Composing and recording music for most of his young life, gathering a rather diverse songbook, Montreal resident Sean Nicholas Savage averages about three albums a year. Flamingo is his latest and continues in the flow of simple songs that sometimes borrow from the Motown handbook of smooth romance, hippie freak-folk and ‘80s disco beats, but with a more eccentric bent.
Read More
Category Archives: under review
Sean Nicholas Savage
Flamingo (Arbutus)
by Nathan Pike
The Passenger
\_| (Independent)
by Slavko Bucifal
Not to be confused with the English hardcore act, Vancouver’s version of the Passenger subscribes to a chill electronic vibe that, for a brief moment, delivers Eno-esque sounds; the key word is brief. The album, awkwardly named \_| (not sure how you even begin to say that), rotates between electro-spasms and ambient unconsciousness resulting in a sort-of restlessness throughout the ten-song affair.
Read More
Vincent Parker
RESPECANIZE part one (Independent)
by Kamil Krawczyk
This album is dirty. Proverbially dirty, of course – Vincent Parker’s newest release is oozing with style, substance, and sheer electronic filth. RESPECANIZE part one is a haunting and volatile journey through some perverted ethereal synthetic machine, twisting and churning the ears of any listener into a fuzzy, discordant mess.
Read More
Loom
Epyllion (Independent)
by Andrew Reeves
Loom is Toronto-based cutie-pie Brooke Manning. Epyllion is her first album, recorded at infamous Canadian musical polymath Dale Morningstar’s Gas Station Studios. Manning’s hushed, lullaby vocals glow in an alluring state of tension between blissful peace and restless, unnameable longing. Read More
Chains of Love
“Breaking My Heart” / “In Between”
(Dine Alone)
by Slavko Bucifal
Chains of Love, the brainchild of local producer Felix Fung, is a five-piece of talented musicians that celebrate the soul singers of the ’70s with a modern garage feel. Following last spring’s “You Got It” / “Black Hearts” single, the band has given us another two-song EP that continues their tradition of crafting super catchy melodies. Read More
Derrival
“The Autumn Game” / “Modern Age Kids” (Independent)
by Jacey Gibb
While the winter may seem like an ironic time to be releasing “The Autumn Game” / “Modern Age Kids,” this bubbly one-two punch from Langley’s Derrival couldn’t come at a more appreciative part of the year.
Staving off the seasonal blues by shedding the heavier tones found on last year’s Where There’s Smoke EP, Derrival seem to be embracing a more energetic approach to music, one that suits them just fine.
Read More
Panther & the Supafly
Nkazi (Independent)
by Tristan Koster
If you’re a regular on the Vancouver live music circuit you may recognize a few faces in Panther & the Supafly, Panther (real name Josh Matumona) has been playing guitar locally for years, and the Supafly is built up of several talented musicians who have also been plying their trade all over town. A hard working group for sure, and it shows in this surprisingly solid, if sometimes lackluster, debut EP Nkazi.
Read More »