, America. As the title suggests,[Read More…]
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Could Be Good
Theatre: Hamlet Is your life short on Shakespeare? Fear not! Over the next week and a half, Persephone Productions will be performing Hamlet, perhaps the bard’s most resonant play. If you miss out, you may have to wait for a few decades—the last time Montreal had an English production of Hamlet[Read More…]
When language fails
As a university student studying English literature, I am a firm believer in the role of language as a mode of cross-cultural and cross-temporal expression. Yet, if there is one thing I have also learned after more than two years of engaging critically with different literary forms, it is the[Read More…]
Move over, Edward Cullen—there’s a new undead in town
The Twelve is the second book in Justin Cronin’s compelling trilogy about a pseudo-vampire apocalypse, brought about by the volatile combination of ambition and stupidity on the part of several rogue scientists. Following The Passage (2010), The Twelve begins in the aftermath of the second uprising of the virals, or[Read More…]
Montreal trio on new beginnings
Montreal’s own Plants and Animals are no strangers to the music scene. The talented trio, consisting of Warren Spicer, Matthew “Woodman” Woodley, and Nicolas Basque, met at Concordia University and took what seemed like the natural step forward to form an indie-rock compilation. In the beginning, the trio was heavily[Read More…]
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis: The Heist
After Macklemore & Ryan Lewis partnered up to bring us the acclaimed The VS. EP in late 2009, some fans feared a sophomore slump. Instead, the duo’s latest release, titled The Heist, plays like a veteran rapper’s ‘best-of’ compilation. In a surprising turn for a rap album, The Heist provides[Read More…]
Mellowhype: Numbers
Unless you’re a well-versed hip-hop fan, it’s possible that your familiarity with rappers Left Brain and Hodgy Beats only stems from their frequently cited Odd Future involvement. The pair of artists, however, also make up the separate rap group Mellowhype, which recently released their third studio album, Numbers. In comparison[Read More…]
Wintersleep: Hello Hum
Although the Juno award-winning Wintersleep has been lauded as having released ‘the album of their career’ with Hello Hum, not much has changed from their previous work. The band brought producer Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips; MGMT) aboard for their fifth full-length album, although his presence is not especially noticeable. With[Read More…]
Horrors of war still hit close to home
The premise is intriguing enough: Jacqueline, a female combat officer who served in Afghanistan, wakes up in a dark hospital cell complaining of a phantom pain in her amputated leg. What follows, however, is more phantasmagoric—the brilliant Zach Fraser enters the stage as Jacqueline’s French-Canadian great-grandfather, who was unjustly shot[Read More…]
Allocation of international fees must be considered in context
On Oct. 19, McGill Principal and Vice-Chancellor Heather Munroe-Blum spoke at an event hosted by the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, and called for Quebec to increase international student enrollment. In her speech, which also highlighted the advantages international students bring to Quebec, Munroe-Blum brought attention to the the way[Read More…]
