Stars (pt 1): The blazing, ascensional trajectory of a stellar indie band
STARS began blazing their trail at the dawn of our new millennium. Ignited by Toronto foursome Torquil Campbell, Chris Seligman, Evan Cranley and Amy Millan in 1999 and completed by Pat McGee shortly after a move to Montreal, the sparkling indie act have spawned exactly six LPs, four EPs and a smattering of singles and “special”...
Cold Pumas: A portrait of persistent change
Though Brighton’s Cold Pumas will catch your ear with familiar, broad strokes of Joy Division atop a pronounced landscape of kraut rock-y repetition, their recently-released debut LP Persistent Malaise is — according to the band’s own songwriter/guitarist Patrick Fisher — a portrait of a band giving way to the new. Embellished by songs made rich...
Sub Pop founder Bruce Pavitt: The 8-day making and breaking of Grunge
You didn’t have to be anywhere near early-Nineties Seattle to feel the effects of its awesome force. The sound it emitted — a dirty punk/metal hybrid wrestled from battered guitars — impacted everything from indie zines to Rolling Stone, MTV and Hollywood films. Hell, one might’ve lived under a rock, never bought a single Nirvana record...
Christopher Mills: The making of The Joy Formidable’s ‘Cholla’
Christopher Mills (dubbed “Millsy” while on tour with The Tragically Hip) is a refreshingly hands-on — all the way up to up to his elbows, in fact — creative soul. With roots in visual arts and video editing, he routinely mixes lo-tech with high tech, adding striking, labor-intensive touches achieved by his own hand (think personally-trained...
Graph Rabbit: A sonic invitation to a beautiful otherworld
I first heard Graph Rabbit (Austin Donohue and Shy Kedmi) this past September, just as Fall was beginning. Their press release — smartly citing the new, cool “snap in the air” I’d become keenly aware of — promised that Only Fields, from the duo’s debut, Snowblind, would have me hearing “wintery sleigh bells” and “whitewashed...
Sam Prekop: Dishing on The Sea and Cake, one album at a time
When you have the opportunity to speak with a musician/songwriter whose been in the biz for a couple of decades, releasing 10 LPs alone with reputed art-rock band, The Sea and Cake, it’s safe to assume there will be a lot of burning questions. After a half an hour of talking about their early days,...
July Talk: Of girls and boys and rock and roll
Toronto’s July Talk are lead by yin-yang duo Peter Dreimanis and Leah Fay. Representing sonic forces of darkness and light, the cool pair came together quite by accident, but their fiery connection was immediate. Demonstrating a compelling play on the boy/girl dynamic — as evidenced in their new single, Paper Girl — their musical interplay has...
The Sea and Cake: Putting the ‘sea’ in seasoned musicianship
Art rock, indie rock, post rock — call it what you will, but The Sea and Cake, from Chicago, Illinois, have rocked in a singular, very consequential way for a good, long 20 years. Formed by Sam Prekop (Shrimp Boat), Archer Prewitt (Cocktails), John McEntire (Gatr del Sol, Tortoise) and Eric Claridge, the sonically distinct...
Diamond Rugs: Give ’em a beer…and peanut butter pretzels
Comprising a half dozen notable rockers we’re certain need no introduction, Diamond Rugs could rightfully be labeled an honest-to-goodness super group. Powered by John McCauley (Deer Tick), Robbie Crowell (Deer Tick), Ian Saint Pé (The Black Lips), Steve Berlin (Los Lobos), Hardy Morris (Dead Confederate) and Bryan Dufresne (Six Finger Satellite) — and named for...