Montreal
Album Review: Jessica Moss – ‘Unfolding’: The Montreal violinist/composer’s most incisive, inspirational statement to date.
Violinist and composer Jessica Moss has always made instrumental music that speaks out. Her essential work does more than reflect times, events and tragedies, it engages with them and voices our emotions about what is being witnessed or endured. Her last two studio albums, ‘Phosphenes’ from 2021 followed a year later by ‘Galaxy Heart’, captured …
Album Review: Whitney K –’Bubble’ : Hard-won songs ringing with indie pop sharpness and country rock twang.
Canadian singer-songwriter Konner Whitney aka Whitney K is keeping that hardcore troubadour tradition alive and still kicking up the rubble. After releasing three mighty slices of his raw, country rock poeticism for Bologna’s Maple Death Records (the indispensable ‘Two Years’, the hypnotic ‘Hard To Be A God’ and the raucous ‘Viva!’) he’s now jumped into …
Track/Video: Montreal minstrel poet Whitney K previews anticipated new album ‘Bubble’ with the warm, waltzing ‘Jolene’.
Modern day troubadour, Canadian singer-songwriter Konner Whitney aka Whitney K is on the move. After releasing three mighty slices of his raw, country rock poeticism for Bologna’s Maple Death Records, the indispensable ‘Two Years’, the hypnotic ‘Hard To Be A God’ and the raucous ‘Viva!’, he’s now hopped on board the mighty Fire label’s roster. …
News: Empty Nesters tackles an existential crisis on hardcore punk scorcher ‘Shangri-Nah’
Look, we get it—just being alive can be exhausting sometimes. Eric Liao gets it too, in a way you probably weren’t expecting if you’ve heard his previous work as Empty Nesters. The Montreal-based artist is getting mentioned in the same breath as Show Me the Body and Full of Hell, when past efforts toed the …
Album Review: Kee Avil -‘Spine’: experimental pop with a thrilling, raw urgency from the Montreal artist.
Two years ago Montreal producer Kee Avil’s debut for Constellation ‘Crease’ turned heads with its leftfield pop mosaicism, an intricate patterning of vocal, sound and instrumental shapes set with experimental glue but framed in song form. Now at last we have the follow up ‘Spine’, again via Constellation, and a chance to engage with Avil’s …
Album Review: Big|Brave – ‘A Chaos Of Flowers’ : The Montreal rock trio craft a post-metal touchstone.
Ever since Big|Brave‘s core members Robin Wattie (vocals/guitar) and Mathieu Ball (guitars) experienced a ‘loud can be quiet’ epiphany over a decade ago, ditching the acoustics and plugging in, their elemental sound has set the aerobatic thrill of Wattie’s singular voice within a swirling storm of riffs, distortion and pummelling rhythms. In some ways their …
Album Review: ‘FYEAR’ – a phenomenal, poetic statement from the Montreal post-jazz ensemble (aka. FYEAR)
Music and poetry, poetry and music, the Montreal convened collective FYEAR show how potent this combination can be on this self-titled debut, out now via Constellation. Led by poet/novelist Kaie Kellough and composer/saxophonist Jason Sharp, FYEAR the ensemble has been evolving through a project-based approach for several years now culminating with the ambitious, multi-movement composition …
Track/Video : Post-metal ground-breakers BIG|BRAVE preview the poetic ‘canon: in canon’ from new album ‘A Chaos Of Flowers’
So the release of the Montreal post metal unit BIG|BRAVE’s eighth album ‘A Chaos Of Flowers’ is arcing steadily towards a conclusion (out 19th April via Thrill Jockey Records). This is a band whose momentum is grounded in consideration and integrity, no quick wins, no sell-outs, who’ve evolved their own unique approach to slow core, …
Track/ Video : Avant pop experimentalist Kee Avil previews gripping new album ‘Spine’ with the tense and tactile ‘Felt’.
Two years ago Montreal producer Kee Avil’s debut for Constellation ‘Crease’ caused quite a rumpus with its avant-pop mosaicism, all intricate vocal, sound and instrument patterns set within an experimental glue and deceptive song structure. Bandcamp made ‘Crease’ album of the day and year-end lister, Mojo pinned on four-star acclaim and The Quietus were rightly …
Track/Video: A statement of scale and integrity – Montreal ensemble FYEAR preview the dramatic ‘Pt.1 Trajectory’ from upcoming debut album.
So the presser says “FYEAR interrogates our present and future post-capitalist polycrisis“. Any creative project aiming to probe into that vortex would require scale, focus, finesse and integrity, which are exactly the qualities that this Montreal convened collective possess. Led by composer/ saxophonist Jason Sharp and poet/novelist Kaie Kellough, FYEAR have been sculpting their resonant …