Quinta Brunson Stood Tall on 'SNL,' While Benson Boone Backflipped into Cringe
Quinta Brunson played it cool despite internally nerding out about being back on Saturday Night Live, an assignment she clearly cherishes,
Vish Khanna•May 4, 2025
music reviews Archive
Real Estate's Compilation 'The Wee Small Hours' Is an Ouroboros of Nostalgia
People say that nostalgia runs in 20-year cycles, meaning that we're a bit early for the golden-era blog rock of 2009 to come back — and yet
Alex Hudson•May 2, 2025Car Seat Headrest Graduate with Honours on 'The Scholars'
After accepting my offer to the fictional Parnassus University (despite almost flunking out of its WebQuest), the first semester has finally
Karlie Rogers•May 2, 2025PUP Served Spaghetti and Punk Chaos at Toronto Olive Garden Pop-Up
Have you ever seen a mosh pit in an Olive Garden? I have — and it's all thanks to PUP, who made over Blood Brothers Brewing's Sound Garage
Alex Hudson•May 2, 2025'Thunderbolts*' Isn't Like A24, but It's the Best Marvel Movie in Ages
In the run-up to promoting 'Thunderbolts*', Florence Pugh told Empire the film ended up being an "A24-feeling" indie. Considering that the
Rachel Ho•May 1, 2025Choses Sauvages Continue the Quebec Rock Renaissance on 'III'
Much of the best rock music from Canada is coming from Quebec these days, and that includes Choses Sauvages, the dance-punk band fronted by
Alex Hudson•May 1, 2025Jane Remover Threw Down the Gauntlet in Toronto
Heading into a Jane Remover show, you're likely to wonder which version of the 21-year-old New Jersey-born artist will be presented. It
Noah Ciubotaru•May 1, 2025Hermitess Reads the Cards of Her Own Familial Folkore with 'Death & the Fool'
Calgary singer-songwriter and harpist Jennifer Crighton — a.k.a. Hermitess — isn't afraid of dying, but is wary of tradition being erased
Megan LaPierre•May 1, 2025Hot Docs 2025: 'Lichens Are the Way' Points Humanity in a New Direction
Fungi are in the zeitgeist these days thanks to 'The Last of Us,' but anyone expecting any such excitement from the organisms of
Alex Hudson•Apr 30, 2025PUP Bark Back at Millennial Malaise on 'Who Will Look After the Dogs?'
Cohabitation is a tricky business, and that has never been better emphasized than through the self-deprecating, absorbing lens of PUP. The
Em Medland-Marchen•Apr 30, 2025Jensen McRae Does the Heavy Lifting of Self-Discovery on 'I Don't Know How, but They Found Me!'
I don't know how, but Jensen McRae's spine-chilling single "Wolves" found me in 2020 — a year where every morsel of good, dumb luck had to
Megan LaPierre•Apr 28, 2025This Is Lorelei Punches Up 'Box for Buddy, Box for Star' with MJ Lenderman
This Is Lorelei's 2024 album 'Box for Buddy, Box for Star' introduced some classic country influences into the sonic experimentation
Alex Hudson•Apr 28, 2025Model/Actriz 'Pirouette' into Ecstasy
The year is 2025. You're at Studio 54. You've tried coming for weeks to no avail, but tonight, you're in. Crossing that red velvet rope is
Marko Djurdjić•Apr 28, 2025Hot Docs 2025: 'Spreadsheet Champions' Is an Excel-lent Character Study
The concept alone is irresistible: 'Spreadsheet Champions' introduces viewers to the world of elite Excel users, following six students
Alex Hudson•Apr 25, 2025You Can't Escape Samia's 'Bloodless' Unscathed
The cover of every Samia album so far has seen its auteur obscuring herself more and more from the camera lens. On 2020's 'The Baby,' she's
Megan LaPierre•Apr 25, 2025Metallica's Return to Toronto Was Justice for No One
If you're here, you probably know who Metallica are. Reiterating their history would be more than unnecessary, except to say that they are
Marko Djurdjić•Apr 25, 2025Tom Hardy Unleashes 'Havoc,' Plot Be Damned
Among Hollywood's current crop of directors, only a handful will leave a significant mark on the film industry. Steven Spielberg created
