By Jen Anthony
My pick for best CD of the year has to go to the talented twins known as Tegan and Sara, for their CD entitled This Business of Art. This duo is very talented and on their disc they link great lyrics, mixed tempos, and good beats to create a refreshingly unique folk sound. This is… Continue reading The Business of Art
By Ken Clarke
The double trio format is definitely on hold for a while as Robert Fripp and crew present us with a slimmed down version of King Crimson. This largely instrumental CD combines technical musicianship with sophisticated electronics. The experimental progressions showcase the expertise of the players, who are quite at home with complicated and unusual arrangements.… Continue reading Construkction of Light
By Mike Carron
It’s been over a decade since groups like De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest brought hip hop to the forefront of the music scene. Black Eyed Peas are here to show that it still isn’t dead. This year has seen a crossover of hip hop music with groups like Jurassic 5 thrilling the… Continue reading Bridging the Gap
By Fred Vokey
If a Beverly Hills 90210 episode were set at the Calgary Stampede (maybe Luke insists on plugging the DVD release of his seminal 8 Seconds) and they go to a bar for the inevitable romantic conflict montage, John Ford would be the band playing. Basically, it’s radio-friendly, alt. country music played by a band whose… Continue reading Self-Titled
By Jason Carnew
If you enjoy the electronica scene and you don’t know about Junior Vasquez, then you should. He has been around since time began and is gracing Twilo’s first CD release. The first of two CD’s is an amazing cross-genre mix of just about everything. The album starts with Samba/Italian house beats and moves with great… Continue reading What Is My Name
By Ken Clarke
Tony Levin has a reputation for being one of the hottest bass players in the business, and deservedly so. Having been a long-time member of King Crimson and Peter Gabriel’s band, he’s also recorded with the California Guitar Trio and John Lennon, to name a few of the diverse artists who have sought out his… Continue reading Waters of Eden
By Paul Margach
Poor Valentina Tereshkova. Despite being the first woman in space, she remains even more obscure than Laika, the first canine to orbit the Earth. Vostok 6 deftly combines folk music with ’70s synth-pop in order to tell her extraordinary tale. The dark overtones of Pink Floyd’s Meddle and David Bowie’s Low resonate and the chill… Continue reading Vostok 6
Derived from a Rage Against the Machine-type mold, Downshift shouts out over grinding and distorted electric guitars. Above the simple bass lines, the lyrics bounce off each chord and fly in the opposite direction. The use of simplicity and repetition only results in a lack of variation in their six songs. Downshift is made up… Continue reading Semi-Automatic
By Matt Oakes
Paul Oakenfold, the celebrated 1999 Guinness Book of World Records’ "World’s most successful club DJ" is at it once again. His latest offering, Perfecto Presents Another World, embodies the same signature driving trance that marked his place in the electronic medium for the last decade. The distinguishing feature of Another World is Oakenfold’s attitude coming… Continue reading Perfecto Presents Another World
By Andrew Ross
This is Yanni’s first release of new music since Tribute, and his fans will agree it has been worth the wait. In typical Yanni style, his name is in the credits five times; he personally composed, arranged, mixed and engineered the music, and played all the instruments. Unsurprisingly, the recording was done at his private… Continue reading If I Could Tell You