Pretty nice but a bit dynamically stagnant for a while.

Really good bluegrass and fantastic weird bluegrass. There's plenty to wet both appetites, and the pacing of it is spot on. A great listen all around, despite a couple "wait didn't I already hear this song" moments.

Some seriously tedious shit.

It's like if Bon Iver's 22, A Million was musical theatre.

This album toes the line between right on the nose and too on the nose the whole way through.

There are some cool sounds here and there which give at least a bit of a refresher throughout, but thematically, lyrically, and musically (to an extent), the content is pretty much your standard made-to-sell pop stuff. And unlike most pop, this isn't even designed to be fun.

One hour. One idea.

It sounds pretty classic even though it's from 2014, which is a nice enough listen, but it's also why the record sounds by-the-book for much of the time. Just wish it had a bit more grit to it. Maybe there's just too much intentional Stampede appeal in here for me to get on board fully. Hard for a 'Berta boy not to like at least a little, though.

I'm admittedly unfamiliar with rap/hip hop. That said, this is like listening to a combo play the head, trade solos, and circle back, over and over. It's so intricately done, but all seemingly by instinct. Chessboxin' indeed.

There are so many interesting instrumental interludes and interjections throughout this tracklist, all supported by Tamara Lindeman's pure, easy vocal performance (at times something like a modern Joni Mitchell, at least in previous work). It's refreshing to hear this degree of freedom and creativity in this genre, and it's all the better that sonically, this record is very well done. My main qualm is that, generally, the creativity doesn't go far enough. The feel within each song is static. ... read more

Sharing so many characteriatics with Attack in Black's earlier catalogue - most notably (and enjoyably), the trademark of barely constrained quaintness - Fake Love Songs stirs friendly reminiscence about one of the best indie acts the nation has seen.

Plaskett peaked early, and he peaked here. All of his sappiness, which becomes less bearable with each subsequent release and each step deeper into the clutches of CBC popularity, finds its home in the witty storytelling of Ashtray Rock. It's a weird-but-welcoming musical package of nearest-available fun ideas and freedom-seeking rock 'n' roll instincts. And it listens very well.

A really good time. A Canadian indie gem.

Workin' for the Music Man brings an injection of classic country to Romano's earlier, quainter indie-folk stylings in Attack in Black's Curve of the Earth and Years.

The result is nice. A tad repetitive when it comes to tempos and tones on the B-side, but nice songs regardless. A nice record.

A few commentators on here have made comparisons to Hop Along, saying that Lomelda is just more chilled out or low key. I'm not so convinced. We have pretty strong evidence of what laid back Hop Along sounds like in Frances Quinlan's Likewise, and it's not much similar to Hannah. If we want to make a more accurate comparison, I'd say that the work Lomelda has done on Hannah is more like a slightly cooler Frankie Cosmos. Slightly. And, said politely, Frankie Cosmos are not the most compelling ... read more

Visions of the Higher Dream is of the same exceptional calibre as any of Daniel Romano's musical escapades. It comfortably sits atop much of his discography since the first solo work a decade ago, combining the spaghetti western elements of his early work with the indie/psych rock of Modern Pressure and the wily borderlessness of Finally Free.

My only qualm is that, at length, it feels more like a collection of like-minded songs than an album with a concerted artistic vision. That taken into ... read more

Cardinal had an abundance of youthful innocence and playfulness, but lacked flow. Those album-flow issues were corrected on Skylight, but that release lacked the youthfulness that delivered the gems of Pinegrove's breakout. Perhaps the band lacked planning at first, and then planned too heavily afterwards. An overcorrection.

Marigold feels quite similar to Skylight in that regard, but it lacks the emotional closeness of it's predecessor. And while it's a nice listen at full-length, the group ... read more

There's some kind of youthful drive to this record that feels entirely new with every repeat listen. While some ideas and songs feel a bit undercooked, it's the tone of innocent, roaming, spontaneous creation that sets Cardinal apart from the pack. Here, Pinegrove delivers writing and playing for the sake of writing and playing. A special record.

Pinegrove follows their breakout record with something subdued, focussed, and altogether beautiful. While headman Evan Stephens Hall's songwriting and performance retains its subtlety and strength, the musical lines drawn through the record are more masterfully laid than the group's previous works. With the ebb and flow of slight-of-hand transitions interspersed between more anthemic alt-country tracks, Skylight goes down very well in full.

There's no doubt that Deftones makes awesome noise, in the most dictionary-definition sense of the word. It's massive guitars and cranked up snares. It sounds big.

Disappointingly, however awesome their noise may be, the musicality of Ohms is best described as abjectly mundane. The songwriting throughout this record is most at fault - as far as creativity goes, it leaves a lot to be desired. After the first few tracks, it's all consistently recycled tones, uninspiring performances, and ... read more

One of the most substantial crescendos of the greatest decade in Canadian music history. Two thumbs, way up.