DUSTED: Far away, dirty and beautiful Brian Borcherdt is a genius. He has all the skills. This guy can get pure melodic gems out of lo-fi garage rock. Like Cobain could. Like Corgan could. He considers guitar like Neil Young does. He can play...
Remember the pre-weird BJÖRK? To many ears, the Icelandic elf always has been weirder than your average rocker, but in the early days of her solo career, she still created pop songs that were way more melodic and danceable than her later...
The 147 BEST SONGS of 2015 2015 was a great year in music! If you feel lost with the endless list of albums and singles that come out every week, this playlist is for you! After listening to these songs (hang in there, you have a few...
DAVID BOWIE nails the perfect pop album If this album would have been recorded by anybody else but David Bowie, we would all be in awe. “Let’s Dance” is one of the best albums of the 80s decade, one of the best pop albums of all times. But,...
PLAYLIST D’HIVER C'est l'hiver. Ou plutôt, ça devrait l'être. Mais il n'a pas encore véritablement neigé en ce 26 décembre à Montréal et nous n'avons pas eu de Noël blanc. Cela ne nous empêche pas d'avoir le goût de...
THUS OWLS – A deep dive into a new landscape At RREVERB, we think quality music lasts. That it can be listened to for years. This series of interviews with musicians takes the time to focus on the art of making music, on mastering an instrument, owning...
What’s hot in JAZZ in 2015? A top 10 list is very hard to do as there is so much more out there to enjoy. I tried to keep it as local as possible, because here in Montreal and the Quebec area we have so many talents and wonderful jazz...
Epic Orchestration and Electric Blasts of Metal in our TOP METAL ALBUMS of 2015 list Our NYC based collaborator Mick Stingley picks up the 10 best metal albums of the year. Here's why he chose these 10 over all others he heard in the last 12 months. 1. ENSIFERUM, “One Man Army” (Metal...
MOON DUO – Hypnosis under the Stars Have you ever been hypnotized by music? Had the feeling where your brain cannot get out of a musical loop that almost makes you dizzy? That's exactly what Moon Duo is trying to do. With success! If you never...
KINSKI, Like There’s No Tomorrow Kinski is a rock band in the true sense of the word. You sense right from the first chord that these guys don’t anything else in life than look for the perfect sonic feeling, for the best riff or beat. Then,...
ANDREW McANERNEY, choir conductor: “People want to be transported and inspired!” At RREVERB, we think quality music lasts. That it can be listened to for years. This series of interviews with musicians takes the time to focus on the art of making music, on mastering an instrument, owning...
JOHN CALE reworks “Music For a New Society” M:FANS, a radical new reworking of one of John Cale's most unique and lauded solo records, the 1982 masterpiece Music For A New Society, will be released on January 22, 2016 on Double Six / Domino....
MARROW: Exciting New Year! This year, Marrow released their debut album, The Gold Standard, and went on tour for the first time. To celebrate, the band is sharing their new single, “Fool”, coupled with the announcement of their...
CROSS RECORD: Awkward body contortions Cross Record, also known as Emily Cross, has shared a video for “High Rise,” the latest track taken from her forthcoming album Wabi-Sabi, out January 29th via Ba Da Bing Records. Self-created by Cross...
EL VY – Up Close at Théatre Fairmount Before beginning this review, one has to put up a disclaimer. I was seduced into going to this gig by a friend, who is a massive Matt Berninger fan. I didn't know much about EL VY, outside a Google search and...
Who Will Mend ANGELA DESVEAUX’s Broken Heart? Angela Desveaux signs beautifully. We don't get to hear her enough. It has been seven years since this small format blonde Montrealer has released an album, and I miss her music. Her music is carefully...
YOUSSOU N’DOUR in Montreal, Nothing but Heat! Winter is setting in but YOUSSOU N'DOUR brought the heat up in Montreal last Thursday. It was a packed house at the Olympia on November 12th. A mix of generations and nationalities, all united by the Legend...
DUNE RATS – Resistance is futile. Rare are the bands that have genuine fun screaming repetitively "Dalai lama banana marijuana" all through a song. Even rarer are bands that would open their album with that song! Usually, it's one that closes...
ARCA – Into the Deepest Sonic Vortex It's a strange world in which experimental musician Alejandro Ghersi aka Arca brings us into. Deep diving into sonic vortex, mixing dark keyboards with triturated sound waves (on the 7 minute-long title track)...
NEW ORDER Goes The Distance Hotly anticipated is no doubt the biggest euphemism of the year when it comes to New Order's latest opus, Music Complete. It's been 10 years since the band released anything new (Waiting For The Siren's Call...
