Blog Profile / Chromewaves
| URL : | http://www.chromewaves.net | |
|---|---|---|
| Filed Under: | Music / Indie Music | |
| Posts on Regator: | 1905 | |
| Posts / Week: | 7.2 | |
| Archived Since: | May 7, 2008 | |
Blog Post Archive
The Deer Tracks at The Silver Dollar in Toronto
Frank YangThe nice thing about having written about Swedish duo The Deer Tracks at length over over the past ten months is that rather than bother with any preamble, I can just point you to those past pieces and get right to it. I honestly hadn’t expected them to return to town so soon after [...]
Moon King lead this week’s cross-Canada wrap-up
Jonathon BernsteinAs I mentioned back in October, in a few years – or even sooner – the late Spiral Beach could well be regarded as an important touchstone in the recent history of the Toronto independent scene. Bassist Dorian Wolf now holds down those same duties in internationally-noted electronic act Austra, guitarist Airick Woodhead is [...]
The Deer Tracks believe good things come in threes
Angel CeballosThe serial as a form of structure is hardly uncommon in art these days; it’s the standard for television, has been used as long as books have been published, and is increasingly the norm in cinema. In popular music, however, it’s almost the complete opposite – the three-minute single – which remains the fundamental [...]
Little Boots takes scenic route to second album
Jack Featherstone, Max ParsonsAt long last, Little Boots is finally ready to let the follow-up to 2009?s Hands out of the studio and into the world. I don’t think anyone – not even Victoria Hesketh – expected it to be almost four years between debut and follow-up, but according to Spin, it took her that [...]
The National have a new album and are headlining NXNE. Your argument is invalid.
Deirdre O’CallaghanSometimes the best kinds of surprises are the ones you already knew were coming. For example – everyone knew The National was making a new record. High Violet came out way back in Spring 2010, touring behind it wrapped in late 2011, and they’ve since been posting updates from the studio via Instagram. Everyone [...]
Solange at The Danforth Music Hall in Toronto
Frank YangSolange may have initially garnered attention thanks to her surname, but her recent ascension to the forefront of what’s being regarded as a new wave of R&B artists has been almost entirely on the back of her own talent; well, hers and Dev Hynes’. The Lightspeed Champion/Blood Orange producer-songwriter was my gateway drug to [...]
CONTEST – Unknown Mortal Orchestra/Foxygen/Wampire v. Night Beds/Indians – March 4, 2013
Neil KrugOn any given night, in this great city of Toronto, you’ve got no shortage of entertainment options vying for your evenings and dollars, but sometimes there occurs a confluence that simultaneously reminds you of how lucky we are as well as how unfair the universe can be. Case in point, this coming March 4, [...]
Review of Woodpigeon’s Thumbtacks and Glue
Paolo CalamitaHe may have migrated habitats from Calgary to Vienna, but Mark Andrew Hamilton – he who is Woodpigeon – remains one of Canada’s great, underappreciated musical treasures. Though 2009?s Polaris long-listed Treasury Library Canada raised his profile considerably, it may lie with his fourth album (or closer to fortieth, depending on how you count [...]
Ken Stringfellow at The Drake Underground in Toronto
Frank YangIt seems ages ago, but early 2002 was still an era where the magazine was still a vital medium for music reviews and general discovery; I still clearly recall a live writeup in issue 49 of The Big Takeover wherein editor Jack Rabid gave Ken Stringfellow a glowing review for a show at New [...]
Belle & Sebastian ready to show off their urban, rootsy side at Toronto Urban Roots Festival
Reuben CoxThe Toronto Urban Roots Festival has existed under a shroud of mystery since its existence emerged late last month, and even with its grand unveiling last week, it still only had two acts on its opening night – She & Him and Camera Obscura – to its roster. A promising start, but still eliciting [...]
Johnny Marr dispatches The Messenger early
Jon ShardIt’s been a while since both Morrissey and Johnny Marr have been in the news simultaneously, and not just issuing denials of Smiths reunions. Moz, unfortunately, is making headlines for his health issues and resulting tour cancellations – though that’s probably better than for making outrageously offensive comments – but Marr’s press cycle is [...]
Patti Smith already coming to Toronto, now staying in Toronto
Edward MapplethorpeAt least for another night. As exciting as it was when punk/poet/photographer/icon Patti Smith announced two intimate shows as part of the Art Gallery Of Ontario’s 1st Thursday series to support her Camera Solo exhibition, you had to know that it was going to be a bit of a scramble – to put it [...]
Prism Prize refracts spotlight on Canadian videos
Claire BoucherWhereas the Polaris Music Prize already has a seven year track record of honouring the top Canadian album, the Prism Prize is new on the scene – unaffiliated but sharing a similar mandate, but focused on the art of the music video rather than the album. And while some may have assumed the art [...]
The Strokes are all, “relax you guys, we still know how to sound like The Strokes”
Justin JayThe Strokes has got themselves a nice little racket going. Most bands who’ve been at it for over a decade would be critically if not commercially pilloried for not changing up their style, but The Strokes get drubbed when they do. Luckily for them, they’re very good at doing what they do and they’re [...]
The Maccabees at The Mod Club in Toronto
Frank YangIt was an odd thing to realize about a third of the way through The Maccabees’ debut Canadian performance at The Mod Club on Monday night, but it dawned on me that I wasn’t so much a fan of the band than their excellent latest album, last year’s Mercury-shortlisted Given To The Wild. Not [...]
The xx and Grizzly Bear will be out standing in their field; win a chance to join them
Jamie-James MedinaBoth The xx and Grizzly Bear have pretty well established their bona fides as a couple of the biggest names in what we colloquially call “indie rock” circa 2013, and while neither are quite at the point where they could headline a top-tier festival, they can sure as heck team up for a pretty [...]
Ólafur Arnalds offers taste of Winter, perhaps unaware that Mother Nature has that covered
Marino ThorlaciusI didn’t actually bring back a lot of souvenirs from my trip to Iceland in Fall 2011; a super-warm Kaldi hat (which has served me quite well this Winter), a package of Cronions (though I should have brought back a case), a whackload of photos (ponies!), my first car accident (cars on the inside [...]
A check-in with Polly Scattergood
muteEnglish singer-songwriter Polly Scattergood’s 2009 self-titled debut may have been an indulgent, precious, and overdramatic work that sounded very much like the diary entries of a 22-year old put to music, but it was also impressively assured for the same reason, assuredly declaring “this is who and what I am right now” and doing it [...]
Review of Ken Stringfellow’s Danzig In The Moonlight and giveaway
Cecil MathieuThere are musicians out there with a more impressive alt.rock resume than Ken Stringfellow. Starting out as co-frontman of the criminally under-appreciated Bellingham power-pop outfit The Posies, he was part of the final incarnation of the legendary Big Star, he was an unofficial member of R.E.M. both on stage and in the studio for [...]
What’s better than a Jessie Ware concert announcement? A Jessie Ware ticket giveaway.
Paul ScalaReplicating success found overseas in North America has never been a sure thing, but for British electro-soul songstress Jessie Ware, it certainly seems more a case of “when” than “if”. The acclaim at home for her debut Devotion couldn’t help but get the buzz started in 2012 – I adored it enough to include [...]