Rachelle van Zanten
Where Your Garden Grows
By Rachel Sanders

Former Painting Daisy Rachelle van Zanten amps it up on her second solo release. The snarl of dirty blues heard intermittently on her 2006 solo debut, Back To Francois, takes centre stage on her new collection, ten tight tracks featuring her searing, ever-improving slide guitar work. From the glorious yowl of opening track "Showerhead," van Zanten is a fiercer creature this time around. There's no hint of the sunny bluegrass featured prominently on her debut. Even her quieter tracks are buzzing with feedback, electronic loops and grimy guitar fuzz. Everything's a little fraught in van Zanten's Garden. Native chants lend atmosphere, at times, and the light ping of keyboards occasionally offers a little relief from the tension. Highlights, though tough to choose, include the nicely galloping "Figure It Out" and "My Country," an ode to the beleaguered Skeena Watershed. (Independent)
Hercules and Love Affair
Heavy MTL Festival featuring Alice Cooper, Megadeth, Korn, Rob Zombie
Golden Dogs - Coat of Arms
Golden Dogs - Coat of Arms
Hillside Festival featuring Hidden Cameras, Japandroids, Stars, Laura Marling, Jason Collett
Black Mountain
Lilith Fair featuring Sarah McLachlan, Mary J. Blige, Chantal Kreviazuk, Lights
James Teej - Evening Harvest
Go Rydell - The Golden Age
Invasion - Orchestrated Kill Maneuver
Body - All The Waters Of The Earth Turn To Blood
Zero T / Various - Fabriclive 52
Christopher Willits - Tiger Flower Circle Sun
Blitz The Ambassador - Stereotype
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti / Magic Kids / Puro Instinct
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Hearing about someone else's dreams might be the most boring form of storytelling, but living in someone else's dreams ― at least in the hands of star writer/director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Night, Memento, The Prestige) ― makes for the movie event of the summer.... Full Review
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