All Else Fails storms through Victoria

Judging by their epic melodic metal performance at a sparsely attended Logan’s Pub, All Else Fails are a criminally underrated band. These Edmonton guys  play their music with technical skill, power, and conviction. All Else Fails have a sound that’s all their own, combining the punk stylings of Black Flag, the sludge metal fusion of [...]

Uno Fest celebrates year 15 with Hawksley Workman alongside established local talent

North America’s longest running solo theatre festival will again feature some recognizable local names, but the main buzz is coming from the direction of a work-in-progress by Juno-winning Eastern Canadian musician Hawksley Workman. Workman’s developing theatrical cabaret The God That Comes is one of 14 solo performances at the 15th annual Uno Festival, which runs May [...]

The Lumineers put unique twist on folk-rock

The Lumineers The Lumineers (Dualtone Music Group) 4/5 Born in the Mile High City of Denver, Colorado, The Lumineers are bringing an upbeat folk-rock sound to the scene. While the genre might be a bit overdone right now, The Lumineers are able to put their own twist on it and deliver an original-sounding, self-titled debut [...]

Collection of comics lampooning BC Ferries works in strange and wonderful ways

No Sailing Waits By Adrian Raeside No Sailing Waits (Harbour Publishing) is a collection of 30 years of editorial cartoons critiquing BC Ferries; the book is interesting on a few levels. Mainly, it provides a fascinating and quick overview of 30 years of ferry-related blunders and political shenanigans. It’s also hilarious. Sure, Raeside is hilarious [...]

Pitchfork uses old media model for success

MONTREAL (CUP)—In a world where even the red, flowing Rolling Stone emblem is having trouble moving magazine copies off the rack, Mark Richardson is feeling optimistic about the future of music journalism. Editor-in-chief of Pitchfork, the world’s most visited independent music writing website, Richardson’s at the helm of a ship that is retaining many tricks [...]

Short Circuit celebrates Pacific Northwest film

The Cinevic Society of Independent Filmmakers is having its first annual Short Circuit Short Films Festival. Although one of the shorts does include a robot, Short Circuit was not named after the 1986 feature length John Badham film. Actually, the Short Circuit Short Films Festival is the original name of the Victoria Film Festival… kind [...]

Big Wreck then and now

From Big Wreck to Thornley and back to Big Wreck: Ian Thornley’s musical career has gone full circle. Back in 1994, Thornley met fellow musician Brian Doherty at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts and Big Wreck was formed. Three years later, In Loving Memory Of… was released. The success of this album [...]

Bombino: the man behind the name

To his friends and family he is Omara Moctar; to his fans he is Bombino. But these are just names, titles given to him and placed upon him. So, who is Bombino? Well, the word “bombino” means “baby” in Italian, a dubbing that occurred when Moctar was the youngest member of his group when he [...]

New Music Revue: April 11, 2012 issue

Of Monsters and Men My Head is an Animal (Universal Music) 3/5   My Head Is an Animal, the debut album from Icelandic indie folk group Of Monsters and Men, is full of anthems, reverb, layers, and choirs. It also sounds an awful lot like a band you may have heard before. “Dirty Paws” sounds [...]

Local, Live, and Loud: April 11-May 4

Friday, April 13 Joel Plaskett, guests Alix Goolden Performance Hall, $25, 7:30 PM Joel Plaskett is to Canada what zippers are to clothing, going essentially unnoticed in the large scheme of things, but both extremely handy, and an attractive alternative to buttons or clasps. get your zip on with Plaskett. Thursday, April 19 The Beautiful [...]

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