Album Reviews

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  TONA's Experiments Pay Off on 'Good Energy'

  PUBLISHED Jun 8, 2021

  Few rappers are better at getting listeners to chant along than TONA. "Closing Sermon," from the Toronto MC's new album Good Energy, boasts...

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  'Islomania' Is Islands' Danciest Album Yet, Even in the Bleak Moments

  PUBLISHED Jun 7, 2021

  It's been almost two decades since Nick Thorburn closed the Unicorns' 2003 album, Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?, by singing, "I've...

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  Halifax Punk Supergroup Cluttered Don't Waste a Second on 'Accidents' EP

  PUBLISHED Jun 4, 2021

  In this age of deluxe editions, extended albums and endless Spotify remixes, it's refreshing to blast through something short and precise....

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  Atreyu's 'Baptize' Has All the Lasting Impact of a Post-Energy Drink Buzz

  PUBLISHED Jun 3, 2021

  In a much-publicized 2018 interview with Rock Sound, former Atreyu vocalist Alex Varkatzas claimed the band "invented metalcore," before go...

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  Liz Phair's 'Soberish' Is Complete Indie Pop Chaos

  PUBLISHED Jun 3, 2021

  Although Liz Phair preceded her latest LP with three of indie rock's most-maligned albums, the Chicago artist has afforded herself so much...

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  boy wonder Balances Garage Rock Antics and Emotional Nuance on 'Kinda Blue Too'

  PUBLISHED Jun 3, 2021

  Not to be confused with Drake's producer, boy wonder is Toronto-based filmmaker/musician Ryan Faist. His debut album, Kinda Blue Too, tells...

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  Japanese Breakfast's 'Jubilee' Celebrates Life in All of Its Heartbreaking Beauty

  PUBLISHED Jun 2, 2021

  Japanese Breakfast's third studio album, Jubilee, is a paradox: simultaneously strong and delicate. It satisfies like a Shakespearean comed...

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  cleopatrick Give Drums-and-Guitar Rock a Hip-Hop Twist on 'BUMMER'

  PUBLISHED Jun 2, 2021

  Hailing from what is described self-deprecatingly as Nowheretown in their press release, we feel it our patriotic duty to inform you that p...