Comeback Kid — Symptoms + Cures

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Kate Harper September 3, 2010 3:42 pm

Just four years ago, Comeback Kid were forced to re-evaluate the band's existence when vocalist Scott Wade left the band due to stress. In a surprising move, guitarist Andrew Neufeld stepped in to fill his place.

Just four years ago, Comeback Kid were forced to re-evaluate the band's existence when vocalist Scott Wade left the band due to stress. In a surprising move, guitarist Andrew Neufeld stepped in to fill his place. The departure of a lead singer can often kill or cripple a band, and it's also extremely difficult for another member of that
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Sweet Thing — Sweet Thing

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Scott Bryson September 3, 2010 2:57 pm

Sweet Thing will always be better live than they are on disc (they're a spectacle, seriously), but this first full-length is a decent introduction for those who aren't yet acquainted.

Sweet Thing will always be better live than they are on disc (they're a spectacle, seriously), but this first full-length is a decent introduction for those who aren't yet acquainted. Three of the better songs from their debut EP are recycled here — "Change Of Seasons," "Winter Night" and "Kite Fight"
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Besnard Lakes Blow The Power At FME 2010

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Kate Harper September 3, 2010 12:44 pm

Rouyn-Noranda, Que., which hosts the annual Festival De Musique Émergente, is a small mining city with a population of about 40,000 people about an hour north of Montreal if you fly. This is as far north as I've been in Canada.

Rouyn-Noranda, Que., which hosts the annual Festival De Musique Émergente, is a small mining city with a population of about 40,000 people about an hour north of Montreal if you fly. This is as far north as I've been in Canada. The flight here was largely uneventful, save for a brief moment of panic at the airport in Montreal to get the
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The Besnard Lakes
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Jill Hennessy — Ghost in My Head

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Matt Blair September 3, 2010 12:20 pm

I might as well admit that the reason I chose to review this album is because I had a boyhood crush on Claire Kincaid. Who am I to lie to you people?

I might as well admit that the reason I chose to review this album is because I had a boyhood crush on Claire Kincaid. Who am I to lie to you people? But to judge a debut album by multitalented Canadian Jill Hennessy on the basis of her television career does her a disservice. She worked her way into show business as a musician, after all, and
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It Kills — It Kills

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Ian Gormely September 2, 2010 4:36 pm

The future of their band I See Rowboats remains unclear, but in the meantime Haligonians Lisa Lipton, Soloman Vroman and William Robinson have forged ahead and formed the new group It Kills.

The future of their band I See Rowboats remains unclear, but in the meantime Haligonians Lisa Lipton, Soloman Vroman and William Robinson have forged ahead and formed the new group It Kills. While the name may conjure up images of some new Montreal grindcore act, the trio follow more in their former band's footsteps, marrying The Dears
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DVAS — Society

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Lauren Earle September 2, 2010 1:01 pm

Society, the first full-length album offered by DVAS, showcases why they're one of Toronto's burgeoning indie-dance groups. Besides the obvious Daft Punk comparison, there's a touch of disco that permeates many of the album's 11 tracks.

Society, the first full-length album offered by DVAS, showcases why they're one of Toronto's burgeoning indie-dance groups. Besides the obvious Daft Punk comparison, there's a touch of disco that permeates many of the album's 11 tracks. The strongest influence on these boys, however, is clearly the synthesizer-heavy '80s. I
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The Tanuki Project — Playground For Everyone

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Jody McCutcheon September 2, 2010 12:04 pm

Like the chocolate without the peanut butter, The Tanuki Project's debut LP, Playground For Everyone, seems sadly incomplete.

Like the chocolate without the peanut butter, The Tanuki Project's debut LP, Playground For Everyone, seems sadly incomplete. The Montreal band's website describes the music as electronic-dance art-rock. Their live show, Naturalogic, is accompanied by dazzling visual displays of kaleidoscopic symmetries and surreal imagery. But the CD
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Scissor Sisters' Pop Party Is Absolutely Perfect

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Ian Gormely September 1, 2010 2:25 pm

There was a moment there were things seemed like they were going to go off the rails for New York's Scissor Sisters.

There was a moment there were things seemed like they were going to go off the rails for New York's Scissor Sisters. All the love the quintet engendered from their campy debut was put in jeopardy with it's sub-par Ta-Dah follow-up, which fully embraced the Elton John-ness of their hit "Take Your Mamma Out" while leaving behind
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Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears (Photo by Joseph Fuda)
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Sebastien Tellier — Sexuality Remix

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Phil Villeneuve September 1, 2010 1:46 pm

Thanks be to all music Gods that this remix album happened.

Thanks be to all music Gods that this remix album happened. While French sleaze-ball, retro-pop genius Sébastien Tellier did create a flawless collection of slow motion, '70s piano cheese-pop with 2008's Sexuality, the songs on the album always felt like they were just on the verge of blowing up. Kinda like making sweet love for several
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Sebastien Tellier's Sexuality Remix
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Cowboy Junkies — Renmin Park: The Nomad Series, Volume 1

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Jody McCutcheon September 1, 2010 12:12 pm

Renmin Park contains Cowboy Junkies' first new material in three years. It's the first of four albums planned around a quartet of paintings by Cuban-born, U.S.-based artist Enrique Martinez Celaya that explore themes of exile and rootlessness.

Renmin Park contains Cowboy Junkies' first new material in three years. It's the first of four albums planned around a quartet of paintings by Cuban-born, U.S.-based artist Enrique Martinez Celaya that explore themes of exile and rootlessness. Perhaps the cross-border collaboration will help the Junkies rediscover international success,
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Cowboy Junkies' Renmin Park: The Nomad Series, Volume 1
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Quest For Fire — Lights From Paradise

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Kate Harper August 31, 2010 4:54 pm

Indie bands like Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene need to prepare themselves because this country's next big export is going to be stoner rock.

