Releasing a full album is an ambitious project for anyone, but a double concept EP complete with horn arrangements is going above and beyond. That’s what Halifax’s Shadow is doing, with a stark contrast between night and day on her upcoming releases The Dark and The Dawn, and she’s bridged the two by a mighty sense of funk. Though having quietly trickled out a couple of tunes, our first real listen is this single for “Moon,” a horn-powered track that asks all the big questions. Continue reading Single: Shadow Teases New Double EP With ‘Moon’
Tag Archives: Album Review
New Music: ‘Only Half Blue,’ Cassie Josephine’s Celebration of Life’s Lessons
Only Half Blue is the Sunday morning album that you never knew you needed. The latest 9-track album from Halifax singer-songwriter Cassie Josephine gives listeners the perfect opportunity to relax and picture themselves in a coffee shop listening to this album along with Jack Johnson’s melodies and Michael Buble’s soft jazz. The album is the folk-music version of a cup of coffee when you have time to sip and enjoy it; it’s warm and meditative. Continue reading New Music: ‘Only Half Blue,’ Cassie Josephine’s Celebration of Life’s Lessons
New Music: Botfly Release Remastered Compilation of Past Tracks with ‘Dark Days’
A little over a year after the release of their self-titled album, Botfly have released a remastered compilation of their earlier works, titled Dark Days. Comprised of 18 tracks, the album progresses from oldest to most recent and takes listeners along on the band’s journey.
Continue reading New Music: Botfly Release Remastered Compilation of Past Tracks with ‘Dark Days’
New Music: Cry, Bouzouki, Dance – Jenina MacGillivray Debuts with ‘Marion’
It you were to take a look at the Top 40 these days, you might come to the conclusion that storytelling has fallen out of fashion. Songs of profound meaning have been replaced with profound hooks. It’s more efficient to bring in a dozen producers and songwriters to work out which two words to chant for a song-long chorus, than it is to burn out your soul on life. The Jens Lekmans, Joni Mitchells and Leonard Cohens of the world are few and far between. Fortunately Newfoundland has Jenina MacGillivray. Marion, MacGillivray’s debut album, mastered and arranged by Jose Contraras of By Divine Right, is storytelling at its finest, handily wrapped in melodies that were made for falling in love with.
Continue reading New Music: Cry, Bouzouki, Dance – Jenina MacGillivray Debuts with ‘Marion’
New Music: The Easley Quartet’s Futuristic Jazz Sounds of ‘The Starting Point VS The Steep Decline’
In the category of enduring musicians, Tom Easley is getting up there. He’s been making a career of it for the last three decades; either teaching at NSCC’s music department, or touring with one of the East Coast’s longest running musical mainstays, Hot Toddy. Despite that longevity, Easley felt he needed to get out and prove something to himself: that he can still do it like it’s the first time, and under his own steam. Joined by Mark Adam on drums and Geordie Haley and Kevin Brunkhorst on guitar, The Easley Quartet takes the eternally modern sounds of 80s jazz and makes them new again with The Starting Point VS The Steep Decline. Continue reading New Music: The Easley Quartet’s Futuristic Jazz Sounds of ‘The Starting Point VS The Steep Decline’