Between my graduate studies and biweekly Leninist reading group, I spend many an afternoon with my nose buried in a PDF. But, you see, my mind wanders, and I can’t stand to be left alone with my thoughts for longer than about 50 seconds at a time. Naturally, this is a situation that calls for some tunes, but lyrical music often distracts me from the text I’m supposed to be reading or writing! What’s a girl to do?
“These aching bones, these two years at home, all these things I own, I think they’re plotting against me.” — Leon’s Getting Larger (“Oh the Places You’ll Go”)
After several years of live shows, singles and EPs, Manitoba band Leon’s Getting Larger released their first official album last fall. You Be Good Now is a collection of old and new tracks that combine aspects of alternative, rock, indie and emo genres into a cohesive sound. The album features a mix of short and long songs which, when listened to in order, blend into one another, engulfing the listener in the sound, and not letting them leave until the final chord is struck.
Even though one might see the We, Here and Now! record label and mistakenly assume that Orelands must be made up of Shakespearean bards from the Stratford Festival in Ontario, the band itself emerged from the hard rock, zinc-laden mining town of Flin Flon. Though only one member of this three-piece actually lives there – i.e., the drummer, Dean Martin – both Jay Hovland (songwriter, guitarist, vocalist) and Scott Ellenberger (bassist) also have roots in Flintabbatey Flonatin.
I had been unaware of the local scene despite being a self-proclaimed “music lover” for much of my youth and adolescence. It wasn’t until I joined Stylus which presented me with a valid excuse to get out of my shell and see what Winnipeg’s vibrant music scene had to offer. There was only one problem — I didn’t even listen to the local artists. Much of my playlists were of artists signed to major record labels. My parents were immigrants and obviously weren’t immersed in the city’s arts or culture, and as a result, neither was I.
Clicking around on Bandcamp again, I stumbled upon a local indie-rock outfit known as Witch Hazel. Now, maybe I should have heard of them by now; I am, after all, a writer for Stylus Magazine. But what you might not know about me is that I am a lousy, no-good dilettante, so it takes me a while to catch on to small details like “what bands exist in Winnipeg in 2025.”
Mere moments before accepting the illustrious 47th annual Schmolaris Prize, Winnipeg’s own revered singer/songwriter Sam Singer was busy gracing the stage at the West End Cultural Centre to celebrate the release of his second full-length album, Where the Rivers Do. What made this a truly special night was that Sam had assembled many of the key players from in and around the Winnipeg music scene, a collection of folks which he had dubbed The Beautiful Movers Orchestra. Ten moving parts on stage, each of them adorned in uniform jumpsuits sporting name tags, soulfully bringing layers of gorgeous sounding strings, horns, piano, and pedal steel guitar to the personal and emotional lyrics being crooned into the mic. Sam’s voice is so unique and the inflection he uses to accentuate it sounds almost as if Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen had a baby and that child grew up to join The Strawbs.
After six years of radio silence (aside from live performances), Attica Riots finally released their second EP. Life’s a Sugar Pill dropped on December 9th of last year, and it doesn’t disappoint at all. It has the same upbeat, melancholy-ish vibe they are known for. Their new EP has five songs that are all lovely in their own ways, and I’m thrilled to have the pleasure of reviewing them all as my first article for Stylus.
Stylus (S): Your tour with Cadence Weapon kicks off here in Winnipeg at the new Sidestage venue. How are you feeling about it?
Brendan Grey (BG): I’m feeling great. I’m excited; I think we’re all very excited. It’s going to be great to get back to all these cities which we haven’t been to in quite some time. It’s going to be interesting to be supporting Cadence Weapon. So, yeah, we’re feeling good. The blades are sharp. We’ve had a good year up until now. I think we’re just really excited to play a show in Winnipeg and then play a show in these cities to which we’ve been, but haven’t been in a second, right? Hopefully reconnect with people that we know and/or know us and then connect with some folks who maybe haven’t had the chance to see us play yet.
Stylus (S): The deluxe version of your album Rollercoaster came out last month, and it’s about the internet, the ups and downs of it. What’s your relationship with the internet / social media right now?
Cadence Weapon (CW): Well, I have a complicated relationship with the internet right now. I feel like as an artist, you feel an obligation to use the technology because it’s the best way to reach people. But then every time you try to reach your audience, you’re getting throttled, you’re getting your reach blocked, and that frustration really inspired me to make this record. I consider it to be a bit of a love letter to the early internet. When I first started out, I first got my record deal from the internet, from just sending my tracks to random people and then posting on a blog and then record labels hitting me up. I feel like that kind of direct audience connection is much more difficult to have today. It’s like when you go on Instagram, you gotta jump through all these hoops. It’s that kind of thing. So, I feel like the album is really about the social media age we’re in right now and how we navigate it as artists and individuals.
The unknown is intimidating because, by definition, it’s unfamiliar. This can express itself as fear — either unfounded or rational — or alternatively, as fascination. Regardless, uncharted territory is worth exploring when there’s a choice, as one never knows what one might find. It’s easy to surround oneself with the recognizable and “safe.” But isn’t life more exciting when deliberately leaving room for surprise?