Victor Stiff•Apr 25, 2025Hot Docs 2025: 'The Track' Tracks Bosnia's Challenges to Rebuild
During a scene in The Track set at Calgary's Junior Luge World Cup in 2018, the camera pauses briefly on a poster detailing the story of
Alex Hudson•Apr 25, 2025Hot Docs 2025: 'Agatha's Almanac' Aesthetically Captures Cottagecore Canadian
It's nice to imagine a world where everyone is celebrated with a documentary like 'Agatha's Almanac' — a tender tribute to the humble life
Alex Hudson•Apr 24, 2025Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds Reminded Toronto That This Is the Whole Point
There are few artists who deserve the praise that Nick Cave receives. As an elder stalwart of music in general, Cave has spent the last 40
Marko Djurdjić•Apr 24, 2025'The Accountant 2' Doesn't Quite Balance
'The Accountant 2' takes its audience on quite the ride — I laughed, yawned, ooh-ed and yawned some more. Similar to the first go-around
Rachel Ho•Apr 24, 2025'On Swift Horses' Pulls a Bait-and-Switch on Viewers
Daniel Minahan sets up his film 'On Swift Horses' as a love triangle in which Julius (Jacob Elordi) returns from the Korean War and stays
Rachel Ho•Apr 24, 2025Lorde's "What Was That" Embraces Her Melodramatic Strengths
It's not that that the psych folk of 'Solar Power' was bad, exactly, but Lorde's 2021 album didn't get its claws into me like 2017's
Alex Hudson•Apr 24, 2025AC/DC's Rock N Roll Train Shook Vancouver All Night Long on the Highway to Hell
BC Place was alight with wearable flashing devil horns this past Tuesday (April 22) night, as rock gods AC/DC rumbled through Vancouver on
Leslie Ken Chu•Apr 23, 2025Florence Road Hatch Fully Formed on "Caterpillar"
Sometimes a side chick ain't even a side chick, it's the beautiful and proud nation of Ireland. Florence Road are a quartet of four
Megan LaPierre•Apr 23, 2025CUFF 2025: 'Move Ya Body: The Birth of House' Follows the Expected Beats
The history of house music begins with the death of disco. As is the case with every trend, the synth-y beats of disco showed signs of
Rachel Ho•Apr 23, 2025CUFF 2025: 'Eephus' Is a Sweetly Nostalgic Home Run
There's a gentle rhythm to baseball that mirrors a quiet summer evening around a bonfire — it's cooling off but the day's humidity still
Rachel Ho•Apr 23, 2025SUMAC and Moor Mother Find Startling Cinematic Symmetry on 'The Film'
Describing an album as "genreless" or "genre-defying" can be a temptation rooted in cowardice — the fear of identifying something as
Tom Piekarski•Apr 22, 2025CUFF 2025: 'Shadow of God' Exorcises Trauma with Artful Style
Led by a strong performance from Mark O'Brien, 'Shadow of God' shifts the balance of the exorcist premise while giving winks and nods to
Rachel Ho•Apr 22, 2025'Andor' Season 2 Is the Best 'Star Wars' Has Ever Been (and Probably Will Ever Be)
It's no secret that Disney has struggled with Star Wars ever since acquiring Lucasfilm back in 2012. Between a hot mess of a sequel trilogy
Jericho Tadeo•Apr 22, 2025'Sinners' Goes Deeper Than Film
Sinners is Ryan Coogler's first big studio film not based on any pre-existing IP, and the fact that the film features twin brothers who ret
Rachel Ho•Apr 17, 2025Nathan Fielder Has Been Rehearsing His Whole Career for 'The Rehearsal' Season 2
For the past 15 or so years, Nathan Fielder has had one of the most captivating trajectories in comedy. From deadpan stints on
Nathan Chizen•Apr 16, 2025Mount Eerie Came to Toronto to "Squash the Beef" Between the US and Canada, and to Remind Us That Countries Suck
Phil Elverum has spent much of his career awestruck by the natural world, writing album after album about the soggy majesty of the Pacific
Alex Hudson•Apr 16, 2025caroline and Caroline Polachek's Questions Are the Answer on "Tell me I never knew that"
