Tag: album review

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Album Review :: Orelands :: Secrets and Select Missions

album cover starry sky with clouds neon sign that says Orelands on the horizon.

by Mykhailo Vil’yamson

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.

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Album Review:: Attica Riots:: Life’s a Sugar Pill

Album cover a ceral bowl full of pills

by Jamie Glenwright

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.

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Album Review :: Dinner Club :: Brave Faces

by Mykhailo Vil’yamson

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?

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Album Review :: Jason Tait & Patrick Michalishyn :: G-384

by Maggie A. Clark

Some readers may well be scratching their heads right about now. 

“Jason Tait, huh? Yeah, I recognize him. The drummer from Red Fisher and that other band — you know, the one with that song about Gump Worsley! Patrick Michalishyn, though: now where have I seen that name before?”

Try “one page ago,” on account of the above “CKUWho?” profile. In the interest of full transparency, I should mention that he did ask me to review his split tape, and I obliged. So let it be known — if you ask nicely enough and I have a spare evening, I’ll just do whatever you say. I’m easygoing and I crave the approval of others! (And on that note: if you have an album you’d like me to review, shoot me an email at [email protected].)

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Album Review :: NITOTTIR :: the noise is…

light tile distorted light pinky blue faded photo

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.

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Album Review :: Jamboree :: Summerland

Sumerland album cover. photo tiles of horse on a roof, bumper cars, roller coster, sun tanning in a lawn chair, rainbows, paths, trees and swings.

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.

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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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