At Rifflandia, the Beaches Cut to the Feeling
As much as the Toronto pop-rock quartet have enjoyed their success in recent years, that success came from a difficult time. Their most
Alan Ranta•Sep 17, 2024
comedy reviews Archive
At Rifflandia 2024, Crash Test Dummies Turned Back the Clock
Even at the relatively early timeslot of six p.m., legendary Winnipeg folksy alt-rockers Crash Test Dummies were a fair few minutes late
Alan Ranta•Sep 17, 2024L7 Came Out Swinging at Rifflandia
Although I came of age in the '90s, I somehow missed the L7 train. At the time of their performance at Rifflandia, I hadn't seen
Alan Ranta•Sep 17, 2024Past and Present Collide on P:ano's Achingly Beautiful 'ba ba ba'
It's a Tuesday, and P:ano have released their first album in 19 years. The day of the week is significant because, the last time the group
Alex Hudson•Sep 17, 2024Oliver Tree Brought the Weird to Rifflandia
Oliver Tree is an absolute weirdo. Like, did you know he's actually from Victoria? You don't need to look that up. He lived here until he
Alan Ranta•Sep 16, 2024Sophie Ellis-Bextor Gave Murder on the Main Stage at Rifflandia
This set took a long time to get going. Literally, English singer/songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor didn't hit the stage until almost a
Alan Ranta•Sep 16, 2024Cat Power Sang Dylan and Conjured the Past at Ottawa's CityFolk
In the indie rock sphere, there may be no better interpreter of the American Songbook than Cat Power's Chan Marshall. Throughout her
Daniel Sylvester•Sep 16, 2024Fucked Up Were Powerful and Punctual in Ottawa
After a four-and-a-half-year layoff following the brilliant 'Dose Your Dreams,' Fucked Up have launched into their "work-your-ass-off" phase
Daniel Sylvester•Sep 16, 2024Rezz Let the Bass Do the Talking at Rifflandia
Since Fyre Festival founder Ja Rule attempted to overstay his welcome, pushing a track or two beyond his set time until his DJ had to tell
Alan Ranta•Sep 16, 2024Slayyyter's Rifflandia Set Was Wet (Literally) and Wild
Stuck with a relatively early set at six p.m., it was surprising that Slayyyter was legally allowed to perform in the daylight. If you've
Alan Ranta•Sep 16, 2024Tokyo Police Club Took a Well-Earned Bow at Rifflandia
Doubtlessly one of the most bittersweet moments in the festival's storied history, Rifflandia 2024 launched the final tour of Newmarket
Alan Ranta•Sep 16, 2024The Love Was Heavy at King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's Vancouver Show
The King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard Creative Universe (KGATLWCU) reaches far and wide — from every t-shirt design to the free
Vanessa Tam •Sep 13, 2024'Relay' Drops the Baton Between Plot Twists
'Relay' begins on a high note and rides that wave for at least a third of its runtime. Unfortunately any goodwill accumulated becomes
Rachel Ho•Sep 13, 2024'Bring Them Down' Will Bring You Down — in the Best Way
Some people go to the movies to be whisked away by romance, others for laughter, many for an adrenaline rush. Me though, I like having my
Rachel Ho•Sep 13, 2024WE ARE WINTER’S BLUE AND RADIANT CHILDREN Make the Good Themselves on 'NO MORE APOCALYPSE FATHER'
"I never know how I feel on an overcast day when the sun is still bright despite the grayness and the light is very flat"
Tom Beedham•Sep 13, 2024The Dare Wants You to Free Your Ass on 'What's Wrong with New York?'
