Jesus Jones will forever be known as the group that spawned super-duper hit “Right Here, Right Now.” The album that contained it, “Doubt,” was pretty good. What I didn’t expect was for its predecessor “Liquidizer” to be even better. InRead more…
Playlist Monday: Kickin’ It Old-School
Frequent readers to the blog will notice that Craig tends to be the rap/hip-hop guy around here while I spend most of my time writing about 90’s alt-rock bands and various types of metal. Back in the day though IRead more…
Abandoned Pools – Somnambulist
Abandoned Pools is the project of Tommy Walter, either best known as the former bassist of Eels (circa 1996-1997) or the guy who wrote the theme songs for Clone High. Walter has bounced around over the past fifteen years orRead more…
No Joy – Wait To Pleasure
The shoegaze revival thing can feel really played out at times. There seems to be no shortage of bands willing to adopt the pattern of layering waves of distortion over barely decipherable vocals oohing and aahing. It can be hardRead more…
HSY – S/T
HSY’s self-titled EP is a dissonant, grumbling mass of noise. The production values are on the lo-fi end of the spectrum and the howling, atonal vocals sound like they were recorded inside a tunnel. It’s a throwback sound. An uglier,Read more…
In Flames – Siren Charms
This shouldn’t be such a big deal. Anyone who is stunned by In Flames’s seemingly sudden shift to easily-digestible alt-metal hasn’t been playing very close attention. This has been a long time coming. In Flames, renowned for originating the GothenburgRead more…
Tales from the Bargain Bin: Clothes Make The Man
I recently picked up Clothes Make The Man’s self-titled record in a dollar bin on Queen West. The bin was actually on the sidewalk a couple feet from the store. It was almost as if the store was saying “please,Read more…
The Verve Pipe – Overboard
The Verve Pipe (not to be confused with that other band The Verve) formed in 1992 when Brian Vander Ark of Johnny With An Eye and Donny Brown of Water 4 the Pool decided to join forces and bring theirRead more…
U2 – Songs of Innocence
I took the opportunity to visit myself fifteen years ago. Here’s a transcript of our chat. Old Jon: Hi younger Jon! I’m you from the future! Younger Jon: Wow, that’s incredible! What’s the future like? OJ: Things are different now.Read more…
Matthew Good & Jay Baruchel – Live
As a part of the Canada’s Walk of Fame Festival, Matthew Good and Jay Baruchel performed at Massey Hall with a show titled “Not So Private Banter.” The premise was that with Matthew Good being such an interesting and outspokenRead more…