Tag: album review

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EP Review :: Long Fall :: Self-Titled

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.

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EP Review :: Hazel Fog :: Hazel Fog

backlite photo of a child at the edge of water. The sun gleaming off the water, a sideways shadow of another human on the left side.

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.

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Album Review :: Guilty Sleep :: Seeds

blury photos of feet on grass with drawn branch looks like an old b&w photo turned bluish in a scrap book.

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.

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Album Review :: Vivat Virtute :: Hold Music and June First

"June First" stitched into a knit wall hanging

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. 

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Album Review :: Ghost Woman :: Hindsight is 50/50

Ghost Woman Hindsight is 50/50 album cover. Read felt covered with angel and baby jesus porcelain decorations

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.

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Album Review :: Paige Drobot :: The Psychics Album

album cover of Paige Drobot older woman in a yellow checker dress stands on the side of a country road or highway gesturing at a large metal eyeball looking thing

by Mykhailo Vil’yamson

The first full-length album by Paige Drobot is a veritable time machine, but not only because of its largely 70s-inspired aesthetic. She definitely took her time on this one, as all of the songs on the project first came into existence many years ago with her band, The Psychics. In fact, all of the songs on The Psychics–except for “Each Another’s Creation”–can be found on the 2016 release Live at the Graffiti Gallery, which was captured on the fourth anniversary of the original band’s formation, bringing us all the way back to 2012.

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Album Review :: Now and Again :: VVonder

Wonder stylised as VVonder, Now and again album cover psychedelic wires surrounded by pictures of parts of a person.

By Niqui Lampa

VVonder is a rock band born out of a noteworthy musical tie in Canada. A veritable mixture of the best local talent the heart of Winnipeg has to offer, this band consistently guarantees and lives up to soulful and highly entertaining rock music that resembles the early ’70s and late ’60s. VVoner takes the listeners on an existential journey throughout their new album Now And Again.

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Album Review :: Death Cassette :: Get Rid of It

Death Cassette album cover - man laughing while burning money

by Mykhailo Vil’yamson

When a band releases their debut album in March of 2020, it’s got to have felt like a shoulder thrown right into the asphalt. However, the members of Death Cassette are back on their feet with the follow-up EP Get Rid of It, and it’s hard-hitting. All four members are the same since their formation back in 2018, led by frontperson Amanda Sousa, Lindsey Hawkes on guitar, Chuck Barchuk on bass, and Brock Macpherson on drums. As for the audio master of this project, it’s none other than John Paul Peters from Private Ear Recording (who – name drop — has recorded and produced for other bands such as Cancer Bats, Propagandhi, and Yes We Mystic).

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Album Review :: Still Depths :: Best Plan For Your Life

by Gabriel Fars

Still Depths has a very casual grunge sound to their music. If you’re a fan of Nirvana, or just 90s rock in general, I’d highly recommend this album. There’s a sort of half-angry, half-apathetic theme to the songs. Best Plan For Your Life will give you the existential crisis that you need and make you reassess your life plan. 

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