-
The Besnard Lakes are the Beach Boys Jr.
With such obsessive attention to detail on display on their records, it’d be easy to assume that Montreal psych-pop experimentalists The Besnard Lakes purposefully take three years between albums.
-
Rusted roots
On a rainy Victoria Day afternoon, the Uniter sat down at the Toad with Matt Williams and Jory Hasselmann, the two founding members of local indie rock five piece Haunter. The band is about to release its debut LP, the disturbingly good Rivers and Rust, through local label Disintegration Records with national distribution from Outside Music.
-
An American trilogy
On May 14, 2013, Philadelphia’s The Wonder Years released The Greatest Generation, the final record in its realist pop-punk trilogy which started back in January 2010.
-
In Memoriam
Alex Danyliuk, drummer for Winnipeg band The Revival, passed away unexpectedly on April 12 at the age of 22.
-
Profiles, Pics, and Platitudes
You find yourself on a beautiful beach at sunset. Off in the distance, the conjoined silhouettes of two figures holding hands wander in the surf as gulls swirl overhead. Gradually, you become aware of a distinct orange tint to everything you see; stranger still, lines and specks like those found in old-timey photographs pervade your vision.
-
New cinema. New wave. New festival.
This June, the very first Winnipeg Underground Film Festival (WUFF) gets underway, and the entire event is being put together by Open City Cinema, a local collective that’s been screening films in the city since May of last year.
-
Harry’s Top Picks
What not to miss at this year’s Jazz Festival
-
Jazz Fest Preview: He’s always been a faithful man
Elmer “Lee” Fields was born in 1951 in North Carolina. The son of a musician father and gospel-singing mother, he performed in his church choir, shaping his musical identity from a young age while attentively listening to his parents’ radio play the sounds of blues icons like Jimmy Reed, Howlin’ Wolf and James Booker.
-
Funk soul sensation
Influenced by the diverse sounds of Brazilian Bossa nova, American funk, soul and psychedelia, Toronto-based Maylee Todd transcends the role of musician: she truly is an artist.
-
Celebrating 40 years of dance
The School of Contemporary Dancers celebrates its 40th anniversary this year with three gala performances at the Gas Station Theatre from May 31 to June 2. The final evening will be a tribute to the school’s late founder, Rachel Browne, and feature the piece Home Again.
-
Closing up shop
After The Bay closed the supermarket in the basement of its downtown store, and Extra Foods shuttered its stores in the North End and West End locations, there is increased worry that Winnipeg’s downtown and inner city are turning into food deserts – areas with little to no access to fresh and affordable food.
-
Fine dining in the Exchange
It had been some time since I last visited an upscale restaurant. Unsure of etiquette or dress code, I scrambled to find the proper balance of casual and formal, with the unfortunate consequence of dressing like Han Solo.
-
No wrath, just deliciousness
Shawarma Khan is bound to be a hit at the many popular festivals that take place in Winnipeg’s Exchange District over the summer.
-
Alanadale
Attempting to describe Alanadale’s genre would quickly devolve into multi-hyphenate meaninglessness.
-
Don Amero
This fourth full-length album from Winnipeg’s North End troubadour is a Juno-nominated effort, and one in which Amero’s silky voice grabs a hold of your hand and takes you for a leisurely-paced, reflective walk in the woods.
-
The Burning Kettles
Your Sunday morning sadness just got a new soundtrack.
-
Eagle Lake Owls
The official debut (not counting the solo basement recordings of singer/guitarist/percussionist Andy Cole) of Winnipeg trio Eagle Lake Owls is a five song snippet of better-than-your-average-folkie folk tunes that only hint at the unabashed potential within.
-
The Girth
If it weren’t for all the cusswords and craziness, one might mistake the rowdy LP from The Girth for a children’s album.
-
Haunter
Haunter has been a “young band” for a while, and they still are, even five years into it. With the Rivers & Rust LP the five piece follows up an EP and 7” that showcased the type of tight/sloppy “better than a garage band/nowhere near arena rock” aesthetic the Breeders have been perfecting since 1990.
-
Indicator Indicator
On the debut release from Indicator Indicator, Quinzy’s Sandy Taronno brings his own brand of mid-tempo indie pop to the table.
-
October
Cacophonous, feedbacking guitars and distorted, near whispered vocals make up the majority of the lo-fi brilliance that is demo/EP by new local band October.
-
Oldfolks Home
Winnipeg’s Ricardo Lopez-Aguilar gets a little help from his friends on the long-awaited follow up to 2007’s We Are the Feeding Line, including drummer Shaun Gibson (The Details) on the bulk of the tracks and singer Keri Latimer (Nathan) on the tiny pretty popper Sleeper.
-
QUAGMIRE
I defy you not to be sucked in by Quagmire’s John Paul Peters produced album.
-
REAL LOVE WINNIPEG
This record is one of the most ambitious concepts to come out of this city in a long time.
-
Socially Inept
I’m going to file this one under “keep at it kids,” as local band Socially Inept have a long road ahead of them before they can even touch the hem of obvious influence Tool’s garment.
-
This Hisses
The second full-length effort from Winnipeg post-punk trio This Hisses is sparse and simple but equally haunting and uncomfortable.
-
Vampires
Vampires debut LP is made up of a rifftastic collection of catchy yet substantial songs.
-
Rory Verbrugge
Multi-instrumentalist Rory Verbrugge’s eponymous five song EP is a well performed and warmly recorded slice of folk and bluegrass.