Based on the album cover, Emm Gryner’s latest album Torrential looks as though it will be full of solemn songs about relationships and break ups. Gryner, a Juno-nominated singer-songwriter from Ontario created an album with surprising diversity. It switches from upbeat folk to indie-pop to slow emotive pieces with surprising fluidity. Gryner creates unity and… Continue reading Spun: Emm Gryner
Tag: Cd Review
Spun: Wake Owl
The latest album from Juno-nominated group Wake Owl, The Private World Of Paradise, is a dreamier take on average indie music. Smoother and more soft spoken, the album is defined by its hypnotic and serene mood, created by faded instrumentals and light vocals that the indie genre seems to be so fond of. Rhythmic acoustic… Continue reading Spun: Wake Owl
Spun: The Olympic Symphonium
By Katy Pham
Chance To Fate echoes out familiar emotions, as if the trio behind indie folk band the Olympic Symphonium is capturing our collective moments of self-doubt, loneliness and homesickness and putting them into a single album. Instead of being depressing, it serves as a call to “Seize The Day” — fittingly positioned as the album’s first… Continue reading Spun: The Olympic Symphonium
Spun: Bend Sinister
At first glance, it’s obvious that Bend Sinister’s new album Animals will go in some interesting directions. The cover shows the band in a ’70s-era rumpus room filled with kitschy decorations and taxidermied animals — a polar bear head adorns one of the keyboards and there are wolfskin rugs and foxes wearing sunglasses. And that’s… Continue reading Spun: Bend Sinister
Spun: Livingston
By Liv Ingram
I’ve seen enough sci-fi to be weary of artificial intelligence anything, but if the future sounds anything like Livingston’s Artificially Intelligent Folk Songs of Canada, Vol. 1 we needn’t worry as much as I thought. I say this because Livingston is an artificially intelligent computer capable of accessing the whole of Canadian folk music history… Continue reading Spun: Livingston
Spun: Hunting
The self-titled debut album from Vancouver-born Bradley Ferguson’s new band, Hunting, takes somber indie-folk music and adds electronic accents to create a sound that is eerie and unnatural. Ferguson’s vocals are faded out behind the music like an ethereal, ghostly presence. The piano and violin sections add to the mesmerizing feeling of the album. The… Continue reading Spun: Hunting
Spun: The Royal Oui
By Jocelyn Yet
Vancouver’s Ari Shine and Adrienne Pierce come together to form The Royal Oui. The pair’s self-titled album is a follow up to their Forecast EP. Shine and Pierce create a true-to-folk journey through love with a romantic and melodic feel. Both bring extensive musical experience to the table, which is more than evident in their… Continue reading Spun: The Royal Oui
Spun: Kalle Mattson
This collection of upbeat and emotive folk-rock music has a huge variation of track backgrounds, ranging from hard and fast drum rhythms to soft piano sets to electronic background notes. It showcases Kalle Mattson’s eclectic musical style. The songs on the album continually flip between having a strong steady beat, with energetic hooks and solid… Continue reading Spun: Kalle Mattson
Spun: Alejandra Ribera
By Kathy Pham
Canadian singer Alejandra Ribera is a remarkable musician. From her first song she begins a journey that spans 12 tracks — seven in English, four in Spanish and a single French-English duet. Much like Ribera herself, “La Boca” crosses continents and languages effortlessly. She brought a little piece of Argentina back with her in the… Continue reading Spun: Alejandra Ribera
Spun: Down With Webster
Down with Webster’s music is a blend of pop and rap with distinct electronic accents which create a more complex sound than traditional pop music. Their new album Party For Your Life, with prominent vocals and a deep driving bass, can easily be classified as punk, yet each song has its own rap section which… Continue reading Spun: Down With Webster