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Recent Reviews
Nadah El Shazly
Laini Tani
Nadah El Shazly may have started out in a Misfits cover band, but the Egyptian-bred singer, composer and producer has long since established herself as a key player in the new Arab underground. Her 2017 debut Ahwar, especially its jaw-droppingly psychedelic track 'Palmyra', was a mesmerizing mix of electronica and classical Egyptian motifs that even earned her a cover shot in the July 2018 issue of The Wire as part of 'Cairo's New Wave'.
Fast-forward to 2025 and El Sha...more
Empanadas Ilegales
Sancocho Trifásico
Empanadas Ilegales are back at it with their fourth record and second studio LP to date.
Sancocho Trifásico - sancocho is a hearty stew enjoyed around the Caribbean - follows on the heels of their 2022 disc, Creepy Mambo. Much like its predecessor, it is chock full of that slithery psychedelic cumbia that came out of Peru in the '60s and '70s. And like the dish, it is a complex, multi-layered mix of influences and pleasures....more
Pacific Salt
Pacific Salt
"Play the trombone, son, because a good trombone player is never out of work."
In a spin on that quintessentially Canadian hockey advice ("Be a goalie 'cuz they always need goalies."), Ian McDougall's dad obviously steered his son in the right direction. The Calgary-born/Victoria-raised trombonist, who had originally intended to play the drums before hearing that fatherly advice, is best known in these parts for his time as a lead soloist with Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass...more
Painter
West Coast Woman / Space Truck - 7"
Painter evolved out of the ashes of the 49th Parallel. That Calgary group achieved a modicum of success with 'Twilight Woman', a song that garnered radio play right across the country, but particularly in the Toronto market, where it reached an impressive #16 slot on CHUM in the early months of 1969. They even released an album that year, but it was a hodgepodge of new and old stuff that sold rather poorly. The group's guitarist, Danny Lowe, eventually...more
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Melwood Cutlery
Kensington Sound - Toronto, Ontario
A live performance by little-known Melwood Cutlery is a rarity these days. And for the Ottawa-area troubadour to make the trip to Toronto with a full band in tow an even rarer treat.
Cutlery first emerged here in the big smoke back in the late-eighties when he and his pop/dance band the Fashion Plates made a sizeable splash on the local scene, with accolades pouring in from all the major media. Since then he has released a cassette (1988's Imagination) and a handful...more
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