Arts

Scimitar Shadows of Man (Independent) 4/5  Driven by the double-kick drums of Camosun/Nexus alumnus Clayton Basi, Scimitar is back with their second full-length album, Shadows of Man. Their 2010 debut album Black Waters was an instant classic, so word of their long-awaited return had local metal fans buzzing with anticipation. What exactly is this? Death […]

DENM Endless Summer (Rock Mafia) 3.5/5  DENM, an artist based out of Southern California best known for his 2016 hit “Lit,” recently released his newest EP, Endless Summer. This is DENM’s third EP, taking influence from rock and reggae while occasionally tossing in a hip-hop beat or EDM bass line. The EP is a relatively […]

18th & Addison Old Blues/Modern Love (Wiretap Records) 4/5  New Jersey duo 18th & Addison invigorate the pop-punk scene with their cutting-edge style and polished sound on their new EP, Old Blues/Modern Love. Band members Tom Kunzman and Kait DiBenedetto are pop-punk industry vets, and their experience shows in the quality of the music. 18th […]

The Lumineers III (Dualtone) 4/5  III is the third full-length album from Denver-based folk-rock band The Lumineers. This concept album tells the story of a family known as the Sparks and their struggle with addiction. Although this is a more melancholy side of The Lumineers than we’ve seen in the past, it’s definitely an extremely […]

Iggy Pop Free (Loma Vista) 2.5/5  Not only is Iggy Pop alive, but somehow at 72 he’s still making great music. For half a century he’s been the poster boy for punk rock, and he’s still going: on September 6, Pop released his 18th solo album, Free. Naturally, expectations are high for the follow-up to […]

Toxic Holocaust Primal Future: 2019 (Entertainment One) 4.5/5  After six years of waiting, thrash fans will be satisfied by the seventh studio album from Portland’s Toxic Holocaust (the brainchild of Portland’s Joel Grind), Primal Future: 2019. Looking at the title of the album, we expect to see a dark, dystopian world. Primal Future: 2019 begins […]

Until Friday, September 20 A sketch of the synagogues Ben Levinson is sharing his architectural sketches of synagogues of the western world with the western world in his new exhibit, Synagogue Sketches of the Western World. This free exhibit is open to the public, and if you love beautiful art and vivid culture—and synagogues, sketches of synagogues, […]

Eamon McGrath Guts (Saved by Vinyl) 3.5/5  Well-travelled Canadian singer-songwriter Eamon McGrath explores toxic masculinity from a heterosexual man’s point of view on his new concept album Guts, which follows up his 2018 triumph, Tantramar. Guts’ dark lyrical imagery is spread across a diverse musical landscape. The album showcases McGrath’s versatility as it transitions seamlessly […]

Any performer can appreciate that distinct feeling that comes with the responsibility of holding a crowd’s attention. As a stand-up comedian, I can value that feeling of nervousness or excitement that fills you when everybody’s eyes are on you, waiting in anticipation. Black Mountain keyboardist Jeremy Schmidt has found his band playing in front of […]

When Toronto hardcore punk band Cancer Bats released their sixth full-length album, The Spark that Moves, last year, it felt like a salute to their diverse repertoire: 2008’s Hail Destroyer, 2010’s Bars, Mayors, Scraps & Bones, and 2012’s Dead Set on Living, to name just a few of their full-lengths. Vocalist Liam Cormier says that […]