Ratatat - LP4

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Ian Gormely July 29, 2010 5:27 pm

Ratatat's LP4 could be viewed as a continuation of LP3, the New York duo's previous effort, and that wouldn't be an incorrect opinion; these 12 tracks were recorded alongside the material that made up that album.

Ratatat's LP4 could be viewed as a continuation of LP3, the New York duo's previous effort, and that wouldn't be an incorrect opinion; these 12 tracks were recorded alongside the material that made up that album. There are differences between the two — Middle Eastern sounds and a string section being the most obivious. But those
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Ratatat's LP4
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Kings Of Leon Avoid Pooping Incidents At Triumphant Show

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Bianca Marcus July 29, 2010 5:12 pm

Kings Of Leon were showered with nothing but love at Wednesday's show in Toronto, the sole Canadian date of the band's current 2010 tour.

Kings Of Leon were showered with nothing but love at Wednesday's show in Toronto, the sole Canadian date of the band's current 2010 tour. Jets of smoke and operatic music emanated from the darkened stage as fans stood and cheered for the Nashville foursome to appear. The crowd burst into frenzied applause as brothers Caleb, Nathan and
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Kings Of Leon (Photo by Richard Beland)
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Maps & Atlases — Perch Patchwork

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Scott Bryson July 29, 2010 3:24 pm

This Chicago-based four-piece have released several EPs over the last five years; this is their debut full-length.

Maps & Atlases began as a math-rock band, but not much of that pedigree remains. There are guitars, bass and drums here, but traditional instruments are relegated to secondary status for the album's first half.

This Chicago-based four-piece have released several EPs over the last five years; this is their debut full-length. Maps & Atlases began as a math-rock band, but not much of that pedigree remains. There are guitars, bass and drums here, but traditional instruments are relegated to secondary status for the album's first half. Opening track
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Maps & Atlases' Perch Patchwork
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As I Lay Dying — The Powerless Rise

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Adam Kovac July 29, 2010 3:20 pm

If life has taught me one thing (and Lord knows, that's a generous estimate), it's that music fans tend to fall into two categories: lyric people, and instrumental people. I thanked my lucky stars that I'm of the latter while listening to the new As I Lay Dying album.

If life has taught me one thing (and Lord knows, that's a generous estimate), it's that music fans tend to fall into two categories: lyric people, and instrumental people. I thanked my lucky stars that I'm of the latter while listening to the new As I Lay Dying album.To be blunt, the songs and delivery on The Powerless Rise are
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As I Lay Dying's The Powerless Rise
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Jaill - That's How We Burn

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Scott Bryson July 29, 2010 12:49 pm

Jaill — originally named Jail — recently had to add an extra L to their name after signing to a semi-big-league label for the re-release of their 2009 album, There's No Sky (Oh My My). It turns out there was a German band in the 1970's named Jail that just re-released a record, too.

Jaill — originally named Jail — recently had to add an extra L to their name after signing to a semi-big-league label for the re-release of their 2009 album, There's No Sky (Oh My My). It turns out there was a German band in the 1970's named Jail that just re-released a record, too. That previous Jaill full-length was packed
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Jaill's That's How We Burn
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Great Big Sea - Safe Upon The Shore

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Kate MacRae July 29, 2010 12:39 pm

Normally, I love me some down-home records that bring back my times spent on the east coast, but Great Big Sea's Safe Upon The Shore fails to impress my Atlantic sensibilities.

Normally, I love me some down-home records that bring back my times spent on the east coast, but Great Big Sea's Safe Upon The Shore fails to impress my Atlantic sensibilities. Maybe it's because by the 15th similar track I get a bit bored of the crusty sailor shanties, or maybe it's because it feels that nine albums along, this is
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Great Big Sea's Safe Upon The Shore
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Black Eyed Peas Show Is More Like Four Mini-Concerts

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Bianca Marcus July 28, 2010 4:14 pm

The Black Eyed Peas were all a-glitter as they rocked bodies at the Air Canada Centre Tuesday night, playing the first of two Toronto dates of the group's The E.N.D. World Tour 2010.

The Black Eyed Peas were all a-glitter as they rocked bodies at the Air Canada Centre Tuesday night, playing the first of two Toronto dates of the group's The E.N.D. World Tour 2010.Fergie, Will.i.am, Taboo and Apl.de.ap (real names Stacy Ann Ferguson, William James Adams, Jr., Jaime Luis Gomez and Allan Pineda Lindo, Jr.) filled over two
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Black Eyed Peas (Photo by Jess Baumung)
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Die Antwoord Are The New Standard For Internet Age Bands (Help Us All)

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Erik Leijon July 28, 2010 3:42 pm

Could there be a show in 2010 more indicative of where this crazy ol' music business is going than an Internet viral construct playing to a sold-out theatre in Montreal without an official in-store release to their name?

Could there be a show in 2010 more indicative of where this crazy ol' music business is going than an Internet viral construct playing to a sold-out theatre in Montreal without an official in-store release to their name?Well, I suppose Die Antwoord's 5 EP (released by big boys Universal) would qualify as something tactile, but prior to
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Die Antwoord
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Danger Mouse And Sparklehorse — Dark Night Of The Soul

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Ian Gormely July 28, 2010 2:46 pm

Dark Night Of The Soul was originally envisioned as an indie rockstar studded soundtrack to a book of David Lynch's photography released last year, and it seems like a project littered with issues.

