PAUL McCARTNEY – Never Lost His Form! “Now I don’t see the point resisting your temptation...” It is the one cliché that’s been trotted out about McCartney since as early as 1971: “A return to form.” But when is it exactly that...
The exciting new music 2018 brought us… so far! We’re not going to follow the usual “top list of the mid-year”, as many music websites already do this (see NPR’s list here). We’ll simply throw in a few suggestions of records on which we stumbled...
YOUNG CRITTERS on the Rise In recent months I’ve begun to explore Montreal's ever growing music scene thanks in part to a generous opportunity offered here at Rreverb as a contributor. Thus far I’ve had the pleasure of meeting more...
SHILPA RAY – The Rebel Shilpa Ray is a strange animal. Some folks classify her in "punk" but it's not too much because her music but more for her rebel attitude. On her latest album, "Door Girl", she does let out some character on a...
CEDRIC IM BROOKS – Closer Together One of my great pleasures in life is to spend time in used vinyl records store and look for rare gems. To discover artists that I never heard of, or great albums I never listened to is almost as strong as...
DAVID FRIESEN – Double Bass Masterclass In the 70s, there weren't that many double bass players that could rivet an audience to their seat with a solo performance. Tacoma-born David Friesen was one of them. His solo playing at the Monterey remains...
MELANIE DE BIASIO – The Black Soul Melanie De Biasio has this aura around her. Her soft voice feels haunted when on top of the mysterious folk rock her musicians produce for her. It was the case for her second album "No Deal" from 2013, and...
THE BARR BROTHERS – Constant Craving The Montreal band keeps on growing, musically and crowd-size speaking, as they release albums that are always better and stronger than the previous one. 10 years ago, they were a friendly indie folk combo in...
SANDVEISS or How to Rock Today Hard rock band Sandveiss are the answer to the seminal question: "Nobody rocks like Led Zep or Sabbath today." Hell yeah there is. Montreal rockers take their references in the 70s as we hear Jimmy Page...
BRUCE COCKBURN – The Great Friend Bruce Cockburn is a legend in Canada. Successful singer-songwriter who started his career back in 1970, his body of work comprises of 25 albums which were consistent in their quality and durability. Cockburn...
The Soft Parade of ANGELO DE AUGUSTINE What first strikes the ear when the music of Angelo De Augustine starts playing is how soft his voice is. The California-born singer-songwriter gently strums on his acoustic guitar while he whispers his...
THUNDERCAT’s Kind of Magic Now this is an interesting album! Stephen Burner, aka Thundercat, is a bassman who played with Kendrick Lamar on his acclaimed album “To Pinp a Butterfly” and with the punk band Suicidal Tendencies, on top...
BING & RUTH – Escape Bing & Ruth is a musical and conceptual project led by pianist David Moore. As a former student of The New School of Jazz in NYC, Moore wishes to bring his academic skills in the street. He formed Bing...
HA HA TONKA – The New Model Formerly known as Amsterband up until 2007, Ha Ha Tonka is a band originally formed in West Plains, Missouri in 2005. They renamed themselves after the Ha Ha Tonka State Park in Camdenton, Missouri. Led by...
The Soft Panache of GRIZZLY BEAR It's been a little while since the hype years of Grizzly Bear. I remember, back in 2005 or 2006, when the Brooklyn-based band were filling the city's mid-size venues with excited indie rock fans who...
COMMON HOLLY – Confidence and Vulnerability Brigitte Naggar, a.k.a. Common Holly, is part of this new generation of female singer-songwriters that are strong and sensible at the same time. Bare-it-all folk and modern electro beat at the same time. Very...
JAMES BLONDE – Only Love Can Break Your Heart Love stories gone wrong, heart aches and other reflections on entangled relationships occupy Steph Mercier's brain, as he writes songs with the Niagara Falls trio James Blonde. To his own admission on one of...
THE WAR ON DRUGS – Continuity The long-awaited follow-up to The War on Drugs' breakthrough album "Lost in the Dream" finally arrived on August 25, 2017, after intensive touring around the world. "A Deeper Understanding" isn't very...
LCD SOUNDSYSTEM – Living the Dream Wow, now here's a great album! And what a great comeback for LCD Soundsystem, who went on hiatus in April 2014! There are lots of Bowie and Byrne influences all through the 4th album by James Murphy and his...
HOMESHAKE – A Breath of Fresh Air Smooth grooves, minimalist beats, layers of melodies on the keyboards and a lazy and softly singing voice are the ingredients found on the aptly titled new album by Homeshake, "Fresh Air". With a...
The Cool Life of LONDON O’CONNOR Great lo-fi synths and a cool lazy voice welcome you on "O∆" (pronounce “Circle Triangle”), the latest release from NYC via San Diego-based artist London O'Connor. What was initially a demo on SoundCloud...
