Metal Blade Records
Bison is the most hyped band in Vancouver right now. Sometimes hype can be a tough thing to deal with, but these fuckers keep coming through every time. Every show is better than the next, so every album is obviously ...
Bill Johnson contributes eight originals to his Still Blue, each one a fine example of a contemporary blues song, not merely a retread of a familiar 12 bar theme, and each sung in his evocative voice. The variety of approaches, from the sne...
Camille Miller
Somewhere Near the Truth
Independent
Camille Miller’s voice is the centerpiece of this recording. A finely honed instrument that's passionate, soulful, and downright riveting, without being overbearing. Camille's song...
Let me preface this review by saying I’ve known Summer since she was barely out of her teens and coming out to sit in or jam at various venues I was playing at around Victoria BC. I’ve watched her career with great interest and she has ...
Black Wizard
s/t
Vancouver's music scene seems to be traditionally known for two things: drugs and hard rock. Despite the critical pitfalls of these influences, the city has a habit of inexplicably turning out the most palatable and au...
Best of 2016: The Garage received a lot of blues CDs this year and all of them were above standard, but ultimately had to be judged for other reasons of personality, believability, skill and versatility, etc. Take a bow Michael Kaeshammer a...
Lay it On Me
Self-distributed
Waa-BOOM! With an album title ripped from frontman Ryan Hoben’s muscleman tattoos, indiefolkrocksters Minto punch it open with sludgy dirge, “New Bones” – formerly a chooglin’ alt-country number i...
Unfamiliar Records.
The scene has been hit by the sharp sounds of a new five piece: The Clips. The debut album Matterhorn is made of raw, electric energy mingling among melodies. Lyrically, the album is freeform, created strictly from wh...
A Seven Inch Mixdown by Rene Milord:
First up is an Albertan band called MYELIN SHEATHS with a disjointed, noisy, poppy, post-punk EP. It’s kind of sloppy, perhaps better live? Hozac Records 047 (at Pat’s Pub, May 6)
Next up ...
Produced by Hawksley Workman, Wind Up/Let Go is a tasty, ten-track synth-pop treat.
Derek Miller
The Dirty Looks
Arbor
I try to balance the good and bad in my reviews, even if I'm not into the style. I don't like saying it, but the sophomore album from Ontario's Derek Miller thoroughly sucks. It sounds like a bar band...
THE BLACK HALOS
We Are Not Alone
Acetate
God bless Billy Hopeless & the Halos. They’ve earned their entry into that category that bands like Motörhead, AC/DC, & The Ramones (the Holy Trinity of Rock) fit into – you always know wh...