Magazine

This past week on Lektor Decoder, Hayley and Jason sat down with Christopher Owens off the tails of his Taverne Tour show, February 12th. Owens talks with our DJs about his band Girls, creative inspirations, and the importance of maintaining vulnerability. Listen to their heartfelt chat here and check out Lektor Decoder every Monday at 9 PM. 

Anyone vaguely familiar with Earl Sweatshirt’s discography might not be sold on the idea of seeing him live. Although he’s one of modern rap’s greatest writers, his work has long dealt with heavy, sombre subject matter. In his earlier projects, the then-teenage prodigy laid bare his struggles with anxiety and the psychic toll of growing up in the public eye, while later works offered more layered explorations of depression, loss, and grief.

As it snowed with ferocity on the streets of Montreal, the three-piece outfit (not dissimilar from what they wore), Sharp Pins, rocked La Sotterenea –  basement venue of La Sala Rossa – in style. Hailing from Chicago, a city at the epicentre of the fast-evolving and emerging indie-rock sound and scene, they brought with them not only a zest, spunk and flair for theatrics, but also a particular analogue flavour hard to come by in our present hyper-digitized hellscape.

When my partner and I walked into the dimly lit, crowded and buzzing showroom of Casa del Popolo, coming in from a deep cold on a busy Boulevard St Laurent, I knew tonight was going to be lovely.