Nicholas Friesen
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Box of Wolves
It’s hard to keep up with local chillwave producer Gabriel Akinrinmade - he’s released more EPs and singles than anyone I can think of, in addition to remixing, blogging and doing a radio show on UMFM.
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Distances
This three song follow up to 2012’s four song EP finds local punk quintet Distances delivering a slew of hard-hitting, well produced punk radio classics.
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Livingston
Opening with a wordy, mid-tempo tune about Alberta, this concept record made by Livingston (which is kind of a collaboration between many people, mostly folklorist/song collector Dr. Henry Adam Svec and Czech programmer Mirek Plihal, but is also a machine that can access all of Canadian folk music to make the perfect CanFolk recording) is pretty okay.
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Kim Harris
This debut release from Newfoundland born Halifax resident Kim Harris is lush, pretty, hip and strikingly diverse.
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O(h) No, it’s the JUNOS!
Canada’s biggest night. Or week. Or something.
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Scott Malcolmson
Not to be confused with South Park’s walking punchline Scott Malkinson, this former Winnipeg resident made this five song folk EP here last year with a handful of musical friends.
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Glass Random
Dave Shaw’s solo shoegaze/synth machine keeps kicking out the hits, and this four track offering is no exception.
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The Famous Sandhogs
Wordier than early Bright Eyes, more lo-fi than Sentridoh and catchier than any Katy Perry hit, the Famous Sandhogs is by far the most prolific underground project since Anton Newcombe’s epic string of mid-90s releases.
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Sebastian Owl
This Winnipeg via Brandon folk/rock five piece unveils a stunning 11-track LP produced/recorded/mixed/mastered by Mike Posthumus (Young Pixels) that is equally as good for a breathy afternoon walk as it is for a night in with a bottle of something.
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Bleed American
Local pop punk quartet Bleed American wears its influences on its sleeve, metaphorically and literally, possibly as the inked logos of such obvious heroes as Jimmy Eat World and Motion City Soundtrack.
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Old Man Luedecke
“Baby, We’d Be Rich”, the upbeat opening track from Juno winner Old Man Luedecke’s new four song EP, sounds suspiciously like it could be found on fellow Nova Scotian Joel Plaskett’s Three record, though it isn’t so suspicious when you see Plaskett produced and played most of the instruments on these tunes.
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Sons of York
Opening with the devilishly handsome and chaotic title track, this EP from local quartet Sons of York is the latest in a long line of releases that showcase the type of honest power rock that for some reason hasn’t made the Kennerd brothers + Darren Hebner household names.
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The Honeysliders
Winnipeg’s Honeysliders creep up on you with five classic-rock (think late-70s Eagles meets early-90s Big Sugar) infused hits, guaranteed to get the heads at the Times Change(d) a noddin’.
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The Royal Oui
Vancouver husband and wife duo Ari Shine and Adrienne Pierce have created 11 glorious tracks of baroque pop-infused goodness that blend acoustic guitars with rainstorms and haunting boy-girl harmonies, all while making it seem new and natural.
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Comic Timing
For years, The Uniter has included comic strips from local artists (turn the page) and syndicated masters (Matt Groening’s Life in Hell ran in the early ‘90s, among many others). Currently, our little street weekly hosts a rotating package of Lisa Jorgensen’s Circle Heads and Jean Floch’s The Creeps. The former, a light romp in the day to day experience of being in your mid-20s, balances nicely with the latter’s absurdist chaos, which involves two roommates who seemingly exist to annoy each other, all while misinterpreting normal social cues.
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Not my Winnipeg
I’ve been waiting to talk about the new Winnipeg-centric, “locally branded” web series WindCity, which is (deep breath) produced with the support of Manitoba Public Insurance & Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, in partnership with the RBC Convention Centre, Red River College & Royal Bank, with Assistance from Carnaval Brazilian BBQ, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Centre Venture, Downtown Winnipeg Biz, The Forks, Fort Garry Hotel, Johnston Group, Neil Bardal Funeral Centre, produced with the participation of The Government of Manitoba and distributed by the Winnipeg Free Press.
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Sibyl
This five song EP from local ethereal five-piece folksters Sibyl is masterful in its simplicity, instrumentation, songwriting and subtle diversity.
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C.C. Trubiak
Clocking in at almost an hour and with 16 tracks, the latest from Flin Flon born/Ottawa resident C.C. Trubiak is precious (“Blue”), gentle (“Broken Morning”) and hopeful (“All I Need”) but it holds too many rough ideas, with many of the songs sitting around the one minute mark.
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Chris Velan
Don’t judge an album by its cover - this collection of eight songs from Montreal singer/songwriter Chris Velan is represented by a simple screenprint of a Mexican wrestling mask, but the acoustic tunes with peppers of electronics and haunting back ups is endearing and not the party record I thought when I first picked it up (yeah, rookie mistake, but TBH it kept me from listening to the record for months).
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Bravery, Repetition and Noise
One of the first films that was shown to us in film school was Jim Jarmusch’s 1984 realist slacksterpiece, Stranger Than Paradise.