Naomi Scott Will Have Horror Fans Grinning in 'Smile 2'
Parker Finn's 2022 feature directorial debut, 'Smile,' could have been easy to pigeonhole as a younger sibling to 'It Follows.' The two
Karlie Rogers•Oct 17, 2024
music reviews Archive
Porridge Radio Look to the Heavens on 'Clouds in the Sky They Will Always Be There for Me'
A Porridge Radio song is catharsis in action. Lead singer Dana Margolin always sounds like she's on the precipice of passing out, which
Dylan Barnabe•Oct 17, 2024High Vis Are Post-Originality on 'Guided Tour'
All "post-" genres are fucking stupid. It's true. Sorry to burst the bubble, but someone had to do it. Adding "post" to genres is a lazy
Marko Djurdjić•Oct 17, 2024The Inspiring 'Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story' Is More "Super" Than "Man"
From the minute Christopher Reeve flew into the public conscious, he was an elevated being — out of this world, even. But after his
Rachel Ho•Oct 17, 2024Karate Can't Quite 'Make It Fit' on Their Return
Over a decade and six albums that marked the turn of the last century, Boston's Karate chopped together an aesthetic that combined elements
Eric Hill•Oct 17, 2024Panda Bear and Cindy Lee's "Defense" Unites Two of Music's Great Pop Deconstructionists
On the aughts indie pop pinnacle 'Person Pitch,' Panda Bear channeled the very familiar sounds of '50s and '60s pop into something
Alex Hudson•Oct 16, 2024'Shrinking' Rises to Its Tall Order in Season 2
A great television season is hard to pull off, but following it up with another comes with added pressure to stick with the core ideals that
Matthew Simpson •Oct 16, 2024Fontaines D.C. Reached a Fever Pitch in Montreal
There was a palpable excitement in the room at a packed MTELUS, as fans eagerly awaited the members of Fontaines D.C. to file onto the
Wesley McLean•Oct 13, 2024Ariana Grande Absolutely Sang as 'Saturday Night Live' Host
With a second solid writing and performance week in a row, 'Saturday Night Live' was very entertaining, with a dynamic hosting turn by
Vish Khanna•Oct 13, 2024Touché Amoré Find the Centre on 'Spiral in a Straight Line'
Post-hardcore titans Touché Amoré still have more to say. Somehow it's already been fifteen years since the five-piece from L.A. made their
Paul Dika•Oct 11, 2024The Linda Lindas Are Suited to the Times on 'No Obligation'
The Linda Lindas have come a long way since screaming about a "Racist, Sexist Boy" at the LA Public Library in 2021. And despite their
Jordan Currie•Oct 11, 2024The Nauseating 'Terrifier 3' Anoints a New Classic Horror Villain
When Art the Clown and his Terrifier franchise officially arrived in 2016, most viewers hesitated to recognize the brutal antagonist as any
Josh Korngut•Oct 11, 2024Pharrell Williams's LEGO Doc 'Piece by Piece' Is Phun for the Whole Phamily
For a guy who has produced entire albums of grimy coke raps and was in that gross "Blurred Lines" video, Pharrell Williams has maintained a
Alex Hudson•Oct 11, 2024'Woman of the Hour' Can't Avoid the Usual True Crime Playbook
The world already has more than enough entertainment about serial killers, but 'Woman of the Hour' at least tries to do something different
Alex Hudson•Oct 11, 2024Famous Freak Out at the Fringes on 'Party Album'
If you search "famous band" on Google right now, this broad query will likely bring up a Reddit post from r/music or perhaps a visual list
Kyle Kohner•Oct 10, 2024Klô Pelgag Casts a New Spell on 'Abracadabra'
Few singer-songwriters in the Quebec Francophone scene have a knack for drama and dense orchestrations as Klô Pelgag does. Yet, on
Bruno Coulombe•Oct 10, 2024Chat Pile Won't Look Away from the Horror on 'Cool World'
