By David Kenney
Ground control to Major Tom: Eels ready for lift-off. After the chaotic and disappointing Electro-Shock Blues, lead Eel E revamps his Beautiful Freak sound via an acoustic blender. Gone are the noisy guitars with E using hushed acoustics to balance his ballerina-box keyboards. Daisies of the Galaxy is where E gets even. E is one… Continue reading Daisies of the Galaxy – Eels
Following on the heels of Bonfire, a 5-CD box set tribute to former AC/DC lead singer Bon Scott, comes Stiff Upper Lip, the first album of "original" songs since ’95s Ballbreaker. Forgive the sarcasm, but while the band has consistently rocked for the past couple of decades, the aging fivesome’s music has also stayed consistently… Continue reading Stiff Upper Lip — AC/DC
At the axis time of rock, between the early and late ’60s, Bob Dylan fundamentally changed pop lyric writing. Ignoring static boy/girl themes of early rock ‘n’ roll and promoting the more self-expressive folk traditions, Dylan set the stage for the second and third parts of the Beatles. The huge success of artists doing rock… Continue reading Don’t Look Back
By David Kenney
Poor Sloan. Every album, the Halifax hipsters bust their butts delivering clever, playful pop for a mostly unappreciative Canadian audience. So sad, too bad. Still, heavy success might mean Britney Spears and Sloan on the same bill. Pause that scary thought. Then consider this: Sloan as Canada’s own, multi-talented Fab Four. "Forget Oasis, these guys… Continue reading Sloan: MacHall Maniacs
By David Kenney
The country music crossover: for Garth Brooks, er, Chris Gaines, it was a lost-my-wife/truck/dog disaster, for Shelby Lynne though, it’s a sweet surprise. Snubbed by country with her rolicking swing stomp, Lynne trades sides and goes for a R&B/Soul record. Her southern drawl laces Aretha Franklin soul with enough pain to trounce an eight-foot wrestling… Continue reading I Am Shelby Lynn — Shelby Lynn
By David Kenney
Thirteen years and nine albums later, Blue Rodeo is, well, still blue. On The Days Inbetween, Canada’s favourite balladeers breeze by with many last-dance sleepers for the loved and the jaded. Unlike 1997’s Tremolo though, not all is sad or weepy. Days sees the boys kick up a rockabilly fuss loaded with spite and puss.… Continue reading The Days Inbetween — Blue Rodeo
By David Kenney
Remember the sci-fi flick Mad Max? If so, then visions of Tina Turner and uncooked linguini hair must be near. And don’t forget, "We Don’t Need Another Hero." Blecch. Now fast forward to Y2K, where techno rules sci-fi Prodigy, good. Propellerheads, good. Enigma, baaaaaaad. On the new age group’s The Screen Behind the Mirror, their… Continue reading The Screen Behind the Mirror — Enigma
By Еvan Osentоn
Artist Emily Carr, Victoria, British Columbia (1871-1945) Among Canadian painters, Emily Carr stands alone. Indeed, while the Group of Seven and Tom Thompson may be considered more influential than Carr, they fed off each other while working together in Ontario where benefactors weren’t scarce. Carr, on the other hand, lived and worked alone in underpopulated… Continue reading Canadians of our century
They came tattooed, hemped, tank-topped, and pierced. And at Edgefest ’99, they found the rockaholic abuse they craved: abrasive ranting from bands, a thrashing mosh pit, and physical, and musical heat. This year’s Edgefest did not disappoint, but it didn’t surprise either. While it succeeded in satisfying the masses’ hunger, it failed to awe. The… Continue reading Living on the edge