All posts by Alex Cook

Music

Blackwood’s ‘Lost and Found’ is an Instrumental Examination of Parental Paradoxes

As Blackwood, award-winning composer and pianist Peter-Anthony Togni and bass clarinetist Jeff Reilly, cover a lot of ground on their upcoming album, Lost and Found. It’s a collection of compositions, crafted both individually and collectively, over a period of two years, but the experiences contained in them draw from two lifetimes; from the power of dreams, the birth of children and grandchildren, and the natural world… all the way to medieval plainchant. More impressively, this is all done as an instrumental.

Released today, the album’s second single and titular track, “Lost and Found” is Jeff Reilly’s tribute to his twin daughters, which immediately raises the question: how does a person —let alone a set of twins—get translated into music? Continue reading Blackwood’s ‘Lost and Found’ is an Instrumental Examination of Parental Paradoxes →

Music

Nikkie Gallant Takes an Open-Ended Approach to Songwriting for ‘Is She Holding You?’

Nikkie Gallant’s latest single, “Is She Holding You?” addresses the time-honoured themes of heartbreak and loss, but with inspiration indirectly cobbled together from a variety of sources, comprising a patchwork quilt of experience and emotion, the song practically invites wildly speculative interpretations. Which is why, rather than the typical tale of an abandoned lover, we’ve chosen to interpret “Is She Holding You?” as the call of a widow whose partner has been taken by the irresistible lure of the sea. Anything can be nautical if you want it badly enough. Continue reading Nikkie Gallant Takes an Open-Ended Approach to Songwriting for ‘Is She Holding You?’ →

Music

Premiere: Hot x Proxy Inadvertently Doubles Down on a New Canadiana-Fueled Single ‘The Operator’

Hot x Proxy are announcing their return to the land of the living, after a quiet year and a half away from the stage, with the added oomph of “The Operator.” What might have been a healthy bout of nonsense with a side of gusto because a trojan horse of Canadiana,  likely through the early implementation of subversive conditioning by the CRTC during Chris Hynes’ childhood. Continue reading Premiere: Hot x Proxy Inadvertently Doubles Down on a New Canadiana-Fueled Single ‘The Operator’ →

Music

Wicked Vices Release a Summer Single ‘Liquor’ but Keep Mum on Album Dates

The latest single from Fredericton’s Wicked Vices has had some time to age. They’ve been performing “Liquor” for the last five years, making it one of their oldest songs. While they managed to record it years ago, they just felt this seasonal tune needed a little extra time to mature.

Continue reading Wicked Vices Release a Summer Single ‘Liquor’ but Keep Mum on Album Dates →