GRIGORY SOKOLOV – Pure, simple, transcendental genius To call this masterwork a delight is to damn it with the faintest of praise and make a meaningless nonsense of the word. A few years ago, the Spectator described Sokolov as “the greatest living...
SPOON – SPIRAL STAIRS – ROBYN HITCHCOCK – No substitute for Experience TRIO OF VETERANS DELIVER THE GOODS! Here are our reviews of 3 new albums from experienced musicians who still got it! SPIRAL STAIRS – DORIS AND THE DAGGERS What possible reason could you have for not...
OH CANADA – I COULD DRINK CASES OF YOU DIVERSE TRIUMVIRATE PERFECTLY ILLUSTRATE CANADA’S MUSICAL DEPTH AND BREADTH HARRY MANX – FAITH LIFT EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE A CAT Harry’s back and like a cat that’s got the cream he’s...
‘RADIO’ RUTLAND # 3 – Old Man G-Spot’s Groove Thangs – The Nitty-Gritty Dirty Issue AFGHAN WHIGS - IN SPADES - new album. Historically (and the Whigs have plenty of history) one could perhaps label the Whigs a bit hit and miss over the course of an album and indeed their entire catalogue,...
LOCAL NATIVES – Gems of Silver Lake The music scene of Los Angeles has nearly as vibrant a history as it's film industry. The endless list of musicians embody all sounds imaginable and only continue to grow as the city remains at the center of...
BUCKINGHAM-McVIE – On with the show There are a couple of points that need to be cleared up, right off the bat, before going any further with this review of the much anticipated Buckingham/McVie album. First off, this is not a duets album....
WE ARE MONROE – Zone Out We Are Monroe represent a part of that unique indie rock sound that has been a part of Montreal before Arcade Fire amassed critical success and what undoubtedly makes the city stand out on an international...
DESTROY BABYLON – Killer Character This 5-song EP from the Boston band Destroy Babylon offers very cool roots reggae, horns heavy, on top of the usual rhythm section. On Bad Draw, the saxophone brings in a ska feel, although the tempo stays...
JENN GRANT – Soothing the moment Jenn Grant is the type of singer-songwriter that can surprise her audience with different types of songs. She can take a soft folk approach, like she did on a few songs on her previous album (see here), or...
SPOON – Life’s Surprises! 2014's "They Want My Soul" was supposed to be the last Spoon album ever. The Austin, Texas-based band's leader Britt Daniel had announced it, and Spoon was to call it quits at the height of their indie rock...
BRIDGET KEARNEY – Groovy baby Accomplished bass player and backing vocalist for Boston’s acclaimed soul-pop outfit Lake Street Drive; Bridget Kearney steps out on her own for the first time with a collection of 60’s rooted pop songs...
ELISE TROUW – Young & Gifted YouTube sensation and 18 year-old talent from San Diego Elise Trouw has made a name for herself as an emerging star online with homemade videos that highlight her skills on the drums. In 2015, she made the...
Pieta Brown – Wait a minute Mr.Postman Written primarily in hotel rooms and then sent around the world as a series of sonic postcards for others to stamp their personalities on, could have resulted in Pieta Brown’s latest album...
MUDCRUTCH – Back to the Future Mudcrutch is the most famous band you never heard of. Mudcrutch is also a strong testament of how a rock'n'roll legend is true to his friends. Mudcrutch was Tom Petty's first band, in which he played bass and...
PRIESTS – Veni, vidi, vici. Imagine a band fronted by Chrissie and Siouxsie sharing vocals, Hooky on bass and a supporting cast capable of delivering surf-punk-jazz-funk-agit-pop-a-roll. Now listen to Priests debut album ‘NOTHING...
MOON DUO – The Devil’s in the Details The first of two albums dealing with all things arcane and esoteric, on their fourth album together Ripley Johnson (guitars) and Sanae Yamada (keys) as Moon Duo present a consistently entertaining collection...
ALEX IZENBERG – A True Original Voice One can find original music if he or she puts his or her mind to it. Reading RREVERB regularly is one good habit to take. ;) This week, we dive into Alex Izenberg's latest album "Harlequin", published mid...
LOST IN MUSIC – 2017 – SHERBERT LEMONS? MENACE BEACH – LEMON MEMORY I missed this Leeds duo’s debut album ‘RATWORLD’ so came to this free from the baggage of expectation. This ‘difficult sophomore album’ kicks off in promising...
JOSHUA REDMAN & BRAD MEHLDAU – Friends Reunion One thing I appreciate with jazz is the meeting of two great artists who mix their skills and musical landscapes to create new music together. You don't see this as often in rock nor pop. Duets combine voices,...