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…
The Wyld – Abstract
The Wyld are a trio from New Zealand who blend rock and hip hop to create a unique sound. I first heard of these guys via Oddisee which is funny considering their break out song is titled Odyssey. Turns outRead more…
milo – a toothpaste suburb
A Toothpaste Suburb is the debut album from rapsmith Milo. Despite this being a debut he has previously released a number of EP’s and mixtapes as such he has an established style and sound. Milo’s rap style reminds me ofRead more…
TOKiMONSTA – Desiderium
Los Angeles beat maker TOKiMONSTA has a new album out today titled Desiderium. The sound is very similar to her album from last year titled Half Shadows. I would class this as electronic and not really dance music as itRead 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…
Playlist Monday: Covered
As I mentioned in my post about Butch Walker’s sweet, sweet cover of Eye of the Tiger, a playlist of genre-hopping covers would make a great listen. Here’s six unconventional takes on some great songs. The Lost Fingers – PumpRead more…
Deafheaven / No Joy / Indian Handcrafts – Live
Last Friday the Opera House hosted an absolutely stacked line-up of black metal/shoegaze hybrid Deafheaven, nugazers No Joy and stoner-metal duo Indian Handcrafts. The venue was packed with metalheads and hipsters mostly clad in black, with the younger demographic sportingRead more…
Tales from the Bargain Bin: Dance Hall Crashers – Blue Plate Special
It dawned on me the other day that I’m going to have fewer bargain bins to dig around in. Sunrise Records is pulling out of Toronto, to the surprise of no one. Sonic Boom has also been reducing the sizeRead more…
DRONES / Rickolus – Split
DRONES is Swordplay, PT Burnem and Erick Ackers (who has worked with Swordplay before with their Double Rainbow project). DRONES is somewhere between folk and hip hop. Musically there is a lot of acoustic guitar with simple sparse beats andRead more…