Band: Stella Ella Ola EP: Stella Ella Ola Written by: Chiara DiAngelo Sometimes four friends come together and create musical magic together. That’s exactly what happened for new Toronto band, Stella Ella Ola. In this case, it likely also didn’t hurt that the four friends in question are seasoned musicians Nick and Jake Boyd (Hollerado), [...]
Band: Cousin Album: Cousin Written by: Chiara DiAngelo Giulio Rocco (guitar, vocals), Taylor Page (guitar, vocals), Sandro Rocco (bass), and Adam Slinn (drums) of Niagara Falls band Cousin have a “couple things to say to you”: Yes, they have been compared to the band Pavement. Yes, these comparisons are well warranted and deserved. But regardless [...]
Artist: Lori Nuic Album: Flaws of Attraction Written by: Chiara DiAngelo In a day and age when most mainstream female pop singers are known more for how little clothing they wear or their wild escapades, along comes Toronto-based singer-songwriter Lori Nuic with her sophomore release Flaws of Attraction to renew your faith in the female [...]
Band: HotKid EP: Courage to Fight Written by: Chiara DiAngelo Toronto duo HotKid is Shiloh Harrison (vocals, guitar) and Rob Butcher III (drums). If you are from the city, he has likely sold you countless records at Sonic Boom. No stranger to the local music scene, their latest EP Courage to Fight, produced by Juno [...]
Band: The Dudes Album: Barbers, Thieves and Bartenders Written by: Chiara DiAngelo Hailing from Calgary, Alberta, Danny Vacon (vocals, guitar), Bob Quaschnick (guitar), Brock Geiger (bass) and Scott Ross (drums) of The Dudes are back with their latest record, Barbers, Thieves and Bartenders. Released digitally April 15, this 6-song album is the first of three [...]
Band: Cai.ro EP: Young Love Written by: Chiara DiAngelo From the title, you might at first assume that Toronto band Cai.ro’s August 2011 EP Young Love is a bubble-gum pop album, but in actuality it is a stark depiction of both the perilous highs and agonizing lows of that thing called “young love.” Playing their [...]
Band: Eight and a Half Album: Eight and a Half Eight and a Half is comprised of Dave Hamelin and Liam O’Neil from The Stills and Broken Social Scene’s Justin Peroff. The sound created by this 3-piece, however, is nothing like what you may expect, given the musicians’ previous work. Hamelin’s vocals have an ethereal [...]
Artist: Olivier Jarda Album: Good Luck Cartel Moncton’s Olivier Jarda has a great story. The Ottawa-born musician released Diagrams in 2008, but he had found himself working as a climate policy analyst for a think tank in Washington, D.C. after studying at Oxford University. He has since then quit his job, relocated to Halifax and [...]
Band: Yukon Blonde Album: Tiger Talk When Yukon Blonde released their self-titled full-length debut in 2010, I was caught off guard. The band had already been making waves out West with an EP (Everything in Everyway) and even before that as Alphababy, but it wasn’t until their full-length that I was aware of their sound [...]
Band: Hands & Teeth Album: Hunting Season Shot of choice: Jameson Written by: Chiara DiAngelo Comprised of Natasha Pasternak (vocals, guitar, violin, keys), Jeff Pinto (vocals, keys), Kevin Black (vocals, guitar), Derek Monson (vocals, bass) and Adam Kolubinski (drums), Hands & Teeth play an eclectic mix of experimental-pop, and have pushed the limits even further [...]
