WEB EXCLUSIVE: The NationalWith 2010's High Violet, the National reached higher sales and bigger venues than they ever had before, but managed to maintain a pretty flawless reputation critically. The Brooklyn-based rock band follows up the massive record with Trouble Will Find Me, an album that stays true to...Read More
WEB EXCLUSIVE: 4th PyramidToronto vet 4th Pyramid is back in the mix with his latest project The Sky Belongs To The Stars EP, which has the long-time MC/producer showing growth both musically and personally on this solid offering. Exclaim! chopped it up with 4th Pyramid to see what went in to the making of his latest...Read More
WEB EXCLUSIVE: Tera MelosIf the exuberantly iconoclastic genre-swirling protoplasmic goo of Tera Melos's music finally seeps into the mainstream thanks to the smokescreen of accessibility disguising the multitudinous quirks of their latest album, X'ed Out, the "progressive" tag might regain its functionality as a...Read More
WEB EXCLUSIVE: GhostSince the release of their debut effort, Opus Eponymous, in 2010, Ghost have been steadily accreting power and influence. Known for their curiously upbeat and deliberately retro sound that often belies their grimly Satanic lyrics and concepts (they sound downright cheerful while singing of...Read More
FROM THE MAGAZINE: Maylee Todd A Truly Great EscapeNo chicken suits, horny robots or exploding prisms — Maylee Todd wears tapered track pants, too many bracelets and a t-shirt she designed with Jeff Garcia, a line that she intends to start selling as merch. Speaking the day after the release of her sophomore album Escapology, Todd...Read More
WEB EXCLUSIVE: PhoenixWith Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, French rockers Phoenix solidified themselves as a pop music force. Earning critical and commercial success, the pressure was on for the Versailles-based four-piece to follow up on their now stadium-sized following. What followed were two years of non-stop...Read More
WEB EXCLUSIVE: Charles BradleyIf 2011's No Time For Dreaming was the dark soul introduction to the world of Charles Bradley, this year's Victim of Love is the light heart of the matter, a raw and psychedelic look at soul from the vintage perspective of "The Screaming Eagle of Soul." More than merely a soul...Read More
WEB EXCLUSIVE: Thee Oh SeesThee Oh Sees are an obscenely prolific band, and Floating Coffin is their seventh full-length since 2007, not including a barrage of singles and rarities. That's not to say they've changed — John Dwyer's yelps and guitar lines still meld perfectly with Brigid Dawson's sweet backing vocals and...Read More
FROM THE MAGAZINE: No Joy Are the OppositeJasamine White-Gluz isn't really interested in reading a review of her band No Joy's new album, Wait to Pleasure. A former music writer herself (including for Exclaim!), White-Gluz feels her band is often the victim of lazy journalism. "I do I find it hilarious when people literally...Read More
WEB EXCLUSIVE: Willie NelsonWillie Nelson is 80 years old this year. While it's a significant milestone for one of the true legends of American music, it's just a number for the Red Headed Stranger, who continues to record and tour as prodigiously as he always has. Nelson's latest album, Let's Face the Music and Dance,...Read More
WEB EXCLUSIVE: Steve EarleSteve Earle's latest album, The Low Highway, finds him back in familiar territory, exploring the harsh realities of contemporary society while paying tribute to the diverse sounds that have defined American music over the past century. It's also his first album in over two decades to give...Read More
WEB EXCLUSIVE: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the DarkChances are you've heard of, if not intensively listened to, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark in your life. Even if you haven't directed listened to "If You Leave" (from the John Hughes classic Pretty In Pink) or one of their dozen odd silver, gold and platinum studio albums, you've...Read More
WEB EXCLUSIVE: DL IncognitoRevivalism in hip-hop has become a cyclical trend in the art form's history. Most recently, there has been a wave of young artists that have gained followings displaying styles that predate their existence. DL Incognito, delivering his fifth album, Someday Is Just a Second Away, has grown up...Read More
WEB EXCLUSIVE: Young GalaxyYoung Galaxy received an icy electronic makeover on 2011's Shapeshifting courtesy of Studio's Dan Lissvik, and the group opted to stick with the Swedish producer for the follow-up. Unlike the previous collaboration, which was conducted remotely via Skype, the band recorded Ultramarine...Read More
WEB EXCLUSIVE: Orchid EnsembleA Juno nomination in 2005 and a seemingly endless amount of touring has proven there is a sizable demand for Orchid Ensemble's take on classical Chinese music. Their latest album, Life Death TearsDream, flexes both their skilled musicianship and desire to present traditional...Read More
WEB EXCLUSIVE: DjRUMFelix Manuel is DjRum, prodigal DJ and producer of music that transcends any notion of genre, his musical palette taking in as many techno as jazz and dub influences. He is an enigma of sorts, in a scene where omnipresence and periodically shifting musical focus is the norm, DJrum readily admits...Read More
FROM THE MAGAZINE: James Blake Finds His VoiceWhen James Blake's self-titled 2011 debut eschewed the post-dubstep of The Bells Sketch and CMYK, the two EPs that made his name a year earlier, he was met with considerable backlash. James Blake was delicate, electronic-based singer-songwriter fare, chopped into oblivion and...Read More
FROM THE MAGAZINE: Colin Stetson Light in the DarknessGiven the avant-garde nature of Colin Stetson's work, it's a welcome surprise that his music has been so well-received by audiences not necessarily steeped in experimental music. His exposure from playing with dozens of acts from Tom Waits to Arcade Fire has undoubtedly helped, but it's down to a...Read More
WEB EXCLUSIVE: Alice RussellAlice Russell isn't Adele. She doesn't aspire to be. The UK soul singer and songwriter is now on her fifth studio album, but crossover success (à la soul-inspired contemporary Adele) has largely eluded her. No matter, Russell is clearly committed to a more pure strain of "blue-eyed" R&B; fifth...Read More