Welcome to Carolineception. Perhaps inevitably, UK rock collective caroline have joined forces with the inimitable Caroline Polachek for
Megan LaPierre•Apr 15, 2025'Black Mirror' Season 7 Is Some Tasty Slop from the Netflix Trough
Many of us assumed that 'Black Mirror' ending its sixth season with an episode surrounding a supernatural demon in 1979 marked the show's
Sarah Jessica Rintjema •Apr 15, 2025Julien Baker & TORRES Harness the Achy-Breaky Spirit of Country on 'Send a Prayer My Way'
If you didn't know any better, you might assume TORRES (a.k.a. Mackenzie Scott) and Julien Baker's new album, 'Send a Prayer My Way,' was
Dylan Barnabe•Apr 14, 2025Jon Hamm Was in His Happy Place on 'SNL,' While Lizzo Performed Successful Image Rehab
Another consecutively great showing by the cast, writers and crew on 'Saturday Night Live,' where Jon Hamm — whose serious acting pursuits
Vish Khanna•Apr 13, 2025Jimmie Kilpatrick's 'Jimmie' Is a Sweet, Scrappy Conversation with an Old Friend
Listening to Shotgun Jimmie has always felt like a conversation with a particularly witty, articulate friend — a perfect combination of
Alex Hudson•Apr 11, 2025'Drop' Scales the Heights of B Movies
B movies (and sometimes even C movies) can often deliver the most fun and entertaining experiences for audiences. What these films typically
Rachel Ho•Apr 11, 2025Ribbon Skirt's 'Bite Down' Is Irresistible Indigenous Futurism
"They want 2000s Buffy Marie / They want my status, but they're getting my teeth," Tashiina Buswa intones, talk-singing so deadpan you can
Megan LaPierre•Apr 11, 2025'Warfare' Is a Visceral Challenge to Consider the Horrors of War
Time has not been kind to the Iraq War — a conflict based on a lie about "weapons of mass destruction," resulting in a devastating death to
Rachel Ho•Apr 10, 2025Goldie Boutilier's Sold-Out Toronto Show Marked the Arrival of an Icon
Nova Scotia's Goldie Boutilier set the Horseshoe Tavern ablaze last night, with her first-ever sold-out show right here in Toronto marking
Josh Korngut•Apr 10, 2025Bon Iver Steps Toward the Light on 'SABLE, fABLE'
Many of us fans of Bon Iver's era defining 2008 album 'For Emma, Forever Ago' eagerly awaited what sounded like a return to form with the
Kyle Mullin•Apr 10, 2025Underdog Music Doc 'Harkness' Loses Sight of Its Own Purpose
There's a very fine line between obsession and determination. Maria Markina stretches this theme to its limit in her film 'Harkness,' an
Marko Djurdjić•Apr 9, 2025'One to One: John & Yoko' Offers a Fresh Take on the Lennons' Activism
"I'm not about to get myself shot. But I'm still an artist, a revolutionary artist." — John LennonIn the early 1970s, John Lennon and Yoko
Liam McPherson•Apr 9, 2025After Make Before Sound Even Better on Self-Titled Debut EP
It seems as though After appeared on the Spotify homepage of everyone I know at the same time, just about a week before their debut EP was
Sydney Brasil•Apr 8, 2025Jack Black Was Born to Host 'Saturday Night Live'
What can you say? With his commitment to a bit and hyperactive comedic presence, Jack Black was born to host Saturday Night Live, and Elton
Vish Khanna•Apr 6, 2025Falcon Jane's "I Get Myself (Mutt Duet)" Has Both Sides Now
When Falcon Jane released Legacy back in August, "I Get Myself" immediately emerged as my favourite track on the album. The mournful country
Sydney Brasil•Apr 4, 2025Magi Merlin's Freak Demands to Be Matched on 'A Weird Little Dog'
It probably goes without saying at this point that one of my favourite records of 2025 so far is undoubtedly Saya Gray's 'SAYA.' For that
Megan LaPierre•Apr 4, 2025'Adolescence' Has Substance to Match Its Stunning Style
Speak with anyone about 'Adolescence,' and chances are the first thing you'll talk about are the staggering one-take episodes — dizzying
Alex Hudson•Apr 3, 2025