by Olivier La Roche
It’s very likely that you’ll begin to question if this album is a new release or a record of the past on your first listen. With its clean, dreamy strumming of 12-string guitars, there is an unmistakable jangle pop quality to Chime School’s self-titled debut.
Continue reading “Album Review :: Chime School :: Chime School”
Words by Ryan Haughey
What can you do with 85 cents? According to Matt Foster, not too much.
A suburban neighbourhood sets the scene for Foster’s music video for the debut single, “Magic”. A palm muted guitar lick is accompanied by sporadic drumming as a white minivan pulls up to the curb. The moustachio’d driver gets out and saunters up the front steps to a house, keys drawn. However, none of these keys seem to work.
Foster’s low, crooning voice expresses unmet assumptions: “I thought we were the moon”. Howling alongside a growling flute, Foster’s frustration is mimicked in the grimace of the key-holder, still trying to unlock the front door. Abetted by a smooth woodwind ensemble, the chorus is reminiscent of a smokey, basement jazz club, and the soft falsetto melody of the line, “I don’t feel good” places Foster as the slick but afflicted singer of the band.
With each key that doesn’t fit, our flustered key-holder becomes more and more agitated. Inside, a pot of water is transitioning from a simmer to a boil. As tension rises on the other side of the door, so rises hot steam from the pot.
Foster sings “I feel like 85 cents.” Chump change. A great simile for – quite plainly – feeling like crap. We never get inside the house to take the pot off the element, but this anti-resolution captures the grievances Matt foster expresses in “Magic”.
by Daniel Kussy
The long awaited debut by Montreal punk queens Dishpit has proven a sleeper hit of 2021. Released back in March, Dipshit encompasses the passion and excitement of a high school band, without any regard for any rules, putting their craft to tape for the first time. Said energy translates to confidence as performers and songwriters after serving several years perfecting their stage presence.
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by Ryan Haughey
Rip to it. Trash to it. Bite and tear off a morsel of METZ, because there’s more than enough of them to go around as they tour North America and beyond. After biding their time, pent up and barred from getting on stage these last 20 odd months, METZ is ready to get back in front of a crowd of animalistic headbangers. They’ll be doing just that on November 29 in Winnipeg.
Continue reading “METZ :: Moved By The Energy Of Live Performance”
by Ryan Haughey
Casper Skulls throws listeners through a fast-paced portal of sonic emotions with Kindness. On the opening track, “Tommy”, Casper Skulls presents indecision with the short piano intro that gives listeners insight into the views of “Tommy’s” perspective. However, the storyteller expresses tentativeness for intimacy with a transition into the clean guitar riff with the lyrics “Tommy I just don’t know”. The following guitar riff is youthfully insightful, with lyrics that explore the possibilities of relationships, exploring commitment and emotional attachment.
Continue reading “Album Review :: Casper Skulls :: Knows No Kindness”
by Myles Tiessen
It’s not easy to reflect on the little details that make up our day-to-day life. We’re often rushing through our day, going from one thing to the next in a frantic fashion. We also don’t often like to look back on our past for fear of embarrassment, discomfort, or something else entirely. Rumination can feel like an isolating and arduous activity.
Continue reading “Artist Spotlight :: Anthony OKS”
by Nigel Webber
”Catch a swollen heart from not rollin’ smart” – GZA
Winnipeg has slept on one of our own, only for the rest of the world to wake up first. Queen Desi Ma may be born and raised in Canada but she’s turning a whole lot of heads in the UK and her ancestral homeland of India. Desi Ma has developed a vast and wildly impressive skillset, which includes being able to not only switch between rapping and singing but to do so in three different languages, English, Punjabi, and Hindi, at times in the same song. Talent is a prerequisite for the music industry but it’s the individuals with those intangible factors of drive and passion coupled with hustle and a little bit of luck that mould into an artist as unique as Queen Desi Ma.
Continue reading “Winnipeg State of Mind :: Queen Desi Ma”
by Joel Klaverkamp
When you’re a music journalist, people will literally send you music to write about that they think you will like and the more they get to know your taste, the better the music you get to listen to! It’s the dream really, I highly recommend you start writing music reviews. That’s how I came upon this little gem from Praises called EP4 on the label Hand Drawn Dracula. It is so good! It is definitely my kind of thing.
Continue reading “EP Review :: Praises :: EP4”
by Olivier La Roche
Formed by members stretching across the continent, from here in Winnipeg all the way to Chicago and Austin, Texas, Central Heat Exchange arrives onto the scene with their self-titled debut, out this September. Having all met at shows in previous years, the musicians decided to unite and create a record while locked down in early 2020. Each confined to their own home, they collaborated through texts and DMs, ultimately shaping a broadly-inspired sound.
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