Category Archives: Mini-Review

The Central – Sick and Dying

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

Wisconsin’s The Central totally killed it, back in 2016, with their album Discovery of a Rat. Without any foretelling, they released Sick and Dying on Valentine’s Day. This EP is a nice follow-up to Discovery of a Rat. Its mathy post-hardcore is still here and still sounds fresh, perhaps because of a few new changes and additions. First of all, their sound seems to have put on some weight, making it closer to mathcore than it was on their previous effort. Secondly, I feel that there are more atmospheric moments; we could call them … Read more

[‘selvə] – Doma

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

Italy’s Selva – stylized [‘selvə] – is a potent purveyor of blackened post-hardcore. Their 2016 album Eléo was impressive enough as it was, but I think they truly hit the nail right on its head with their just-released EP Doma. With only two tracks, the twenty-five-minute record delivers a level of aggression only matched by their Swiss cousins Rorcal. Indeed, the similarities are unescapable: both “Silen” and “Joy” sound like they could have been on any Rorcal album.

Such comparisons are always a bit diminutive of the work of their respective artists, so let me … Read more

Sandy Ewen & Weasel Walter, Snowpoet, Party Pack Ice, Grind-o-Matic, See You Space Cowboy & Second Grade Knife Fight, Utsav Lal, Сольвычегодск, Nautilus, and Œstre

by Dæv Tremblay

Sandy Ewen & Weasel Walter – Idiomatic

Long time musical explorers Sandy Ewen and Weasel Walter released a new free noise jazz album as a duo. Under the name Idiomatic, the group goes in long form musical peregrinations, which yields three tracks, each over twenty minutes long, that alternate between hectic improvisation and crushing atmospheres of noise and distortion. The verdict is quite simple: this album is awesome!

Snowpoet – Thought You Knew

Lauren is perhaps one of my favourite singers. I became acquainted to her voice with the mind-blowing experimental jazz band Blue-Eyed Hawk, but her work in … Read more

Astrakhan – Without New Growth Process Is Bloodshed

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

Alright, Vancouver’s progressive stoner metal crew Astrakhan released an album, in 2016, that was already promising, but today we face the repercussions of that promise. Have they delivered? I’m glad to say they do. Without New Growth Process Is Bloodshed is an improvement on all fronts, and possible one of the best progressive stoner albums out there! One comment on bandcamp compares it to a mix of Protest the Hero, Tool, and Mastodon. I’ve got to say that while I see the latter two parts, I have a hard time noticing the similarities with PTH. … Read more

John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble – All Can Work

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

Twenty-one. That’s how many people play in this so-called “large ensemble”. This jazz orchestra is noticeable in many regards, but the most important of which is their musical output. All Can Work came out on January 26, and it represents over an hour of amazingly well put together modern jazz compositions that often remind me of some of the best prog rock out there. I’ve got to say this might be due to Theo Bleckmann’s voice, which is perhaps the most reassuring thing in this quite avant-garde environment. While the aim of the work here is … Read more