Arts

“It’s hard to be an Indian woman in this fucking country,” says character Emily Dictionary during the Belfry Theatre’s production of The Rez Sisters. The play, written by Manitoban playwright Tomson Highway, is set on an Indian reserve where seven women cross on conflicting paths that throw them into humorous and turbulent (and defining) situations. […]

Counting Crows Somewhere Under Wonderland (Capitol Records) 4/5 For their sixth studio album, pure American rockers Counting Crows have taken a step back, with fantastic results. Their last album was back in 2008, after all; they’ve had time to rethink what makes them great, and here they deliver with astonishing results from the second the […]

U2 Songs of Innocence (Island) 2/5 If you use an Apple product, you may already own U2’s new album, even if you don’t realize it (check your iTunes!). This is the 13th album by the rock band, but it doesn’t have the same classic rock quality as their past albums. Songs of Innocence is an […]

The Aislers Set Reissues (Slumberland/Suicide Squeeze) 2/5 San Francisco indie pop group The Aislers Set, who formed in 1997 and disbanded in 2004, have reissued three albums to coincide with their reunion tour. Unfortunately, this trilogy of discs was lost on me after listening to Terrible Things Happen, which held terribly true to its title. […]

VKNGS VKNGS (Noyes Records/Acadian Embassy Records) 3.5/5 Halifax, Nova Scotia-based post-hardcore/noise-rock band VKNGS have released a full-length self-titled debut album that’s been eight years in the making. The album, with seemingly random numerical track titles, is an intense mix of drums and guitar, melody, and screaming, otherwise known as “aggression.” VKNGS have a more mature […]

Punch They Don’t Have to Believe (Deathwish Inc.) 4.5/5 Fans of hardcore/punk have taken notice of Punch’s simple name since their inception in 2008, but now with the release of their third album, They Don’t Have to Believe (released by hardcore biggie label Deathwish Inc., which is run by Converge’s Jacob Bannon), the San Francisco […]

It’s the age-old cliche in punk rock for a band to decide to settle down in their glory years and clean up their act in order to continue playing and making music. But in the case of legendary Portland punk/hardcore band Poison Idea, cleaning up was a necessity. After years of alcoholism that saw the […]

By the sounds of it, Ottawa’s punk rock music scene is a lot like Victoria’s, which should bode well for Ottawa punk group Steve Adamyk Band’s upcoming show in town. Around the same size as Victoria, Ottawa’s underground music community is tight-knit enough that Adamyk and his band have gotten the local support that has […]