Dark Night Of The Soul was originally envisioned as an indie rockstar studded soundtrack to a book of David Lynch's photography released last year, and it seems like a project littered with issues. The album was delayed due to a legal dispute between Danger Mouse and EMI, despite that the music had already made its way onto the Internet,
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Danger Mouse And Sparklehorse's Dark Night Of The Soul
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Social Studies — Wind Up Wooden Heart

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Kate MacRae July 28, 2010 2:39 pm

I wasn't really sure what to expect from a band called Social Studies, because the name calls to mind boring classes in high school, but as it turns out Wind-Up Wooden Heart is really anything but snoozy.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from a band called Social Studies, because the name calls to mind boring classes in high school, but as it turns out Wind-Up Wooden Heart is really anything but snoozy. What would normally be a kind-of Regina Spektor indie-folk singer-type album is rescued by the more old school touches. We're not
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Social Studies' Wind Up Wooden Heart
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Jenny Omnichord — All Our Little Bones

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Scott Bryson July 28, 2010 11:45 am

All Our Little Bones is a surprisingly conventional album.

All Our Little Bones is a surprisingly conventional album. Jenny Mitchell's work as Jenny Omnichord (and with The Barmitzvah Brothers before that) has always been weird. By the standards Mitchell has set, this new disc's opener, "Bad Luck," is exceedingly normal — drums, piano and vocals push her trademark omnichord to the
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Jenny Omnichord's All Our Little Bones
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Chimaira — Coming Alive

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Andre Mihsin July 28, 2010 11:10 am

Chimaira fans should really appreciate Coming Alive, which contains two DVDs and one CD that offer well over five hours of material.

Chimaira fans should really appreciate Coming Alive, which contains two DVDs and one CD that offer well over five hours of material. Disc one contains a documentary that begins with the band recording their 2009 The Infection album and follows them on tours throughout the U.S., Europe and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The footage is your typical
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Chimaira's Coming Alive
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Daniel Romano — Workin' For The Music Man

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Ian Gormely July 27, 2010 5:24 pm

Daniel Romano has undergone a huge sonic shift over the past three years, abandoning his pure punk roots with Attack In Black and morphing into a acoustic folk troubadour with the help of Fred Squire and Julie Doiron.

Daniel Romano has undergone a huge sonic shift over the past three years, abandoning his pure punk roots with Attack In Black and morphing into a acoustic folk troubadour with the help of Fred Squire and Julie Doiron. But Workin' For The Music Man cuts the chase, offering what feels like the most pure, unfiltered version of the singer yet. It
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Daniel Romano's Workin' For The Music Man
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Soilwork — The Panic Broadcast

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Andre Mihsin July 27, 2010 3:58 pm

Most of the Swedish melodic death metal bands that made the Gothenburg sound such a phenomenon have evolved with varying results. I'll spare you the silly names with the "core" suffixes that have been given to this particular style, but essentially the formula takes power metal guitar hooks and alternative rock screaming verses that build to epic, clean singing choruses.

Most of the Swedish melodic death metal bands that made the Gothenburg sound such a phenomenon have evolved with varying results. I'll spare you the silly names with the "core" suffixes that have been given to this particular style, but essentially the formula takes power metal guitar hooks and alternative rock screaming verses that
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Soilwork's The Panic Broadcast
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Lilith Fair A True Celebration Of Women

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David McPherson July 26, 2010 1:03 pm
Lilith Fair dubs itself "a celebration of women in music," and that it was. Not only was it an empowering day for women when the festival rolled in to Toronto, but it was also an empowering day for music. The fans who flocked to the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre down by Lake Ontario on this soggy Saturday clearly didn't care that
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Sarah McLachlan
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Calexico, Elliott Brood Meet Apathetic Audience

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Matt Littlefair July 23, 2010 5:05 pm
Two bands, neither with any new recorded material since 2008 and a sparse crowd on a Thursday night do not necessarily make for a high-energy rock 'n' roll show, but then again you never know. But then sometimes you do.Musically, both Elliott Brood and Calexico were impeccable; atmospherically, it was the far-from-capacity Phoenix crowd
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Elliott Brood
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HEALTH — ::Disco2

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Ian Gormely July 23, 2010 3:40 pm
After a slew of cash-grab remix records soured most non-dance-oriented fans on the concept (Bush's Deconstructed, anyone?), post-millennial acts have been on a mission to reclaim the form. Case in point: Los Angeles' HEALTH. HEALTH//Disco, which remixed HEALTH's debut, gave us Crystal Castles' reworked version of the L.A. noise-
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HEALTH'S ::Disco2
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Melvins — The Bride Screamed Murder

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Ian Gormely July 23, 2010 2:14 pm
By now, Melvins fans should know that specific expectations around each new album are pointless. King Buzzo and Dale Crover are just gonna do whatever they damn please, which usually ensures that at least half their fans won't see what's coming next.With The Bride Screamed Murder, the band once again zig when everyone wants them to zag.
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Melvins' The Bride Screamed Murder
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Mystery Jets — Serotonin

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Cameron Gordon July 22, 2010 2:50 pm
The third full-length from U.K. indie rockers Mystery Jets is significant in its insignificance.Serotonin chugs along nicely for the most part. It has some rocking moments, some quieter moments and some decent songwriting. Ho hum.The challenge bands like the Mystery Jets face in 2010 is it no longer pays to be good. And make no mistake —
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Mystery Jets' Serotonin
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Blip Blip Bleep - Like Track Stars

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Phil Villeneuve July 22, 2010 12:28 pm
I was really beginning to think that these emo singers with whiny voices, teenager-in-the-bedroom lyrics and post-Postal Service stuttering beatmaking were on their way out. Then came that Owl City guy and he seems to have ignited another wave on interest for this obnoxious genre and that's where Blip Blip Bleep come in.Like Track Stars is
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Blip Blip Bleep's Like Track Stars
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