In Ralph Bakshi's 'Cool World,' a femme fatale in a supposedly "created" cartoon world uses her wits and her sexuality to try and overcome
Marko Djurdjić•Oct 9, 2024Balance and Composure Are Back in Fighting Form on 'with you in spirit'
When the members of Balance and Composure were on the cusp of breaking up, they already knew it was a mistake. Internal divisions
Owen Morawitz•Oct 9, 2024The Personal Trumps the Political in 'The Apprentice'
Ahead of a Toronto critics screening, 'The Apprentice' director Ali Abbasi told the room full of critics that he would be returning after
Rachel Ho•Oct 8, 2024'Bonjour Tristesse' Says Hello to a New Canadian Talent
There's something about a lazy holiday. Lounging around on long afternoons and warm nights make for easy days. It's easy to get lost in the
Matthew Simpson •Oct 8, 2024'40 Acres' Is a Tried-and-True Post-Apocalypse Story
It is interesting to chart our vision of what the post-apocalypse might be. The shortage is never the same, but the outcome always is
Matthew Simpson •Oct 8, 2024Japandroids Finally Hit the Brakes on 'Fate & Alcohol'
The road beckons Japandroids. In song and on stage, there's always another bar, another girl or another gig to get to. They're a screaming
Ian Gormely•Oct 8, 2024Caribou Is a Shapeshifter on 'Honey'
It's hard to imagine improving on this year's bounty of electronic music from the likes of Four Tet, Floating Points
Dylan Barnabe•Oct 7, 2024Eliza Niemi Played Into the Bit at Project Nowhere
"I am Eliza Niemi," Eliza Niemi introduced herself to a quiet house last night at the Baby G. "The band is also called Eliza Niemi
Tom Beedham•Oct 7, 2024Nilüfer Yanya Opened the Loop in Toronto
It was almost 10:30 before Nilüfer Yanya graced Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre in the ever so slight chill of October's first Saturday
Megan LaPierre•Oct 6, 2024Lightning Bolt Made the Walls Sweat at Toronto's Project Nowhere
Their breakneck guerilla-style live shows the stuff of underground legend, Lightning Bolt have built a name on over 30 years grinding
Tom Beedham•Oct 6, 2024Coldplay Were Too Corny for 'SNL,' but Nate Bargatze and the Lonely Island Picked Up the Slack
Comedian Nate Bargatze returned and again proved himself to be a great host, while Coldplay again demonstrated why they're a tad too corny
Vish Khanna•Oct 6, 2024Leah Singer and Lee Ranaldo Forged a New Road Ahead at Toronto's Project Nowhere
Moments before hurling his guitar over his audience's heads, Lee Ranaldo swept its headstock along the floor, thrummed the backside of
Tom Beedham•Oct 5, 2024Pelada Took Their Last Stand at Project Nowhere in Toronto
"You know, just because we're disbanded doesn't mean you have to not buy our songs on Bandcamp. It means you should continue to buy
Tom Beedham•Oct 5, 2024At Project Nowhere 2024, Toronto Experienced the Patriarchy
Of all the possible spawn points available to drop into the choose-your-own-adventure bar crawl format of Project Nowhere's second annual
Tom Beedham•Oct 4, 2024'Saturday Night' Is a Stress Dream
"Are you ready to laugh?" director Jason Reitman asked the audience at the Princess of Wales Theatre before the screening of
Alex Hudson•Oct 4, 2024'Joker: Folie à Deux' Est Très Terrible
Like a rebellious rock band that unexpectedly goes from playing in dive bars to stadiums off their debut album, Todd Phillips's 'Joker
Courtney Small•Oct 4, 2024Don't 'Hold Your Breath' for This Barren Dustbowl Thriller
When Sarah Paulson is billed as the lead in anything, especially a psychological thriller, it's almost always a winning combination. After
Marriska Fernandes•Oct 3, 2024The Smile Could Have Cut Out Some of 'Cutouts'
