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OREN AMBARCHI/STEPHEN O’MALLEY/RANDALL DUNN
SHADE THEMES FROM KAIROS, DRAG CITY It’s difficult to discuss Shade Themes from Kairos without invoking the lineage of Oren Ambarchi, Stephen O’Malley and Randall Dunn. The music feels similar to the...
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PINK MOUNTAINTOPS
GET BACK, JAGJAGUWAR Stephen McBean may be best known for his work in Black Mountain, but his other group, Pink Mountaintops, have crafted four albums since 2004 with the release of Get Back. McBean...
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REUBEN AND THE DARK
FUNERAL SKY, ARTS & CRAFTS Funeral Sky is the debut album proper by Reuben and the Dark and absolutely must be listened to from start to finish. Prepare to soar amongst the stars and float with...
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RODRIGO Y GABRIELA
9 DEAD ALIVE, RUBYWORKS RECORDS It’s been five years since we have heard original material from the freakishly talented Mexican guitar duo known simply as Rodrigo y Gabriela. Amalgamating classical...
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THE ROOTS
…AND THEN YOU SHOOT YOUR COUSIN, DEF JAM RECORDINGS The Roots busked themselves out of the street corners of Philadelphia and into the arms and ears of a virtually unceasing stream of fans worldwide...
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SEAN NICHOLAS SAVAGE
BERMUDA WATERFALL, ARBUTUS RECORDS 5 A.M. The lazy morning drifts past under the hazy night sky now drifting into morning. It’s just me and Sean Nicholas Savage. Bermuda Waterfall plays softly in the...
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SUNFILTER
EMANATE, SELF-RELEASED With the current electronic music scene a desolate wasteland, it becomes easy to forget the diversity it once held. Aphex Twin, Squarepusher and Autechre all managed to push...
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YOUNG MAGIC
BREATHING STATUES, CARPARK RECORDS There’s an indefinable duality to Breathing Statues. If you sit with the album on repeat, you’ll find yourself neither bored nor particularly engaged. Even if you...
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FIELD TRIP FESTIVAL FEATURING CONSTANTINES, FUCKED UP, BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE
FORT YORK, TORONTO, ONTARIO, JUNE 7-8, 2014 In an attempt to build on the massive success of last year’s inaugural Field Trip, organizers doubled down and turned the one-day showcase of mostly Arts...
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SLED ISLAND 2014: BETRAYERS
ROCK AND ROLL CLASSICS “Man, I’m hesitant to even use the term, ‘garage rock.’ Every band wants to be a garage rock group these days, from the wimpiest indie rock stuff to the most straightforward punk...
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CALGARY METALFEST 2014 – DAYS THREE AND FOUR
VERN’S PUB & DICKENS PUB – JUNE 7, 2014 Finally, payday Friday and beer o’clock rolled around for this guy. As stragglers started filtering into Dickens Pub, Krepitus led off our festivities with...
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SLED ISLAND 2014: MAICA MIA
JUST KEEP PLAYING MUSIC Though ideas have been bounced around a lot in regards to where you can put Maica Mia on the ever-growing list of genres, sub-genres and neo-genres, don’t look to the namesake...
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SLED ISLAND 2014: JON MCKIEL
PLAYING MUSIC WITH HIS BODY We’ve heard relatively little from the crowned king of East Coast indie sludge rock since Jon McKiel’s dark and dingy masterpiece, Tonka War Cloud, in 2011, but that...
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SHORT FILM STREAM: SHRED ISLAND
KEEPING THE ROCK AFLOAT When last year’s flood occurred, resulting in the 2013 Sled Island festival’s cancellation halfway through, displaced bands were quick to help the show go on in the form of...
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SLATES
TAIGA, NEW DAMAGE RECORDS Edmonton’s Slates are perhaps one of the hardest working punk outfits in Canada, seemingly always on the go, recording, taking care of their Jamz Club and touring. They’re...
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VARIOUS ARTISTS
EAST VAN SPECIAL BLEND, NORTHERN ELECTRIC East Van Special Blend, a compilation CD released by the Commercial Drive Coffee Company in association with Northern Electric, is an assortment of songs that...
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BISON
OLD NAME BECOMES NEW AGAIN FOR SEASONED HEADBANGERS For most heavy bands, being dropped by a major metal label might be a detrimental situation, but, when Metal Blade Records chose to release them...
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CONTEMPORARY CALGARY
MERGING OF THREE MAJOR ARTS FACILITIES INDICATES GREAT THINGS TO COME For the size of this wonderful city, there has been an underlying sense that we are missing some key developments in the area of a...
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A TRIBE CALLED RED
STANDING UP FOR THEIR CULTURE WITH THEIR MUSIC (AB EDITION STORY) For musicians and artists, it’s not uncommon to carry a certain aura of pride when it comes to your heritage. Many mainstream acts from...
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ZAKK WYLDE
JUST LIKE A GOOD SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN Zakk Wylde doesn’t mince words. At worst, he’s a salty personification of a grassroots New Jerseyite. At best, he’s a Les Paul-shredding metal god that spent a great...
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