Chet
Chelsea Silver, Please Come Home
By Jessica Carroll

Chet's lead vocalist, Ryan Beattie, has managed to perfect that classic blue-collar, contemporary folk voice. It's masculine but unpredictable, traditional yet uniquely poignant and vaguely reminiscent of Samamidon, but colder. Based out of Victoria, BC, Chet are super-talented and Beattie's vocal mastery stems from the fact that his band's new album, Chelsea Silver, Please Come Home, is their fourth full-length release in seven years. With that in mind, it's astonishing that the band have managed to slip under Canada's musical radar for so long, because their album is 41 minutes of mischievous, well-written bliss. Chelsea is arbitrarily interspersed with heavily distorted experimental peaks where the listener is thrown into a cyclone filled with unprocessed guitar and bass drum. Further, the band's brilliant combination of poetic song titles and medieval-influenced album art shows that Chet are indie veterans with a strong hold on their musical identity. Chelsea Silver, Please Come Home is a work of country folk gold from well-read musicians that have managed to evoke a humble turn-of-the-century quality in their music without feeling like they try too hard. Still, I suspect that at least one member of this band has a moustache. (Absolutely Kosher)
Annotations of an Autopsy - The Reign of Darkness
Blessure Grave - Judged By Twelve, Carried By Six
Magnetic Fields / Laura Barrett
Hillside Inside Featuring Owen Pallett, Ani Di Franco, Basia Bulat, Bahamas, Hawksley Workman
The Golden Filter / LA Riots / Junior Boys
Hollerado - Record in a Bag
Orphaned Land - The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR
Pantha Du Prince - Black Noise
Watson Twins - Talking To You, Talking To Me
Buzzcocks - Another Music In A Different Kitchen / Love Bites / A Different Kind Of Tension
Sade - Soldier Of Love
Yukon Blonde - Yukon Blonde
Steve Kaldestad - Blow-Up
Galactic - Ya-Ka-May
Gil Scott-Heron - I’m New Here
Dawn Of Demise - A Force Unstoppable
Janine Stoll - Melancholia
Stygian - Fury Rising
Shining - VI — Klagopsalmer
The Kandidate - Until We Are Outnumbered
Troll - Neo-Satanic Supremacy
Meshuggah - Alive
Dark Fortress - Ylem
Massive Attack - Heligoland
Fear Factory - Mechanize
Reckless Kelly - Somewhere In Time
Arsis - Starve For The Devil
DevilDriver / Suffocation / Thy Will Be Done / Goatwhore
Asobi Seksu
James Blackshaw / Gary Higgins
Lil Wayne - Rebirth
Light This City - The Hero Cycle
Lightspeed Champion - Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You
Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba - I Speak Fula
Georgia Anne Muldrow - King’s Ballad
Droids Attack - Must Destroy
Hot Chip - One Life Stand
Ellen Allien / Various - Watergate O5
Through The Eyes Of The Dead - Skepsis
Pierced Arrows - Descending Shadows
Rob Zombie - Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls and the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool
Pawel - Pawel
Children Of Celebrities - Stereo Bang Bang
Midlake - The Courage Of Others
Guns N’ Roses
Julie Doiron / Attack in Black
Tegan and Sara / An Horse
Nouvelle Vague
Arch Enemy / Exodus
Between the Buried and Me / Cynic / Devin Townsend Project / Scale the Summit
Fucked Up - Couple Tracks
Magnetic Fields - Realism
Strong Arm Steady - In Search of Stoney Jackson
Harvey Milk - Harvey Milk
Basia Bulat - Heart Of My Own
Ihsahn - After
Living Sacrifice - The Infinite Order
Ihsahn - After
Steve Earle / Joel Plaskett
Scuba / Various - Sub:Stance
Make Me Young - Make Me Young
Taking Dawn - Time To Burn
Postdata - Postdata
Woodhands - Remorsecapade
Buraka Som Sistema / Various - Fabriclive 49
Beach House - Teen Dream
Los Campesinos! - Romance Is Boring
Various - Born Again Funk
Wetdog - Frauhaus!
Coolzey - The Honey
Rel!G!Ion - Revelations 1
Buraka Som Sistema / Various - Fabriclive 49
Chicago Underground Duo - Boca Negra
Cars & Trains - The Roots, the Leaves
Morton Feldman / Milton Babbitt / Phoenix Ensemble - Clarinet Quintets
Check out the hottest new releases in the country this week, including: David Bowie David Bowie: Deluxe, Fear Factory Mechanize, Hot Chip One Life Stand, Watson Twins Talking to You, Talking to Me, Yeasayer Odd Blood... Read More
It's easy to rip on Vampire Weekend; their privileged upbringing, cultural appropriation of African music and penchant for deck shoes make them a favourite target in music blog comment sections. But it's difficult to deny that the tunes on their self-titled debut were some of the catchiest indie roc... Full Review
For Jully Black, hard work has unquestionably paid off. By stepping out — breaking out — of the career-limiting confines of "Canadian R&B singer," the vivacious Black has drawn her own map, blazed her own trail, and apparently arrived at sustainable success. The Toronto-based Black today wears many hats — singer, songwriter, producer, TV personality — all of which are a perfect fit.... Read More
Viewing the August 2009 Issue: Contents PageNewsClick Hear • Articles --> On the Cover  •  Front Five  •  Points  •  Questionnaire  •  Release Dates  •  Timeline  •  Videogames  •  Conversations • Music Reviews --> Recently Reviewed  •  Aggressive Tendencies  •  Beats & Rhymes  •  Destination Out  •  Frequencies  •  Groove  •  No Future  •  Pop Rocks  •  Wood, Wires & Whiskey  •  Concert Reviews • Motion Reviews --> Recently Reviewed  •  Dvd Reviews  •  Film Reviews  •  Music DVD Reviews  •  Videogame Reviews • Music School --> Need to Know  •  Where I play Contests • Contact --> About Us  • Advertising  • Distribution  • Getting Reviewed  • Getting Published  • Letters To The Editor  • Partnerships  • Subscriptions • Exclaim! Radio --> Aggressive Tendencies Radio  • Beats & Rhymes Radio  • Destination Out Radio  • Frequencies Radio  • Groove Radio  • No Future Radio  • Pop Rocks Radio  • Wood, Wires & Whiskey Radio Exclaim! TV • Home & Latest Issue Browse Issues