The Schomberg Fair
Gospel
By Jason Schneider

When I first heard this Toronto, ON trio on their 2008 debut album, Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground, I was under-whelmed by the too-raw mix of punk and old-time country, punctuated by over-the-top baritone backing vocals. Happily, the band have refined their sound immensely on this 11-track, 32-minute follow-up. The production values are higher, the performances are blazingly tight, and even those back-up vocals, courtesy of bassist Nathan Sidon, are no longer as distracting. This leaves front-man Matt Bahen plenty of opportunities to show off his Dock Boggs-on-speed approach to both songwriting and banjo playing. With most of the original material inspired by Bahen's day job as an outreach worker, there's a constant tug-of-war between sin and salvation throughout the album, and well-executed covers of "Wayfaring Stranger" and "Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down" fit in nicely with Gospel's overarching theme. While it can't be said that the Schomberg Fair have yet to plumb the same dark depths as the Gun Club or 16 Horsepower, they're well on their way. (Hi-Hat/Sonic Unyon)
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The Golden Filter / LA Riots / Junior Boys
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
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Children Of Celebrities - Stereo Bang Bang
Midlake - The Courage Of Others
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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
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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
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