Category Archives: Music

The Hirsch Effekt – Eskapist

by Matt Matheson


Some albums come along and pleasantly join the ranks of what you previously considered “great music”. Some albums come along and make you question everything you previously classified as “great music”. The Hirsch Effekt’s fourth full-length, Eskapist, is the latter kind of album – a towering post-hardcore monolith that reaches a mountaintop I never imagined to be climbable, from which the view makes most other modern progressive acts look like ants.

The Hirsch Effekt are one of those bands whose sound cannot be tidily summarized in a couple of adjectives. Their own bandcamp liberally describes them as “rooted … Read more

Sewing Circle – Nausea

by Dæv Tremblay

Sometimes, we need to take a step back and take a listen to something that really makes you ask yourself “can this even be called music?” Of course, the answer is almost always a resounding “yes!”, but, to the neophyte’s ear, the answer might not be so clear-cut. Enters Sewing Circle, the project of Arturo, Noah, and Patrick – the latter of whom we already wrote about many times for his involvement in some of today’s wildest and most interesting musical projects – is, I believe, an improvisation-based experimental noise rock trio. The nearly thirty-minute EP is adventurous and, … Read more

Bodhi – Ineffable

by Jeff Nixon


The Room Colored Charlatan guitarist Justin Seymour is about to release his first solo EP Ineffable on August 25th under the name Bodhi. This short but sweet offering of melodic instrumental prog is reminiscent of Plini and Animals as Leaders. The first track ‘Desire’ starts off with an atmospheric synth which is then joined by some pleasant melodic guitars, drums, and piano. The layered guitars sound amazing but the keyboard sounds great too and compliments the guitars well. For being completely a one-man operation, it is quite impressive. The title track ‘Ineffable’ is the longest on … Read more

Grant the Sun – Grant the Sun

by Dæv Tremblay

Made from members of the corrosive grindcore entity Beaten to Death and the metalcore act Insense, Grant the Sun turns its head towards progressive and post-metal instead, and succeeds effortlessly at making a naturally enjoyable debut. The Norwegian instrumental trio stick to a relatively simple formula: good riffs, a few guitar solos, some top-tier drumming, and sensical song structures. Melodic and heavy, the album is pretty good, but also lacks any characteristic that would make it unforgettable. In fact, despite how decent it is, I had a hard time recalling it even existed. I often express my disgust of gimmicks, … Read more

Big|Brave – Ardor

by Dæv Tremblay



Big|Brave is a Montréalais doom-leaning experimental rock trio, and they’re releasing their latest full-length, Ardor, on September fifteen. With only three tracks, the album manages to go on for almost forty-five minutes. Their sound is overwhelmingly huge and hopelessly, crawlingly slow, yet Robin’s voice, at the forefront of the music, sounds fragile and vulnerable. This apparent dichotomy moulds Big|Brave’s sound into something rather unique. The desolate songs are really drawn out and quite uneventful, but so emotionally crushing it’s terrifying. With only two guitars and a drumkit – and a voice –, Big|Brave are able to craft some of … Read more