It's a great time in the nostalgia cycle for anyone who spent their formative horny years in skinny jeans. Sure, "indie sleaze" has
Sydney Brasil•Sep 13, 2024Sarah Davachi Embraces the Divide on 'The Head as Form’d in the Crier’s Choir'
Composer Sarah Davachi's The Head as Form'd in the Crier's Choir is the latest entry in an already remarkable body of modern classical work
Tom Piekarski•Sep 13, 2024The Revolution Is Ready for Prime Time on Snotty Nose Rez Kids' 'RED FUTURE'
Although their cheeky group name perhaps suggests something of a defiant, slacker attitude, Kitamaat rappers Darren "Young D" Metz
Alan Ranta•Sep 13, 2024Nilüfer Yanya Is Caught in a Thrilling Stasis on 'My Method Actor'
Conceptualizing the arch of a songwriter's artistic development can feel like an act of senseless problematization. Unlike judgments of
Tom Piekarski•Sep 13, 2024Flora Rose Transcends the Moment on "Falling Through the Drops of Time"
French indie pop singer-songwriter Flora Rose has been on my radar since I heard "You've Been on My Mind," one of the singles from her great
Megan LaPierre•Sep 12, 2024Chastity's Self-Titled Album Is Both Battle Scar and Open Wound
It's a new era for Chastity, and it starts off — quite literally — with a bang. A single, blown out tom hit is all the warning you're given
Penelope Stevens•Sep 12, 2024Porches' 'Shirt' Is a Freewheeling, Feral Portrait of Suburban America
On the darkly exhilarating sixth studio album from Porches, Aaron Maine is staring at the big sky, ditching school, climbing fences and
Amanda Thacker •Sep 12, 2024Spoon Pushed Through the Pain in Ottawa
Spoon's sustained relevance over the past 28 years was undeniable during their first-ever appearance in Ottawa. Selling out the
Daniel Sylvester•Sep 12, 2024Colin Stetson Finds New Peaks on 'The love it took to leave you'
With each new release, the superlative praise for Colin Stetson's work and abilities cements his position as a singular voice in
Eric Hill•Sep 12, 2024On 'Verbathim,' Nehmasis Is a Clear-Eyed Truth Teller
'Verbathim,' The debut album from Palestinian-Canadian artist Nemahsis (a.k.a. Nemah Hasan) marks the arrival of an impressive new voice
Vijai Kumar Singh•Sep 12, 2024'Transformers One' Is Actually Good?!
It's forgivable to be a little cynical about Transformers in the year 2024. The franchise is seven films deep — eight if we include 1986's
Matthew Simpson •Sep 12, 2024'Speak No Evil' Is a Rare Remake That Improves on the Original
The 2024 remake of Danish film 'Speak No Evil' does a lot more than the original, and leaves audiences much more fulfilled. It's a stylized
Lindsay Clarke•Sep 11, 2024Pulp Were Consummate Stars in Toronto
Pulp should have been enormous. Monstrous, even. Okay, so they were huge, especially overseas, but here on our side of the Atlantic, they
Marko Djurdjić•Sep 11, 2024'Friendship' Made Someone at My Screening Yell "Awful Movie!" at the Director
Tim Robinson has become synonymous with his surreal Netflix series 'I Think You Should Leave,' which is maybe why 'Friendship' feels a bit
Alex Hudson•Sep 11, 2024Hinds' 'Viva Hinds' Is a Playful Reset
Summer wouldn't be the same without a little romance, and that's exactly what pulses through Hinds' lighthearted new record — Carlotta Cosia
Aly Laube•Sep 10, 2024'The Mother and the Bear' Warms a Winnipeg Winter
On a cold Winnipeg evening, a rustling behind a dumpster in an alleyway startles a young woman, Sumi (Leere Park), who slips and falls on
Rachel Ho•Sep 10, 2024'Young Werther' Puts a Fresh Toronto Twist on a Classic
Based on the 1774 novel 'The Sorrows of Young Werther' by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 'Young Werther' follows the time-honoured tradition of
Rachel Ho•Sep 10, 2024'Riff Raff' Is a TIFF Laff
