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By: Sarah MacDonald – Striking gold and becoming the next big thing is a huge deal and the aspiration of many bands. Get it together, make a demo, tour in shitty bars but do what you love, right? If/when the major label record deal is scored, what’s next? The Sheepdogs, winners of the “Choose the Cover … Continue reading
By: Sarah MacDonald – What makes Animal Collective brilliant is their insanely astute ability to be forward thinking, weird, and completely unapologetic about it. They are messy, mellow, loud, and incredibly self-aware. Often characterized as a kind of psych folk, noisy rock, Animal Collective transcends any concrete genre. Their ninth studio album, Centipede Hz, comes … Continue reading
By: Sarah MacDonald – “The only way I see this happening is in an extended ride north,” says a man who sounds like he is at sea. It isn’t gritty sounding or old or pronounced but matter-of-fact and begins a new Stars record in a similar way to 2004’s Set Yourself on Fire but with a … Continue reading
By: Colin Rabyniuk – It has been ten years since Minus the Bear’s debut record, Highly Refined Pirates was released, and while some things have remained steady – the intricate guitar work and finely tuned effects – there is a certain punch missing from their latest work, Infinity Overhead, due out August 28. It’s been … Continue reading
By: Sarah MacDonald – Titling their fourth record simply Four carries a heavier meaning than the little word can muster for Bloc Party’s comeback album. But it’s back to basics, back to what allowed them to rise to prominence in the first place, which is their flair for graceful, thought-provoking, yet straightforward rock and roll. Having gone … Continue reading
By: Chiara DiAngelo – What does it take to be labelled a “supergroup”? According to popular convention, the term is applied to a band whose members are “already famous from having performed individually or in other groups.” Divine Fits members Britt Daniel (Spoon), Dan Boeckner (Handsome Furs/Wolf Parade), drummer Sam Brown (New Bomb Turks) and … Continue reading
By: Colin Rabyniuk – Don’t worry if you have not heard of Jovanotti. The Italian superstar is, well, an Italian superstar. Over there he’s something of a Springsteen figure – that is, if Springsteen was still cool. Perhaps the better comparison is Dylan, a few albums after the switch to electric guitars, at the peak … Continue reading
By: Sarah MacDonald – We’re all haunted by something, aren’t we? We may have ghosts in the periphery of our minds or shadowy figures a few paces back as we take weary step after step to nowhere in particular. A haunting is a million fragmented images you try to furiously put back together in hopes of … Continue reading
By: Colin Rabyniuk – Silvergun and Spleen’s Semi Truck is an awkward and ill-conceived record. On it, the Ottawa band tries to combine Paramore-style rock anthems with a more indie sound. However, they don’t take the time or care to fully realize that idea. The album launches into a driving bassline beneath the warm buzz … Continue reading
By: Sarah MacDonald – The ingredients to a good pop song are as follows: repetition, uncomplicated lyrics, rising tension and a solid hook. But creating a good, solid, inexplicably wonderful pop song is tough. Pop music is like a mosquito bite: irksome but you’re going to end up scratching it over and over again because you … Continue reading
Aesthetic Magazine | Album Reviews, Concert Photography, Interviews, Contests 