I knew it would only be a matter of time before the Smile went through their 'Kid A' phase, but I had no idea it would be so soon. I was
Stephan Boissonneault•Oct 3, 2024'The Outrun' Can't Keep Pace with Saoirse Ronan
Based on a memoir by Amy Liptrot about addiction and recovery, Saoirse Ronan delivers a touching and powerful performance as Rona, a young
Rachel Ho•Oct 3, 2024Chris Oday Enchanted the Ghosts at Highlands Festival
The smoke from dying morning fires was made silver by the afternoon sunlight slanting through the red pine trees, leaving the air around
Alisha Mughal•Oct 3, 2024'Matt and Mara' Simmers with Subtlety and Some of Canada's Finest Cinematic Talent
When Anne meets Matt at a friend's wedding in Kazik Radwanski's 2019 film Anne at 13,000 ft, the latter's presence is felt immediately. The
Alexa Margorian•Oct 2, 2024La Force Finds the Eye of the Storm with "protection"
It was befitting that the album artwork for La Force's great 2023 album 'XO SKELETON' was a black and white image of Ariel Engle covered in
Megan LaPierre•Oct 2, 2024SOPHIE's Posthumous Self-Titled Is a Bittersweet Party
It's been almost four years since SOPHIE's death. The experimental producer and rising avant-garde pop star was unlike anyone we'd seen
Josh Korngut•Oct 1, 2024Drug Church Continue Their Ascent on 'PRUDE'
Longevity is hard to come by for most hardcore bands, and understandably so. Many struggle to harness and maintain the ethos and style
Paul Dika•Oct 1, 2024TEKE::TEKE Converted the Non-Believers at Highlands
The audience refused to leave at the end of Montreal psych-rock band TEKE::TEKE's performance at Highlands. A surging ovation carried
Alisha Mughal•Oct 1, 2024At Highlands Music Festival, Georgia Harmer Cherished the Minutiae
Georgia Harmer and her band couldn't decide whether to keep their sunglasses on during their early-evening performance at Highlands
Alisha Mughal•Oct 1, 2024Jonah Yano Made Thought Tangible at Highlands Music Festival
The music at Highlands Music Festival is carefully scheduled at three stages littered across Camp Walden. There is the Main Stage
Alisha Mughal•Oct 1, 2024Skratch Bastid and Friends Brought the Bounce to POP Montreal
At the top of his set at Skratch Bastid's BBQ cookout, DJ Nu-Mark hilariously recollected having "bottles thrown on me by Green Day
Antoine-Samuel Mauffette Alavo•Sep 30, 2024Nabihah Iqbal Was a Dream at POP Montreal
I was excited to settle down and witness what I considered one of POP Montreal 2024's strongest bookings — London-born producer, songwriter
Antoine-Samuel Mauffette Alavo•Sep 30, 2024Naima Bock's 'Below a Massive Dark Land' Hides a Universe of Light
The title of Naima Bock's sophomore record is a bit of a misnomer — the immense, looming weight of a phrase like 'Below a Great Dark Land'
Kaelen Bell•Sep 30, 2024The 50th Season Premiere of 'SNL' Brought Out the Stars but Not the Laughs
An ailing Jean Smart suppressed her coughs but not the questionable quality of the material, and Jelly Roll was a mesmerizing and impassion
Vish Khanna•Sep 29, 2024Kate Winslet Brings 'Lee' into Focus
Ellen Kuras's feature directorial debut Lee puts photojournalist Lee Miller in focus, a woman who refused to be defined as model or muse, b
Marriska Fernandes•Sep 27, 2024'Die Alone' Is a Zombie Film with Heart and Braaaains
Die Alone could have been a typical zombie film sent in an apocalyptic near-future, and I don't doubt that, in that form, it could have bee
Rachel Ho•Sep 27, 2024Leif Vollebekk Speaks to the Past on 'Revelation'
For some artists, the songwriting muse visits through acts of conscious collaboration. For Leif Vollebekk, the solitude of the
Em Medland-Marchen•Sep 27, 2024