How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars is indeed a more nocturnal, wistful record than the danceable, brooding Ignorance. The arrangements for these songs float, unmoored by time, carried largely by spare piano work adorned with pillowy ribbons of woodwinds and warm upright bass. This ethereal, minimal production establishes a very direct emotional connection with the listener, highlighting Lindeman’s voice.
Dallas Good, singer and guitarist of Toronto-based band the Sadies, passed away on Feb. 17. As described in the announcement, it was a sudden death of natural causes at the tragically young age of 48.
OMBIIGIZI, a new collaborative project from artists Zoon and Status/Non-Status, is about searching. Sewn Back Together, as the title implies, establishes that the pair has been broken apart somehow, left looking for their place in history, their identity, trying to mend themselves.
Basia Bulat, like many of us, spent the pandemic slowing down. She describes spending time in the garden, putting down roots and waiting for melodies and songs from her past to come back to her. The title track of her new record, The Garden, served as a guiding light for this process.
Sam Weber, a Canadian-born, newly minted Angeleno, follows in a long line of SoCal folk-rockers. Echoes from Laurel Canyon resonate in his music: the sound of transplants from across the continent, like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, or the consummately pro singer-songwriters of the ’70s, like Warren Zevon and Randy Newman. But as Weber says in “Survival,” he’s “not looking for some ’70s revival.”
Ghostly Kisses’s work is overflowing with restraint. Singer-songwriter Margaux Sauvé and her partner Louis-Étienne Santais recorded her debut full-length Heaven, Wait largely at home, and the music reflects this with a whispery intimacy.
Suffer Summer is an album largely about happiness, but one that looks from the outside of happiness, wondering why it’s just out of reach.
Music has been always been a part of Raine Hamilton’s life. They began violin at a young age and were inspired by an early appearance by Yo-Yo Ma on Sesame Street to make music their lifelong pursuit.
Ruby Singh’s new album, Vox.Infold, is a truly immersive, exciting experience. With lofty ideas, wildly experimental composition, intricate mixing and unexpected digital processing, Singh has crafted something fresh and vital.
Art is, of itself, an intersection. Lyrics of poetry come from songs past, evoking powerful imaginings of stories told. One of the current artists who understands this deep connection intersecting art, life, myth and tradition is award-winning Inuk artist Tanya Tagaq. An emotional powerhouse of womanhood, motherhood, community, reclamation and embracing your roots, Tongues may be Tagaq’s best album to date.