North Lakes aim for a “smart blend of nostalgia and new.” The Charlottetown-based band claim equal parts power pop, proto-punk, and garage rock; pure-grain and punchy with a reverb chaser, carefully structured to provide a soundtrack to accompany the wind in your hair. The band name influences like Jesus and Mary Chain, Brian Jonestown Massacre, and HAIM, but with songs like “Jasmine and Flowers,” their heritage is clearly rooted in classic rock. Continue reading North Lakes Return With Psychedelia and a Penchant for Tea on ‘Jasmine and Flowers’
Mark Kleyn Spirals Into Enthralling Viola Loops on ‘Foot Hold’
One of the most pressing issues of truly solo work is the dangers of tunnel vision. When a single person helms every aspect of a recording, from performance to production to presentation, it runs the risk of being born of an echo chamber. But there are times when an enigmatic, bewitching chamber of echoes is as captivating as it gets. Mark Kleyn, one half of acclaimed string duo Pallmer, effortlessly shows just how impressively he wears every hat on his new release Foot Hold. Continue reading Mark Kleyn Spirals Into Enthralling Viola Loops on ‘Foot Hold’
Premiere: Nicole Ariana Asks If Love Is Free Then Why Does It Feel Like It ‘Costs a Lot’
With the release of her new single “Costs a Lot,” Halifax-based songwriter and Alt-RnB/Pop artist, Nicole Ariana says that there are two sides to every break-up and it’s just a matter of perspective as to whether you see it as a loss or an opportunity. But even opportunities have their cost.
Co-written with Breagh Isabel, “Costs a Lot” takes a looks at the toll that a relationship can take, and what it takes to come back from it. Continue reading Premiere: Nicole Ariana Asks If Love Is Free Then Why Does It Feel Like It ‘Costs a Lot’
Blair Lucas is Going to Turn Some Heads With ‘Heels’
Earlier this season, Blair Lucas, the Halifax-based singer and multi-instrumentalist of folk-pop trio The Summer Rabbit, published the results of a photoshoot in which he looked rather a lot like Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Tim Curry’s famed sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Given the proximity to Halloween, it seemed like it might be a costume but Lucas has since confirmed that it’s not a costume, it’s a lifestyle.
Blair Lucas’s debut single as a solo artist, “Heels,” has them proudly announcing to the rest of the world a slight shift in identity and pronouns (he/they). Continue reading Blair Lucas is Going to Turn Some Heads With ‘Heels’
Retrospective: Looking Back Ten Years Later on Rich Aucoin’s ‘We’re All Dying to Live’
Ten years ago, if you already knew about the release of Rich Aucoin’s debut LP, We’re All Dying to Live, it was probably because you knew Rich Aucoin. Aucoin is first and foremost an entertainer: a living, walking, breathing party and his live shows, complete with confetti canons and coloured parachute, have become the stuff of legend. Long before his music was ever a twinkle in a jewel case, he was putting in the leg work—often quite literally—by travelling back and forth across the country. Now, it’s not unlikely that you or one of your friends know Rich personally, or at least have his phone number.
That perpetual party state of mind is what powers We’re All Dying to Live. It’s an electro-pop album that desperately teeters between a world of fun and a life of responsibility. A decade later, it’s clear what side of the equation Aucoin landed on, and in celebration of the album’s ten-year anniversary, we’re looking back to see if We’re All Dying to Live still brings the party. Continue reading Retrospective: Looking Back Ten Years Later on Rich Aucoin’s ‘We’re All Dying to Live’