Winnipeg music & culture since 1989
by Maggie A. Clark
The best experiences in life are the ones that come to you by chance.
I don’t know if I believe that—and, in fact, I probably don’t—but for the sake of argument, let’s say that’s true. Out of boredom and looking for something to write about, I went rooting around in the Bandcamp tags for “Winnipeg” and “experimental” until a recent-ish release leapt out at me.
The resulting find was the noise is… by NITOTTIR.
Continue reading “Album Review :: NITOTTIR :: the noise is…”
by Maggie A. Clark
Owing to The Guess Who’s transformation from rock band into local institution, it’s easy to forget that Burton Cummings is not only a real person, but a real person who is still alive and making music.
Continue reading “Album Review :: Burton Cummings :: A Few Good Moments”
by Mykhailo Vil’yamson
If there was one place that I could live, it would be California. But for reasons manifold, it’ll never happen. Second best is travelling there, which I had the chance to do earlier this spring – after saving for years – and along my way down the coast I stopped in a little place called Summerland: population 1300-ish. There’s a song by the same name from the mid-’90s by Everclear where frontperson Art Alexakis sings: “Just a name on the map / Sounds like heaven to me.” And stopping at the beach was just like that: a dream. But it was an illusion; an ephemeral fantasy. Because after my few days on the coast, it was back to landlocked Manitoba with only a one-minute video of the surf as a souvenir.
Continue reading “Album Review :: Jamboree :: Summerland”
by Paul Newsom
Toronto’s Burs wrote a record as distinct and enduring as an army of their namesakes. Holding Patterns is purposeful, mixing curiosity, confession, and metaphor to startling effect. The album’s production is eminently clear, leaving empty space to haunt as opaque edges demand scrutiny.
Continue reading “Album Review :: Burs :: Holding Patterns”
By Mykhailo Vil’yamson
It’s not unprecedented for an artist to put out material that moves from heavy to significantly more sedated – take, for instance, Dallas Green’s mid-to-post-Alexisonfire solo project City and Colour (or alternatively, the conventional yet banal trend of most musicians to progressively mellow over the years). However, it’s refreshing to hear a move in the entirely opposite direction in what is the debut EP by Long Fall, which is the brand-new punk outfit that’s fronted by none other than Nic Dyson.
Continue reading “EP Review :: Long Fall :: Self-Titled”
by maggie astrid clark
Aside from my partner and a handful of friends with impeccable taste, one of my go-to sources for locating new music is Cam Scott’s UMFM program “Radio State.” In March, this was how I first encountered the ambient drone stylings of Hazel Fog. After some digging—which is what I like to call “doing a cursory Google search”—I found that they’d released a self-titled two-song EP on Bandcamp on February 6, 2024, uploaded to the page of local label Makade Star. I’m always on the lookout for things obscure, mysterious, dissonant, and unsettling, so I was hooked immediately.
Continue reading “EP Review :: Hazel Fog :: Hazel Fog”
by Mykhailo Vil’yamson
When does an explosive become a drug? Scientifically, this happened with nitroglycerin – that highly volatile chemical compound that is used to both produce dynamite and treat heart conditions. But I would also contend that a similar power and instability is found in emogaze, and I’m addicted. The latest release in this subgenre is the three-song EP Seeds by Winnipeg locals Guilty Sleep (a.k.a. Eric, Haise, Nic, Liam, Los), which is their follow-up to last year’s Passenger. And it’s equally heartbreaking and vicariously curative.
Continue reading “Album Review :: Guilty Sleep :: Seeds”
by Keeley Braunstein-Black
Lana Winterhalt released her third full-length album, Recovering Theatre Kid, a 31-and-a-half-minute emotional rollercoaster of genuine vulnerability, on March 22. In the lead-up to the full album, parts of it were released as EPs: Act I & II.
Continue reading “Album Review :: Lana Winterhalt :: Recovering Theatre Kid”
by maggie astrid clark
Unless you’re really dialed into the local music scene (although, given that you are currently reading Stylus Magazine, this might be a fair assumption!), it would have been easy to miss a pair of records released last year by Vivat Virtute. You might not know the name, but you definitely know its members – Winnipeg indie rock mainstays Christine Fellows and J.S. Fellows.
Continue reading “Album Review :: Vivat Virtute :: Hold Music and June First”
by Mykhailo Vil’yamson
If it were possible to audio-capture the coldest brooding glare, the album Hindsight is 50/50 is what it would sound like. Thick with weighty bass notes, menacingly minor overtones, and steeped in echoey resonance, this is the third full-length project by Albertan musician Evan Uschenko in less than two years. However, the latest manifestation of Ghost Woman is no longer a solo undertaking, as Belgian drummer Ille van Dessel has joined him. As shared at the end of last year via Dine Alone Records, Uschenko conveyed that this project “finally captures the true nature of the band” – and its tracks. Whereas the past few releases sound like a foray into 1970s reminiscence, Hindsight is 50/50 forges ahead into new sonic territory.
Continue reading “Album Review :: Ghost Woman :: Hindsight is 50/50”