EP Review :: Prairie :: Prairie (demos)

Band members sit in a field of praire grass staring either into the distance or with eyes closed in either early spring or late fall with a smattering of snow on the ground.

By Mykhailo Vil’yamson

It’s not often that one is privileged to hear demo recordings as a band’s first release, as so much of the “music industry” remains built on making public only the most curated versions of an artist’s material. But there’s something alluring about being able to hear the earliest incarnation of a group – before the stratification, calcifying and polishing of fully-produced albums. It’s reminiscent of bygone days when musician friends would share cassettes with each other of the latest songs they wrote, asking: “What do you think of this?” As for  this collection, I’d say: “Sounds bloody brilliant! Can’t wait to hear what’s next.”

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Album Review :: Cookie Delicious :: Fox in Golden Armour

Golden fox art with purple paint splatter glow

by Mykhailo Vil’yamson

Anyone who is familiar with the Winnipeg music scene has surely happened upon Joel Klaverkamp’s music over the years. But one could be forgiven for perhaps not knowing his name since his projects since 1989 have been multitudinous. From the teenage hair metal band Breakneck Inferno to the indie-forward cyberpunk project Robojom, to the latest broody dance-rock outfit Cookie Delicious, Klaverkamp is perpetually involved in the process of reinvention. Is he now the armour-clad Reynard first seen on the cover of his 2022 single Forget It? And how long before the next iconoclasm? That remains to be seen. In the meantime, Fox in Golden Armour provides listeners with nearly 36 minutes of what has been self-described as “hypnotic creamsicle,” which aptly describes the swirl of tasty beats, sweet hooks, and biting lyrics.

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Single Review :: Bush Lotus :: “Open”

by Noah Cain

As was the case with their first performance this March, opening for Tinge at the Handsome Daughter, there is a confidence to Bush Lotus’s writing and sound that feels at odds with their experience. 

Lyrically, “Open” is spare, but far from simple. When written out, it functions almost seamlessly as a series of linked Haiku. True to that form, songwriter Arielle Beaupre injects meaning and poignancy into a sliver of time. In this case, a moment of intense presence while stretching in a parking lot, presumably after hours in a car moving along tree-lined highways:

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Winnipeg State of Mind :: HAVS

Photo by ONSITE

Words by Nigel Webber

“My album will manifest many things that I saw, did or heard about” – OC

“Ok I guess I’m really doing this,” HAVS thought after her February 2018 opening set for SonReal at the Garrick Centre. Only about a year into recording music seriously at that point, HAVS opener for SonReal was only her second live show with her as a promoted act. At the time she was one half of the duo Pesh x HAVS but since has chosen to branch out and go solo. Continue reading “Winnipeg State of Mind :: HAVS”

Bridging the Styx :: Music collective Styx City Cult talk Greek mythology, supporting local artists and creating a platform for the weird kids

styxcitycult. From left to right: 10kay, DIEmond, Phre$h Prince, lilnappyboi, STMBLZ, Ivan Silk, Yung Romello, drinkbleachh, Jesse Meush, SpaghKing, Thatcher Robinson and Yung Emerald. Not pictured: Postwar, Shea and TRRM.

Photos by Graeme  Houssin and J. De Castro

Words by Graeme Houssin

When rapper SpaghKing entered the Winnipeg scene, he found a city divided. Harsh lines separated genres, and “old hip hop heads” dominated the rap scene as arbiters of taste, only booking artists that conformed to their ideas of what rap could and must be. Continue reading “Bridging the Styx :: Music collective Styx City Cult talk Greek mythology, supporting local artists and creating a platform for the weird kids”