Winnipeg music & culture since 1989
by Mike Thiessen
Sleeping is, without a doubt, the secondary purpose of Courtney Carmichael’s Beausejour bedroom. For the past several years, it has functioned primarily as the practice space and recording studio of sundayclub, an alternative-dream pop duo comprised of Carmichael and Nikki St.Pierre.
Continue reading “Space Jam: sundayclub “
by Mykhailo Vil’yamson
There is an Anishinaabe story about the Aandeg (a.k.a. the Crow), who is said to have once been without purpose, but who uncovered their raison d’être by helping others. In this way, crows are seen as exemplars of finding meaning through the process of continually seeking, deliberately pushing forward, and tenaciously not giving up; this bird is also suitably regarded as a welcome travelling companion. Perhaps there is soul resonance here between the flyer and frontperson of the band Status/Non-Status – community worker Adam Sturgeon – whose latest album, Surely Travel and its companion EP/B-Sides January 3rd, dive headlong into such themes. After all, most songs from this project deal with life on the road in the contrived nation of “Canada” and one’s distance from feeling at “home.”
Continue reading “Album Review :: Status/Non-Status :: Surely Travel & January 3rd”
by: Myles Tiessen
Bush Lotus has had one hell of a summer. Between months of tree-planting in the heat and thick smoke of forest fires in Northern BC, Arielle Beaupré played her first headlining show, did a triple on the Manitoba festival circuit, and released her debut EP, Floating Kitestrings.
Continue reading “Artist Spotlight: Bush Lotus “
by Mykhailo Vil’yamson
Although it’s not entirely clear whether the band’s name can be traced back to the early-to-mid 90s Australian Pre-School show Mulligrubs (with its Cheshire-Cat-like disembodied face) or the classical use of the term as meaning despondent or sullen, what is bait is that their latest sophomore album Tragical has documented a metamorphosis. Much has transpired since their single “Zero Sprite Slushie” first appeared on that suicide prevention benefit compilation “To Show That You’re Still Here” (February 2015), their opening for Propaghandi at The Garrick (February 2016), their dozens of cross-border East and West Coast shows (2016-2018), and The Plague (2020-?). What has emerged in the wake of it all is something new, which doesn’t seem quite as calamitous as the name implies. After all, wasn’t it AJ McLean who once sang, “Sadness is beautiful?” Accordingly, this next stage of Mulligrub’s evolution remains bittersweet but sounds a little more sweet than bitter this time around (on the surface, at least).
Continue reading “Album Review :: Mulligrub :: Tragical”
By Myles Tiessen
“Here’s a song that might have debuted in Winnipeg back in 1999 or something,” mumbled Dan Bejar of Destroyer before gently playing a solo rendition of “Destroyer’s the Temple.”
Continue reading “Concert Review :: Destroyer :: live at the Park Theatre “
by Rish Hanco
Carlo Capobianco’s debut full-length album, Pray To You (released April 20th), is a carefully curated collection of pop ballads sure to make you swoon and dance. The album shines with all the glamour and grandeur of pop, breaking down at times into something grittier and heavier. Likewise, the album’s themes of innocent infatuation and self-deprecating obsession weave together into high highs and low lows.
Continue reading “Album Review :: Carlo Capobianco :: Pray To You”
by Steph Kolodka.
Between hearing a lot of good things about the Winnipeg-based musical group and their band name aligning with my star chart, I thought it an auspicious sign to check out Virgo Rising’s sophomore EP, Vampyre Year. The band, who is signed under the Winnipeg record label House of Wonders, consists of four members: Emily Sinclair (Vocals, Guitar), Lauren Wittmann (Bass, Keyboards), Jenna Wittmann (Guitar, Violin), and Isaac Tate (Drums, Percussion). Their last iconic album from 2021 was described as “bedroom-indie-rock,” and currently, they use tags such as “bedroom pop,” “alternative,” and “indie” on Bandcamp to describe their upcoming album.
Continue reading “EP Review :: Virgo Rising :: Vampyre Year “
by Mike Thiessen
“You’re all so attentive!” Bella White exclaimed to her quietly captivated audience halfway through her Sunday afternoon concert at Folk Fest’s Spruce Hollow stage. It’s hard not to be – White’s viscerally relatable lyricism and sweet and powerful vocals doused in a healthy amount of classic old-time country twang get at listeners in a way that not much else does.
Continue reading “Artist Interview: BELLA WHITE”
by Mykhailo Vil’yamson
If Daniel Glen Monkman’s debut album Bleached Wavves could be described as elementally water-bound – saturated and immersed in dense reverb and sonorous with echo – their sophomore LP Bekka Ma’iingan both soaringly transcends and at times hovers just over the surf of what came before. The latest release by Zoongide’ewin (pronounced “Soon-guide-a-win”) is airy, textured, complex, meditative, and positively stunning. Anchored in the depths of past recordings, Bekka Ma’iingan is also an emergence into another realm of sound. And amidst the sundry, mindfully bright orchestral tones that ebb and flow throughout, listeners are moved to pause and gaze upwards with their mind’s eye in absolute wonderment at the swirling, many-layered, multi-hued audio skyscape created by Zoon.
Continue reading “Album Review :: Zoon :: Bekka Ma’iingan”
by Rish Hanco
Softswitch—consisting of Suzy Keller on drums, Rob Hill on guitar, and Ryan McPherson on bass and vocals—takes you to the centre of a universe at once recognizable and surreal with their new self-titled EP. Mundane activity is set against a background of questionable perceptions of self and reality. “Memoriam,” the first track on the album, displays this uncertainty with lines like “Was she even real?” and “It was like a faded page somewhere in our cursive memory.”
Continue reading “EP Review :: Softswitch :: Softswitch”