music reviews

Vampire Weekend Attempted to Cover Rush's "Tom Sawyer" in Toronto, Cuz Why Not?

Budweiser Stage, September 24

PUBLISHED Sep 25, 2024

I know it's only rock 'n' roll, but Vampire Weekend really seem to like it. The overarching tone of their latest Toronto show was one of...

Gallant Has It Figured Out on 'Zinc.'

PUBLISHED Sep 24, 2024

Gallant has never been shy about his major label experience. Plagued by changing personnel at Warner Bros. Records, his 2019 sophomore...

Katy Perry's '143' Is So 2000 and Late

PUBLISHED Sep 23, 2024

The not-so-distant past when Katy Perry was one of pop's most fun, relevant exports only feels farther away every time she returns. Since...

The War on Drugs and the National Brought Polished Perfection and Chaotic Theatricality to Toronto

PUBLISHED Sep 21, 2024

The jokes write themselves. Basically anyone I've spoken with about the National's tour with the War on Drugs has made a remark along the...

Nelly Furtado Could Use a Little More Luck on '7'

PUBLISHED Sep 20, 2024

A singular voice in the urban terrain of turn-of-the-millennium Canadian popular music, international phenomenon Nelly Furtado has been ...

Avril Lavigne Brought a Complicated Star Power to Calgary

Scotiabank Saddledome, September 18

PUBLISHED Sep 20, 2024

It was 2003 when I first heard the riff of Avril Lavigne's "Losing Grip," the opening track of 2002's 'Let Go' that skyrocketed the Napanee...

The Tragically Hip's 'No Dress Rehearsal' Tears Down the Myth While Honouring the Legacy

Directed by Mike Downie

PUBLISHED Sep 20, 2024

The Tragically Hip are truly "Canada's band" — both because of the quintessentially Canuck content of Gord Downie's lyrics, and because the...

Charli XCX and Troye Sivan Showed Toronto That There's No One Way to Dominate the Floor

Scotiabank Arena, September 18

PUBLISHED Sep 19, 2024

Charli XCX and Troye Sivan's Sweat tour is a sort of girls-and-gays summit to cap off 'BRAT' Summer, a coming-together of two left-field pop...