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Album Reviews

The Ambience Affair: Patterns EP [Album Review]

The Ambience Affair

It’s not every day that a simple 4 song EP can blow your mind faster than a shotgun in a grunge musician’s double wide trailer. The Ambience Affair‘s sophomore EP, Patterns, does just that. Unless you have been well in the loop since their first EP, Fragile Things, this is sure to be the group that will be leaving you with questions such as, “where the hell have I been?” or “should I cut the world apart because I didn’t hear these guys earlier?” These guys could easily be your favorite indie rocker’s favorite indie rockers. Read More »The Ambience Affair: Patterns EP [Album Review]

Shiny & The Spoon: Shiny & The Spoon [Album Review]

  • Cyndi 

Shiny & The Spoon

There is something young and lovely about a ukulele. By its simple and unassuming sound we are taken to images of sun-lit woods and sweet-air beaches. We hear a ukulele and we know something good is bound to happen. Such is the spirit of duo act Shiny & the Spoon. Comprised of Amber Nash and Jordan Neff, the two Americana folksters work whimsically together in creating bare-boned songs of hazy nights and mellow mornings, sounds capable of churning loneliness into solitude. Read More »Shiny & The Spoon: Shiny & The Spoon [Album Review]

Birds of California: Great Expectations [Album Review]

Birds of California

You may recognize the names Tim Brown, Donna McKean and Stewart Anderson. The first two were key members of Lunchbox, and the latter is the Boyracer master drummer. Together, the created a new project called Birds Of California and filled it with hazy indie-pop/punk guitars and infectious, upbeat vocals. Rounding out the group are Amr Toppozada on guitar and moog, and Jeremy Goody providing horns and keyboards. “Great Expectations” is their first single and it can be found on the free digital single series from Tweefort Records. Read More »Birds of California: Great Expectations [Album Review]

The Other 49: A Cold Open EP [Album Review]

The Other 49

A chorus is a terrible thing to waste. The Other 49 obviously think this as well. Their debut EP, A Cold Open, is a definitive collection of the build ups leading to a systematic and tectonic shifting collection of balls-to-the-walls hooks and ladders. This is not to say the rest is all filler, but the focus is obviously on beating the hearts much like “And as we wind on down the road…” did for us on “Stairway to Heaven”. In retrospect, this might be exactly what they accomplished. Read More »The Other 49: A Cold Open EP [Album Review]

Psalmships: Kronotsky [Album Review]

psalmships

Kronotsky by Psalmships opens with a soft hum that remains so throughout opening track “Resurrectionist”, building and growing subtly with the clash of post-rock drone meets minimalist folk. It’s a slight departure from the true minimalism of which those familiar with Josh Britton’s music know well, and it continues in “Smaller Constellation”, a song title pulled from an album Britton released under earlier moniker The Sweetheart Parade. Combining the world of drone-friendly folk with the sensibilities of ethereal minimalist drone may not seem groundbreaking, but they are in Kronotsky. The album has an eerie nature to it that is downright haunting. Read More »Psalmships: Kronotsky [Album Review]

Home Compilation Vol. 1 [Album Review]

home

Sharing is caring. Home is where the heart is. These are two very cliché sayings we have been hearing our entire lives. But in the realm of independent music, they have taken on whole new purposes. The fine folks at Rash Records greatly understand this new purpose. So many artists are spreading their beautiful words almost entirely from home and sending it out on the super information highway for the entire world to hear. The days of peddling cassette tapes at your local harbor or public park and depending on direct word of mouth are over. Rash’s compilation, Home, is a wonderful collection of living quarters-based folk and acoustic-based artists wishing to share with you a fresh cup of coffee in the figurative living room recording studio.

Read More »Home Compilation Vol. 1 [Album Review]
No Kids' Nicholas Krgovich

No Kids: Judy At The Grove EP [Album Review]

If you’ve been following the doings of Vancouver, BC’s Nicholas Krgovich, you know he’s been a busy fellow. Maintenant by Gigi has garnered substantial hype this year and the band’s debut LP certainly warrants the attention. Krgovich is back under the guise of No Kids, whose last release joined together sounds not typically associated with pop music. Despite recording a 60s do-wop pop record under Gigi and performing under the P:ano moniker since the band’s last release, Come Into My House, No Kids picks up pretty much where they left off in 2008. Judy At The Grove has a similar cool pop meets funky R&B.

Read More »No Kids: Judy At The Grove EP [Album Review]

Twin Sister: Color Your Life [Album Review]

Twin Sister

Twin Sister pushes out one atmospheric pop song after another on Color Your Life, the band’s second EP. Opening tune “The Other Side Of Your Face” begins smooth and soft, but gradually grows into a minimalistic, calming fuzz drone by the end of the song. One part post-rock jam and one part electro-shoe-gaze drone, Twin Sister’s music flirts awkwardly between the hip, nerdy teen girl and the socially inept dweeb she once was. The insecurity is all for show. “All Around And Away We Go” adds in a beat that screams cool, while “Phenomenons” concludes the EP with an electro-drone. The experience is quite like having a pre-drunk buzz for the first time in months. It feels so good, you just want to sit in the corner and smile. Read More »Twin Sister: Color Your Life [Album Review]

Uniform Motion: Pictures [Album Review]

  • Cyndi 

Uniform Motion

Something in the world has shifted because yet again I am finding myself setting aside the mastery of electric guitars and songs for slower, seemingly simpler sounds, such as those of the folk band Uniform Motion. While we miss out on their rock art concept of sketches and soundscapes created during live performance, we still manage to experience a layer of unfamiliar, emotional imagery not yet touched upon by the majority of folk artists. The acoustic guitar is doused with melodies reminiscent of Jose Gonzalez, yet the intimately wispy vocals are unique. Read More »Uniform Motion: Pictures [Album Review]

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