Articles by Tom Piekarski
Julia Holter Pulls Us Closer Than Ever on 'Something in the Room She Moves'
PUBLISHED Mar 21, 2024
One of the most compelling features of Julia Holter's past records is their beautiful contrivance...
Marnie Stern Returns Guitars Blazing on 'The Comeback Kid'
PUBLISHED Nov 2, 2023
Marnie Stern spent the better part of a decade serving as a beacon of exuberance, vigour and complexity in rock music. Not content to rely...
POP Montreal 2023 Brought Eclecticism and Excitement with Kate NV, Hot Garbage, Loraine James, Hand Habits and More
PUBLISHED Oct 4, 2023
POP Montreal brought no shortage of excitement to the city this year. Celebrating its 22nd instalment, the festival has steadily expanded b...
Water from Your Eyes' 'Everyone's Crushed' Finds Joyous Melody in Chaos
PUBLISHED May 23, 2023
Water from Your Eyes has released one of the most imaginative pop albums of the year. Composed of vocalist Rachel Brown and producer Nate A...
Sudan Archives Pulled Toronto into Her Expansive New World
The Axis Club, October 7
PUBLISHED Oct 9, 2022
Brittney Parks sent her sound through a prism on acclaimed sophomore record Natural Brown Prom Queen, revealing that her Sudan Archives per...
Dean Blunt Returns to Avant-Pop Directness on 'BLACK METAL 2'
PUBLISHED Jun 17, 2021
About halfway through BLACK METAL 2, some 30 seconds into "SEMTEX," Dean Blunt cranks up the delay on a single vocal line. The effect situa...
Andy Stott Offers an Excitingly Different Take on His Trademarks with 'Never the Right Time'
PUBLISHED Apr 15, 2021
When surveying Andy Stott's musical trajectory, 2012's Luxury Problems stands like a monolith. With the masterful manipulation of his one-t...
claire rousay Puts Her Ambient Experimentation in 'a softer focus'
PUBLISHED Apr 7, 2021
On a softer focus, claire rousay has delivered both her most accessible and compositionally daring album to date. Past releases have often...