WEB EXCLUSIVE: AmorphisNew record Circle is the 11th studio album from Finland's Amorphis, and it's of a piece with the quartet of records that preceded it. Since frontman Tomi Joutsen joined the band in 2005, Amorphis have settled into a kind of musical stability, a symbiotic blending of metal and rock, prog and...Read More
With 2010's High Violet, the National reached higher sales and bigger venues than they ever had before, but managed to maintain a pretty flawless reputation critically. The Brooklyn-based rock band follows up the massive record with Trouble Will Find Me, an album that stays true to...Read More
Toronto vet 4th Pyramid is back in the mix with his latest project The Sky Belongs To The Stars EP, which has the long-time MC/producer showing growth both musically and personally on this solid offering. Exclaim! chopped it up with 4th Pyramid to see what went in to the making of his latest...Read More
If the exuberantly iconoclastic genre-swirling protoplasmic goo of Tera Melos's music finally seeps into the mainstream thanks to the smokescreen of accessibility disguising the multitudinous quirks of their latest album, X'ed Out, the "progressive" tag might regain its functionality as a...Read More
Since the release of their debut effort, Opus Eponymous, in 2010, Ghost have been steadily accreting power and influence. Known for their curiously upbeat and deliberately retro sound that often belies their grimly Satanic lyrics and concepts (they sound downright cheerful while singing of...Read More
No chicken suits, horny robots or exploding prisms — Maylee Todd wears tapered track pants, too many bracelets and a t-shirt she designed with Jeff Garcia, a line that she intends to start selling as merch. Speaking the day after the release of her sophomore album Escapology, Todd...Read More
With Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, French rockers Phoenix solidified themselves as a pop music force. Earning critical and commercial success, the pressure was on for the Versailles-based four-piece to follow up on their now stadium-sized following. What followed were two years of non-stop...Read More
If 2011's No Time For Dreaming was the dark soul introduction to the world of Charles Bradley, this year's Victim of Love is the light heart of the matter, a raw and psychedelic look at soul from the vintage perspective of "The Screaming Eagle of Soul." More than merely a soul...Read More
Thee Oh Sees are an obscenely prolific band, and Floating Coffin is their seventh full-length since 2007, not including a barrage of singles and rarities. That's not to say they've changed — John Dwyer's yelps and guitar lines still meld perfectly with Brigid Dawson's sweet backing vocals and...Read More
Jasamine White-Gluz isn't really interested in reading a review of her band No Joy's new album, Wait to Pleasure. A former music writer herself (including for Exclaim!), White-Gluz feels her band is often the victim of lazy journalism. "I do I find it hilarious when people literally...Read More
Willie Nelson is 80 years old this year. While it's a significant milestone for one of the true legends of American music, it's just a number for the Red Headed Stranger, who continues to record and tour as prodigiously as he always has. Nelson's latest album, Let's Face the Music and Dance,...Read More
Steve Earle's latest album, The Low Highway, finds him back in familiar territory, exploring the harsh realities of contemporary society while paying tribute to the diverse sounds that have defined American music over the past century. It's also his first album in over two decades to give...Read More
Chances are you've heard of, if not intensively listened to, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark in your life. Even if you haven't directed listened to "If You Leave" (from the John Hughes classic Pretty In Pink) or one of their dozen odd silver, gold and platinum studio albums, you've...Read More
Revivalism in hip-hop has become a cyclical trend in the art form's history. Most recently, there has been a wave of young artists that have gained followings displaying styles that predate their existence. DL Incognito, delivering his fifth album, Someday Is Just a Second Away, has grown up...Read More
Young Galaxy received an icy electronic makeover on 2011's Shapeshifting courtesy of Studio's Dan Lissvik, and the group opted to stick with the Swedish producer for the follow-up. Unlike the previous collaboration, which was conducted remotely via Skype, the band recorded Ultramarine...Read More
A Juno nomination in 2005 and a seemingly endless amount of touring has proven there is a sizable demand for Orchid Ensemble's take on classical Chinese music. Their latest album, Life Death Tears Dream, flexes both their skilled musicianship and desire to present traditional...Read More
Felix Manuel is DjRum, prodigal DJ and producer of music that transcends any notion of genre, his musical palette taking in as many techno as jazz and dub influences. He is an enigma of sorts, in a scene where omnipresence and periodically shifting musical focus is the norm, DJrum readily admits...Read More
When James Blake's self-titled 2011 debut eschewed the post-dubstep of The Bells Sketch and CMYK, the two EPs that made his name a year earlier, he was met with considerable backlash. James Blake was delicate, electronic-based singer-songwriter fare, chopped into oblivion and...Read More
Given the avant-garde nature of Colin Stetson's work, it's a welcome surprise that his music has been so well-received by audiences not necessarily steeped in experimental music. His exposure from playing with dozens of acts from Tom Waits to Arcade Fire has undoubtedly helped, but it's down to a...Read More
Alice Russell isn't Adele. She doesn't aspire to be. The UK soul singer and songwriter is now on her fifth studio album, but crossover success (à la soul-inspired contemporary Adele) has largely eluded her. No matter, Russell is clearly committed to a more pure strain of "blue-eyed" R&B; fifth...Read More
New record Circle is the 11th studio album from Finland's Amorphis, and it's of a piece with the quartet of records that preceded it. Since frontman Tomi Joutsen joined the band in 2005, Amorphis have settled into a kind of musical stability, a symbiotic blending of metal and rock, prog and...Read More
