music reviews

Wares' Cassia Hardy Makes Edmonton Sound Just Like Heaven on "Empress"

Exclaim! Staff Picks

PUBLISHED Mar 18, 2025

Wares leader Cassia Hardy has released a solo single paying tribute to the Empress Ale House, an Edmonton pub and venue that shut down back...

jasmine.4.t and Phoebe Bridgers Offer an Effortless Exercise in Contrasts on "Guy Fawkes Tesco Dissociation"

Exclaim! Staff Picks

PUBLISHED Mar 17, 2025

Phoebe Bridgers announced plans to "take a massive step back" in 2024, and she's been true to her word — but she unassumingly emerged from...

Shiv and the Carvers Were Powerful, Playful and Pissed Off in Toronto

The Baby G, March 14

PUBLISHED Mar 15, 2025

From pounding blasts and whip-smart ragers, to sensual, rhythmic rockers, Toronto's Shiv and the Carvers blend numerous genres seamlessly...

Jonathan Personne Charts a Majestic Power Pop Course on 'Nouveau Monde'

Exclaim! Staff Picks

PUBLISHED Mar 14, 2025

'Nouveau Monde' mixes together unreleased songs from different eras of Jonathan Personne's writing, and a press release even goes so far as...

Jordan Firstman Comes in Hard with "I wanna see my friends dicks"

Exclaim! Staff Picks

PUBLISHED Mar 14, 2025

I know I've been taking some liberties with my Staff Picks lately, but as Exclaim!'s resident the Dare apologist, hear me out on this one...

cootie catcher Open Up the Future of Twee Pop on 'Shy at first'

PUBLISHED Mar 13, 2025

Do you ever wish you could conjure up all that unshackled energy you had as a kid and experience life as an adult through that wide-eyed...

Hannah Cohen Makes the Winding Road an Heirloom on "Dusty"

Exclaim! Staff Picks

PUBLISHED Mar 12, 2025

Every song I've heard from New York-based singer-songwriter Hannah Cohen's forthcoming fourth album 'Earthstar Mountain' has been good — and...

Wolf Parade's 'Apologies to the Queen Mary' Toronto Anniversary Show Was a Coronation

March 11, 2025

PUBLISHED Mar 12, 2025

Nothing about Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner suggests nostalgia. Throughout each of their multi-decade careers, the two musicians have jumped...