There’s just something about Newfoundland and Labrador that manages to churn out cream-of-the-crop bands, from rising stars Soap Opera to the unforgettable Great Big Sea.
The latest in this long line of high-flying Newfoundland bands, Mile Twenty Five, have dropped their debut album Just in Case with more gusto than you can shake a fish at. Comprised of frontman Peter Welsh, drummer Carter Fancy, guitarist Marcel Reid and bassist Nathan Manuel, the band delivers an eclectic champion of a debut, backed by themes centred around the prices we pay to grow up, such as heartbreak and responsibility. Continue reading Mile Twenty Five’s ‘Just In Case’ a Superb First Collection→
Nova Scotian folk duo The Strange Valentines ended 2020 with a single that sounds like it could have been a not-so-fond farewell to a year gone wrong, but really just marks the beginning of a lot of work to come. “Burning House Waltz” is an acknowledgement that civilization took a wrong turn somewhere along the way and it’s time to address some of these issues before the whole thing goes up in flames. Continue reading The Strange Valentines Sign Off on the Apocalypse With ‘Burning House Waltz’→
As far as first albums go, Rusty James has decided not to pull any punches. Wishing Well is a solid debut from the Nova Scotia-based singer-songwriter, a collection of warm and engaging tracks that help to cement James’s voice as an artist. Continue reading Rusty James Aims to Please on Debut Album ‘Wishing Well’→
Dennis Ellsworth, award-winning and prolific singer-songwriter of Prince Edward Island, is on the edge of a massive triple-album release over the next six months. His Bound by Love “project”, as it might be more accurately referred to, consists of 32 new songs spread across 3 albums and 3 EPs. Rather than the free-for-all bonanza of online streaming that has become the norm of a modern release, Ellsworth is bucking the trend in favour of something he might actually stand to make a living from. Continue reading Dennis Ellsworth Pivots Away From Streaming Services Ahead of Triple-Album Release→
“Here lay psychological metal, verbose pop, queasy balladry, and odd trips, all in all, the general detriment of a life well spent, for all who have known me or tried to understand.”
Those are the words the late Matthew Grimson used to describe his own music. You may not recognize his name and, sadly, Grimson passed in 2018 at the age of 50 without many people being aware of the large body of phenomenal work he had written. As a musician and songwriter, however, Grimson could scarcely have better references than Joel Plaskett and Chris Murphy (Sloan). The two monoliths of East Coast music have recently collected some of his unpublished work to create Matthew Grimson: Prize for Writing — an LP showcasing 15 of his songs that were recorded in 1994. Continue reading Joel Plaskett and Sloan’s Chris Murphy Bring to Life Matthew Grimson’s ‘Prize for Writing’→