Up Close and Personal with JORDAN OFFICER Have you ever gone "wow, now that is great guitar playing!" when listening to a blues record? You know, that feeling when everything's perfect: not just the guitar solos, but the guitar tones, the sound, the...
MELODY GARDOT – Soul Woman Jazz singer Melody Gardot signed one of the most interesting albums of the year. Her unique blend of pure jazz ballads (Morning Sun), cool soul funk songs (It Gonna Come) and haunted pop songs (the brilliant...
FEIST’s Silver Metal Shining Canadian singer songwriter Leslie Feist is the perfect example of a musicians who find success as she digs deeper in her personal feelings, while showcasing her huge talent. As part of Noah’s Arkweld, By...
MAN VS MACHINE: an Interview with Burton C. Bell of FEAR FACTORY BURTON C. BELL -- -- USES VERIZON. I know this because about two minutes into our conversation the call is dropped because this writer is an AT&T customer. When I get him back on the phone I explain that...
ZZ WARD – Less Guitar More Legs Talented Southern singer songwriter and guitarist ZZ Ward is back with a 4-song EP in which she shows a more danceable angle of her music. Her first album, the excellent "Til The Casket Drops", featured her...
MAMSELLE RUIZ Hits Hard for Halloween Mamselle Ruiz is starting to be well known on the Montreal Music Scene. With this video, you would think it could be hit or miss for a musician to follow a Holiday Theme. But no, She hits hard with a beautiful...
DABY TOURÉ, Unleashed and Tireless! It wouldn't seem corny to qualify last night's show at the Fairmount Theater in Montreal as bright and fiery, full of colours and smiles. It wouldn't be corny because if you do something for yourself...
HOT MODELS and Actresses That Can REALLY SING In this world where genres and jobs aren’t defined anymore – we call this the “Slash Generation” – a talented person can be seen modeling / acting / singing / hosting shows and so on. And why not?...
BELLE & SEBASTIAN The Golden Era Scottish band Belle & Sebastian are the quintessential indie pop band. Throughout their 19 year career, they've always stayed outside the mainstream currents, while still producing quality music and often...
THE CURE – Three Minimalist Chords In the first half of the 80s, The Cure were a game changer band in the music world. Led by Robert Smith's songwriting skills and unique voice, the band brought an underground rock attitude and Gothic looks in...
BALTHAZAR and the mystery of Belgian water Balthazar is another of these great Belgian bands that emerge, singing in English. I don't know what's in the water* in Liège, Brussels, Antwerp, Kortrijk or Ghent but there's a unique mood that comes out of...
Electronica I: The Time Machine, JEAN-MICHEL JARRE’s New Opus JEAN-MICHEL JARRE's new album, "Electronica I: The Time Machine" involves about 15 collaborators. From old school (Tangerine Dream, Moby, Air, etc), to new school (Gesaffelstein, Little Boots), and even other...
DARLINGSIDE – All for One, One For All Cambridge, Massachusetts band Darlingside have a beautiful mix of vocal harmonies, folk and electric guitars in their music. Auyon Mukharji, David Senft, Harris Paseltiner and Don Mitchell can bring energy or...
DURAN DURAN’s SynthPop Disco Vibe DURAN DURAN came out with yet another album. I'll be honest with you, I hadn't even payed attention to them since the early 2000's. And even then, it was in quick passing, because I was imprinted with their...
HEYMOONSHAKER’s Noir Wears its Name right Noir. The title explains it all. HEYMOONSHAKER's new album is dark, angry, and oh so blues-y. The duo redefines blues as it were. By mixing the raw voice with beatbox and blues arrangements, Andrew Balcon...
IBEYI, The Electro-Soul Twins’ Epic Debut Ibeyi’s self-titled debut album has been on constant rotation on my player since it came out. The impact a couple of twenty year-olds have on me is… annoying! Yes, it is! What business do these two kids...
FOALS Gets Predictable Foals is slowly but surely taking the vacant place of power alt-rock bands like The Strokes and Muse, who either are absent or less efficient in grabbing every rock fan's attention in recent years. Foals'...
LANE 8 – A Groove That Takes You by the Hips You can hear it when pop music is great. It isn't overly repetitive. It has great melodies (Loving You), some very cool grooves (Diamonds) and sound that is flawless. ABBA, Duran Duran and Daft Punk are...
LOW – Stunned by Magnificent Beauty The beautiful songs, minimalist execution, sonic explosion of Low left me speechless last night. I knew this concert, at the Ritz PDB on Jean-Talon Street, would be a good one. It was even better than great....
TAMI NEILSON: The Past Becomes the Future Tough not to think about Amy Winehouse when listening to Tami Neilson's new album, "Dynamite!". The tone of her voice on the two opening tracks, the retro feel she brings to her music, the soul that's all over...