Archive for the ‘Music Reviews’ Category

Album: 48 Caliber
Reviewed by: Chelsey Cosh, Locust Hill ON
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

The freshman version of Sum 41, Ontario’s own 48 Caliber just seems to get it. A glorious combination of ’nineties ska and post-Grunge rock, I expected a squad of bleach-blonde cheerleaders and their jock boyfriends to invade my home and demand that I give their music back. This is the hip high school movie soundtrack. This plays at parties. This infiltrates the gilded car stereo of the typical North American teen’s first car. This sneaks itself into the prestigious playlist of every fifteen to twenty-one-year-old’s iPod.
It’s trendy music without a gimmick – a fad with lasting power, oxymoronic as that is. At the worst, 48 Caliber just blends into the background, not leaping forward as a remarkable song, but maintaining its status as a decent song, a song worth the listen.
Unlike some newcomers, who insist on keeping as much of their music as possible for the final edit, it seems as if 48 Caliber cut through the mess and focused on their best, making their debut 48 Caliber a mere five songs long. Read the rest of this entry »

Album: Morning Star
Reviewed by: Chelsey Cosh, Locust Hill ON
Rating: 4 out of 5

If the band members of Roman Dane don’t listen to tons of Our Lady Peace, they could have fooled me. From the titles of their songs (“In Portion”, “Anxiety”, etc.) to the way they play their instruments (you know, with purpose), everything seems so mainstream Canadian rock.
This isn’t bad. They’re skilled enough to play this similarity in their favour, move on, and highlight their other old-pro capacities, from their use of more than two instruments (granted, they’re not sitar-playing Beatles, but they diversify) to Roman Dane’s natural singing power.
Speaking of which, the raspy rockstar vocals from Dane himself will likely remind you excessively of Bono and David Bowie simultaneously. Then you’ll settle on the fact that, yes, he is more Bono than Bowie and move from that distraction onto the songs themselves.
The first track on Roman Dane’s Morning Star is “Dragonfly”, a sweet nothing whispered in a lover’s ear – okay, maybe not whispered, per se – initiating listeners with a romantic lovey-dovey tune perfect for a Valentine`s Day mix-tape. James Biljak passes his guitar over to regular bassist Rich Adam, and Enrique de Vinatea takes over drumming for guest Dave Stone for “Anxiety”. A heartfelt slowdown from the more raucous songs on Morning Star, Natalka Podstawka’s beautiful piano-playing strengthens the already refined drums, guitar, and vocals. Slightly harder and far louder than other piano-inclusive bands, like The Fray and OneRepublic, the band still puts their best foot forward. But rather than walk, Roman Dane prefers to gallop. Read the rest of this entry »

Album: The Resistance
Reviewed by: Marshall Gu, Toronto, ON
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Prior to the release of The Resistance, Muse became popular from their contribution to the Twilight soundtrack and their 2007 tour, HAARP: Live at Wembley Stadium. Three years after Black Holes and Revelations, fans eagerly awaited their new album. Read the rest of this entry »

Album: Metropolis is Burning
Reviewed by: Chelsey Cosh, Locust Hill ON
Rating: 2 out of 5
Have you ever listened to a soundtrack for a movie you love and thought that the music fit the scene so perfectly, suited in a way you can’t describe, only to feel bored listening to the song by itself…flavourless without its movie magic? That’s what it was like listening to Grand Analog’s Metropolis is Burning – but it’s not a soundtrack.

Grand Analog is fresh on the circuit, especially to Canada, and has very high ambitions. Their album’s first song, “I Play My Kazoo”, insists, lyrically-speaking, that Grand Analog could “break it down like whatever you want.” Awfully ambitious for a newcomer, but I was ready to be pleasantly surprised by track two, “Take It Slow (Spaces and Places).” This song, with its laidback reggae feel, reminiscent of classic Bob Marley, made my winter feel a little warmer but I wasn’t blown away. I focused on the music because the lyrics – well, they needed work. There was an effort but it seemed as if it was the exhausted effort of an overworked college kid during finals. Read the rest of this entry »