By Wyatt Anton
The debut release from Calgary natives Chief Navaho is notable for the simple way in which it presents an alternative to mainstream hip hop, to the point where even their ability to make a rap song without having to mention a high-end fashion brand is impressive.Lofthead’s content is more inclusive than your average hip-hop fare.… Continue reading Spun: Chief Navaho
With his sixth album, I Can’t Keep All of Our Secrets, Calgarian Rae Spoon mixes the folk-pop songwriting sensibilities he’s known for with the sounds of modern electronic music — a style integration that has its ups and downs. Spoon’s vulnerable vocal performances fit in well with the spacey electronic backdrop, and nearly every chorus… Continue reading Spun: Rae Spoon
Let me get this out of the way: Tom Waits is the most badass man in music today. Every album he has released feels like it has been made exactly to his specifications, and Bad as Me is no exception. The album feels like it’s coming from a place only Tom Waits has been to… Continue reading Spun: Tom Waits
This album confounds me. That’s not a bad thing, though. It’s intriguing — there are layers to the sonic presentation, and the lyrical prowess of Naish leaves me wondering about some existential crisis I may have every time I finish a track. Perhaps it’s my own personal struggles that prevent me from fully enjoying this… Continue reading Spun: Chris Naish
By Dixon Blume
Honheehonhee label themselves as a pop act on their MySpace page. Although their debut album, Shouts, carries the necessary pep and sing-along sections to support this idea, many aspects of it stray away from the genre. Basic chord progressions break off into hectic jams, clean eff ects turn into fuzz, and pale vocals become layered… Continue reading Spun: Honheehonhee
Think back to the days of ’90s pop music- bubbly tunes, catchy choruses, and a plethora of “I like you, you like me” lyrical themes. Nans & Nat’s debut album, The Right Words, is a variation on these themes that satisfies my bubblegum pop cravings, but its potency is most effective in small doses.The Canadian… Continue reading Spun: Nans & Nat
By Wyatt Anton
Well, I definitely shouldn’t have read Lyrical Militant’s press package claiming that he was straight out of the mean streets of Winnipeg. Actually, I shouldn’t have looked at the sleeve the CD came in either. The pictures on the front are so incoherently juxtaposed that they strip away any artistic merit I could afford to… Continue reading Spun: Lyrical Militant
When she was 18 years old, Markéta Irglová won an Oscar for composing the theme of the movie Once. She continued to perform with a co-star from the film as part of a group called The Swell Season. Now 23, Markéta Irglová has released her first solo album, Anar.Irglová’s music is beautiful. She provides the… Continue reading Spun:Markéta Irglová
Each Sparrow is local talent Simon TJ’s first CD. With this release, the lyricist, pianist and vocalist creates a harmonious yet dark sound using only a piano and his voice. The songs on this pop/soft-rock album explore the contrasting themes of love and loss, and existence and death. On a positive note, his voice is… Continue reading Spun: Simon TJ
By Manal Sheikh
Adam Cohen’s third solo album is much more connected to his family tree than his previous works. In the style of his father, Leonard Cohen, Adam uses a nylon string guitar and his husky and melancholic voice to sing simple, sweet and poetic love songs dedicated, in part, to all his past girlfriends.Like a Man,… Continue reading Spun: Adam Cohen