I'm sure Broken Social Scene would laugh at that while Kevin Drew fumbles for the roach in the nearby ashtray, but they don't represent the stoner rock we're talking about.

Indie bands like Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene need to prepare themselves because this country's next big export is going to be stoner rock. I'm sure Broken Social Scene would laugh at that while Kevin Drew fumbles for the roach in the nearby ashtray, but they don't represent the stoner rock we're talking about. Black
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Quest For Fire's Lights For Paradise
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Ray LaMontagne And The Pariah Dogs — God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise

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Lauren Earle August 31, 2010 3:39 pm

God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise is the Ray LaMontagne's fourth album, and the first featuring The Pariah Dogs backing band.

God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise is the Ray LaMontagne's fourth album, and the first featuring The Pariah Dogs backing band.There's a rawness to this disc that makes the American singer/songwriter's desperate crooning all the more authentic, but authenticity's not enough to save this album from its repetitive self.
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Ray LaMontagne And The Pariah Dogs' God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise
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JJ — No. 2 [reissue]

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Ian Gormely August 31, 2010 2:15 pm

Exactly why Swedish duo JJ have decided to reissue their excellent debut full-length mere months after dropping their new album is unclear. Secretly Canadian, the label that's now giving the record a proper international release, claims it's simply to give a great record it's due.

Exactly why Swedish duo JJ have decided to reissue their excellent debut full-length mere months after dropping their new album is unclear. Secretly Canadian, the label that's now giving the record a proper international release, claims it's simply to give a great record it's due. Naysayers, though, will no doubt see it more as a way
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JJ's No. 2
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Teenage Kicks — "Shake Our Bones" single

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Ian Gormely August 31, 2010 1:51 pm

It may only be two songs, but Toronto's Teenage Kicks have a mighty fine debut seven-inch on their hands.

It may only be two songs, but Toronto's Teenage Kicks have a mighty fine debut seven-inch on their hands.Like the immortal Undertones song from which the quartet took their name, these songs lean on the best pop-rock tropes without a whiff of clever hipster genre mashing: this is a rock 'n' roll band, plain and simple. Teenage Kicks
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Teenage Kicks' "Shake Our Bones" single
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The Specials Turn Toronto Into Skankfest

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Kate Harper August 30, 2010 5:07 pm

"Torontonians don't know how to have fun at shows."

"Torontonians don't know how to have fun at shows." That's the typical complaint lobbied against this city's avid concertgoers. We all know just how often bands chide us on stage for standing completely still with our arms crossed, sometimes not even moving a step throughout an entire set. We'll nod along at best to the
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The Specials' Roddie Radiation and Neville Staple (Photo by Jeff Ross)
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Stone Temple Pilots Avoid Hits, Go Deep Into Their Catalogue

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Ian Gormely August 30, 2010 3:11 pm

There was a time that Stone Temple Pilots couldn't get any respect.

There was a time that Stone Temple Pilots couldn't get any respect. When the band launched to stardom off modern rock downers like "Plush" and "Sex Type Thing" critics were quick to criticize the San Diego quartet as their white-washed grunge and Scott Weiland's dyed red hair became the go-to image for corporate alt-
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Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland (Photo by John Papamarko)
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Cancer Bats Make Welcome Return To New Brunswick

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Ben Conoley August 30, 2010 2:12 pm

Cancer Bats first made their way through Fredericton, N.B. in early 2005, having just five original songs to work into their set.

Cancer Bats first made their way through Fredericton, N.B. in early 2005, having just five original songs to work into their set. The band spent the next five years playing all-ages shows in the city's once-healthy scene and many of the people who made it out to those early shows were finally able to do so with a beer in hand, leading the
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Cancer Bats' Liam Cormier and Scott Middleton (File photo by Jeff Jewiss)
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City And Colour Joined By Tegan And Sara, Gord Downie On Stage

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Stephanie Joudrey August 30, 2010 12:50 pm

Remember when Alexisonfire singer Dallas Green debuted his City And Colour side project to punk/emo kids swooning over his softer side? How times have changed. For this co-heading show with Tegan And Sara, the seats were filled with parents, kissing couples and frat boys all wanting a piece of Dallas.

Remember when Alexisonfire singer Dallas Green debuted his City And Colour side project to punk/emo kids swooning over his softer side? How times have changed. For this co-heading show with Tegan And Sara, the seats were filled with parents, kissing couples and frat boys all wanting a piece of Dallas. And there wasn't a single AOF t-shirt as
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Tegan And Sara (File photo by Jess Baumung)
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Klaxons — Surfing The Void

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Kate Harper August 27, 2010 3:26 pm

Although there was a three-year wait between their Mercury Prize-winning Myths Of The Near Future debut and Surfing The Void, Klaxons have successfully avoided the sophomore slump.

Although there was a three-year wait between their Mercury Prize-winning Myths Of The Near Future debut and Surfing The Void, Klaxons have successfully avoided the sophomore slump. That's because Surfing The Void is even better than Myths. While Myths introduced a band who were keen to mix space rock, new wave and electroclash, it did at
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Klaxons' Surfing The Void
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Funki Porcini — On

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Matt Blair August 27, 2010 1:52 pm

It's easy to assume the title of Funki Porcini's sixth album is actually On And Off or something similar. That's not just because of the cover art, which features an "on" switch flanked with an equally prominent "off."

It's easy to assume the title of Funki Porcini's sixth album is actually On And Off or something similar. That's not just because of the cover art, which features an "on" switch flanked with an equally prominent "off." When Mission Of Burma did the exact same thing on the cover of their 2004 ONoffON comeback album
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Funki Porcini's On
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