Ariel Posen, ‘Downtown’ — 4/5 Stars
The ‘Downtown’ EP is a complex five-track project with powerful guitar performances and introspective songwriting.
Canadian artist
A small portrait of Cliff Eyland
Cliff is a dreamy, reflective work that follows a series of interviews Eyland gave during the years before his death in 2020
’Toban tracks: so, what did we miss?
To quickly shout out all of the great local and Canadian music that we weren’t able to cover, we’ve put together a little playlist of the highlights
JayWood, ‘Slingshot’ — 3/5 Stars
JayWood’s Slingshot doesn’t quite follow through on its conceptual ambitions, but its infectious grooves and hazy summer vibes still make it a worthwhile listen
David Cronenberg’s past futures
As our own reality becomes more and more of a techno-dystopia, Cronenberg’s films offer an exhilarating and disturbing perspective on the intersection between biology and technology.
Pierre Kwenders, ‘José Louis and the Paradox of Love’ — 4/5 stars
Pierre Kwenders, born José Louis Modabi, has spent nearly all of the past decade breaking down borders in music. The result is a heady mix of genres and languages, incorporating rumba, electronic, hip hop and R&B.
Kyla Charter, ‘Edible Flowers’ — 3.5/5 stars
Toronto-based singer Kyla Charter has had an illustrious career as a background singer in the CanCon music machine. Her CV reads like a CBC Radio One playlist, performing with artists like July Talk, Patrick Watson, Rich Aucoin and Alessia Cara. Now Charter is stepping out on her own with her debut album Edible Flowers.
The wait was worth it for North Graffiti
As winter is finally melting into spring and our familiar feathery friends return, live music is also slowly returning to music venues across the city. Not only has it been a long winter, it has been a long two years for local Winnipeg band North Graffiti. To celebrate this return of somewhat normalcy, the band is set to release its album Modern Relics at the Park Theatre on April 9 with opening acts the 12/21 and Mobina Galore.
North Graffiti, ‘Modern Relics’ — 4.5/5 stars
Self-described as adding “modern flare to a vintage aesthetic,” North Graffiti’s album Modern Relics successfully reflects its musical tagline. Just like the album’s cover, the “punk & roll” local group pulls together the fragments of vintage punk and rock past with present instrumentals.
Niall Mutter, ‘Pass Me By’ — 3/5 stars
For the past near-decade, the indie world has been afflicted with the “post-Mac DeMarco malady.” Not that it’s always a bad thing, but for a long time people have been latching onto the watery, chill, bedroom pop style and using the aesthetic to cover up lazy songwriting. It’s refreshing to hear something good in this tired idiom for once. Niall Mutter, through the power of being a smart songwriter, has done just that on his new EP, Pass Me By.