'Riff Raff' is a masterwork of typecasting: there's Jennifer Coolidge as a sloppy drunk, Ed Harris as a gruff patriarch who balances caring
Alex Hudson•Sep 9, 2024'Nightbitch' Has Both Bark and Bite
Of all the human experiences, motherhood is a particularly visceral. There's childbirth, of course, but then there are the the struggles
Alex Hudson•Sep 8, 2024'Shook' Tells a Different Sort of Scarborough Story
Movies set in Scarborough tend to show the beauty of the area through its grit and the trauma that follows. While there's certainly a need
Rachel Ho•Sep 7, 2024'The Life of Chuck' Is a Self-Serious Bore
This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but with saccharine sentimentality and ponderous monologues about the meaning of life. The
Alex Hudson•Sep 7, 2024Anderson .Paak's Star Power Makes 'K-Pops' Pop
Anderson .Paak is hardly the first musician to sidestep from music to movies, but his filmography to date is extremely thin, mostly
Alex Hudson•Sep 7, 2024'Paying for It' Is a Wonderful Bit of Oversharing
The backstory alone is unlike anything else: filmmaker/musician/artist Sook-Yin Lee and cartoonist Chester Brown were in a romantic
Alex Hudson•Sep 7, 2024'Presence' Is an Unexpected Fake-Out
More often than not, Steven Soderbergh's career is spoken of as this kind of Soderbergh movie or that kind of Soderbergh movie. His
Rachel Ho•Sep 6, 2024'The Last Showgirl' Ushers In the Pamassaince
The Pamaissance is here. After 2022's 'Pam & Tommy' reappraised Pamela Anderson as a sympathetic hero, the 2023 doc 'Pamela, a love story'
Alex Hudson•Sep 6, 2024Midwife Follows a Long, Hard Road on 'No Depression in Heaven'
Marvin Heemeyer spent 18 months gathering steel for his Komatsu bulldozer. He was going to layer large metal sheets over the cab and engine
Noah Ciubotaru•Sep 6, 2024'Rose Main Reading Room' Is Peel Dream Magazine's Very Own 50 States Project
I am but a simple millennial indie fan: when I hear trilling woodwinds, I think of Sufjan Stevens. There are 50 States Project vibes all
Alex Hudson•Sep 5, 2024Daniela Andrade Rides a Fearless Momentum on "Biking"
The obsession with biking through Toronto is a strange phenomenon I've noticed since moving here. Obviously it's also just a convenient (and
Megan LaPierre•Sep 5, 2024MJ Lenderman Fights the Wind – And Wins – on the Fantastic 'Manning Fireworks'
"Birds against a heavy wind that wins in the end," mourns MJ Lenderman in the very first words of his new album 'Manning Fireworks'
Myles Tiessen•Sep 5, 2024'The Front Room' Scatelogically Squanders a Great Performance
This year has given audiences no shortage of messy, campy horror films with eccentric villains at their heart — from Nicolas Cage's creepy
Vanessa Sanginiti•Sep 5, 2024'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' Is Yet Another Disappointing Legacy Sequel
Sequels and reboots and remakes, oh my! Audiences have been subjected to these kinds of films for years, but it feels more and more
Vanessa Sanginiti•Sep 5, 2024At FME, Strange Froots Made the Most of Their Time
Not all venues, or set times, are created equal. At a festival like FME, where shows are spread out among transitional venues and more
Scott Simpson•Sep 4, 2024Marie Davidson and Kaya Hoax Were Set Free at FME
Marie Davidson is one of those rare artists that's as comfortable on a mainstream label like Bonsound —for her '80s synth and psych project
Scott Simpson•Sep 4, 2024Haviah Mighty Was an Overqualified Underdog at FME
Depending on who you speak to, the place of hip-hop at the FME is somewhat contentious. Some see the proliferation of rap bookings to being
Scott Simpson•Sep 4, 2024Myriam Gendron Kept It Real and Rapturous at FME
In contrast to the previous night's performance at the Agora des Arts, which started off moderately well attended, tonight's double bill
Scott Simpson•Sep 3, 2024