Music Reviews

Music Review: Review Round-Up Thursday


Drowning Pool

Drowning Pool
eleven Seven

So Drowning Pool released an album recently called Drowning Pool.  No? You don't remember them?  They were that band who had that "Bodies" song in 2001 and then their lead singer died.  Oh, yeah, now you kind of remember right?  Well, they have a new album now.  Believe it or not its their fourth album, the third after the death of their first lead singer (whose name is/was Dave Williams).


Review Round-Up Thursday


Thee Oh Sees

Warm Slime
In The Red Records


Mixtape Review: T.O. Vs. MTL

Throughout history there have been major rivalries. From Cain and Abel (which didn’t end so well) to LeBron and Kobe, you can’t deny how powerful some rivalries can be. The Great Canadian Rivalry in-between Montreal and Toronto is as old as the country itself and will never die (just read a history book, people). Recently a mixtape was released by TopLeft Recordings & Morburn Music that will only add fuel to the flame. 

The question is asked: which city has the better Rapper?


The Rumble Strips

I am possibly the biggest Mark Ronson fan at CJLO, in Montreal and maybe in Quebec.  I admire his production, his albums and his own radio show has been influential on me this year.  His playlists are practically musical treasure maps.  One night while listening to his show, he mentioned a group and played one of their tracks.  Being a disciple, I paid attention to the group name and the track.  Months later, the "Girls & Weather" arrived at the station and it is fitting that I get to review The Rumble Strips' debut CD.


Thursday

Common Existence finds New Jersey’s Thursday at a crossroads: having been ditched by major label Island after their less-than-stellar studio album (2006’s A City By The Light Divided) and ending back up on their former home Victory Records, the band released a b-sides/rarities compilation in late 2007 entitled Kill The House Lights, and then last year dropped an EP with Japanese band Envy.


Psychroptic

With three previous studio albums already under their belts, Australian death metal giants Psycroptic released their fourth this year on Nuclear Blast Records to a fan base that had a pretty good idea of what to expect from them: extremely high caliber musicianship and a certain captivating energy that set the band apart from many of their less dynamic contemporaries.


The Knux

I learned about The Knux weeks before their debut CD Remind Me in 3 Days was to be released in October 2008.
 


Heaven and Hell

It is often hard to come up with the right words to describe heavy metal music. The words 'crushing', 'brutal' and 'dark' are often conjured up from the heads of writers… they are the go-to choices that evoke cheap imagery and simple cop-outs. Sometimes, though, these words are necessary evils that genuinely reflect the music, and in The Devil You Know's case, these words also manage to reflect the package as a whole. The word dark, in particular, matches the thematic qualities of the album.


The Streets

 Everything is Borrowed is the fourth album from Mike Skinner aka The Streets. I actually heard about The Streets last year through a guy I worked with. He gave me a copy of “The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living”, The Street's third album released in 2006. I immediately became a fan of this UK rapper and producer. I was excited to get my hands on his new album. It is definitely different from the last one. “The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living” had a Hip Hop sound.


N.A.S.A.

So I'm sitting here with my headphones listening to what must be one of the most hyped projects of 2008/09. 5 years in the working, Sam Spiegel (related to Spike Jonze) and Ze Gonzalez (famous DJ) have rustled up the who's who of music, dead or alive: David Byrne, Seu Jorge, Karen O, ODB, Ghostface, Tom Waits, Kool Keith, Kanye, Lykke Li, Santogold, George Clinton, Z-Trip, etc. etc. etc. Basically, every conceivable niche represented by its respective master or artist-of-the-moment.


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