Calgary
May 9th, 2012
Songs for the Summer
You know that feeling you get when a great song kicks in as the credits roll at the end of a movie? That satisfying swell of energy that makes you want to go forth and do something fun.
That’s the feeling that comes from the songs of The Heartwicks. The indie band recently released three songs on its Black EP with fist pumping classic rock tunes.These are cruising tunes. Roll down your window, turn up the volume and drive down the open Alberta roads with The Heartwicks providing your soundtrack. —Jaelyn Molyneux
April 26th, 2012
Essential Leonard Cohen
Some people do it all. Take Leonard Cohen, for example. He’s a Canadian icon, poet, artist, novelist, music and singer-songwriter, and writer of “Hallelujah” perhaps the most covered Canadian song of all time.
He’s also a visual artist. The Art of Leonard Cohen is on display at Axis Contemporary Art in the gallery’s new location on the second floor of Art Central. Cohen’s images collected from 40 years archival drawings and journals have been reproduced on watercolour paper with each of the 100 editions stamped with a personal seal by Cohen himself.Behold a slice of Canadiana. —Jaelyn Molyneux
Til May 14, Axis Contemporary Art, 203, 100 7 Ave. S.W., Calgary, 403-262-3356, www.axisart.ca
March 14th, 2012
The Return of October
Octoberman, fronted by Marc Morrissette, marches forth with its latest album Waiting in the Well.
It’s not often that you get to put Vincent Van Gogh and the Balloon Boy on the same list, but the master painter and the subject of a tabloid tale of bad parenting both inspired songs on this album’s tracklist. Throw in a grandparent’s romance and a Japanese novel on you have a mixed-bag of influences like none other and an impressive feat of songwriting compiled in a neat 10 track package.
"Write what you know" is a rule that holds true. —Jaelyn Molyneux
February 28th, 2012
Yes is More
It’s been two years since Michael Bernard Fitzgerald released his debut album and then proceeded to woo audiences at folk fests, clubs and concert halls with his danceable pop jams and slow catchy ballads.
He’s following up the success of The MBF LP with two new releases. We’ll have to wait until April 24 for Yes Side A. But, the release of Yes Side B coincides with his Canadian tour that includes a date tonight at the Jack Singer Concert Hall where MBF will have more than 250 people backing him including marching bands and dancers.
His music sounds just as good backed by a huge spectacle or in his signature DIY Youtube videos. —Jaelyn Molyneux
January 24th, 2012
Garage Band
Put another gold star on Calgary’s list of impressive singer-songwriters.
Reuben Bullock just released his second album Man Made Lakes, recorded in a garage studio with producer Lorrie Matheson. It’s packed with four-part harmonies that swell with emotion and arrangements that push the bounds of the indie folk label.
Bullock’s music is best heard live, but this album is about as a good an imitation of live performance as you are going to get in a digital download.
Cue it up and enjoy a concert for one. —Jaelyn Molyneux
December 15th, 2011
A Merry Holiday Playlist
Refresh your Christmas tunes with this list of contemporary carols.
The Christmas Waltz by She & Him
The Christmas Song by The Raveonettes
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by Death Cab for Cutie
Angels from the Realms of Glory by Annie Lennox
Silver Bells by Meaghan Smith
The Cowboys Christmas Ball by The Killers
In the Morning by Jack Johnson
Song for A Winter’s Night by Good Lovelies
Tracks in the Snow by The Civil Wars
O Holy Night by Matt Andersen
—Jaelyn Molyneux
November 21st, 2011
Wil Call
He broke guitar strings and broke onto the music scene playing Calgary bars with sets that left audiences ready to follow him wherever he went. Wil Mimnaugh known affectionately as just Wil calls Vancouver Island home now, but he is sticking to his roots with his latest album Heart of Mine.
The folk rocker wrote all ten songs recording them in a Victoria studio trying to capture the soulful verve of his live shows. He aggressively strums his guitar while crooning poetic lyrics with an authenticity that keeps the attention of even the most cynical bar crowd.
Blasting Heart of Mine in our living rooms is no substitute for a live Wil show, but it is as close as we’re going to get.
For an extra helping of Wil paired with some provincial pride, check out the new Travel Alberta videos set to his original recordings. —Jaelyn MolyneuxOctober 6th, 2011
The return of Feist
Dear Leslie Feist, we heart your crafty pop and the four-year layover between your last album and your latest album, Metals, was worth the wait.
If The Reminder was the album that taught the world how to count to four and garnered a fistful of Grammy nominations, her latest recording, Metals might be the album that reminds us again that Feist’s quirky pop can be both complex and catchy, hopefully leading to some actual Grammy hardware.
Recorded this past February in an abandoned barn at the top of a California cliff, Metals is what you might expect from a punk singer turned indie-pop darling who read Steinbeck in her downtime. Which is to say the songs are confidently all over the place, sometimes chaotically noisy, sometimes hauntingly quiet, and always carefully thought out. —Jaelyn Molyneux
August 27th, 2011
Muppet Music
It’s time to play the music! It’s time to light the lights!
As we anxiously await the first Muppet Movie in over ten years to be released on November 22, we
can get our Animal on with the inspirational, celebrational, muppetational Green Album, featuring covers of popular Muppet music by contemporary artists. Sing along to old favourites like "The Muppet Show Theme Song", performed with a rock edge by OK Go, a quirkily wistful rendering of "Rainbow Connection" by Weezer (featuring Hayley Williams), and a stunning "Halfway Down the Stairs" by soprano Amy Lee of Evanescence.Even Statler and Waldorf couldn’t give a negative review. —Jennifer Nachshen
Available on iTunes.
July 30th, 2011
Crafty instruments
The ukulele is a great kids’ instrument: it is small, easy to play and it never gets too loud (reason why recorders aren’t allowed in this home!).
That’s why we loved this make your own ukulele kit (US $40) from Uncommon Goods. It comes equipped with a wood body, neck, and strings which are easily assembled, and then you can customize it with different paints, stains or decorations.
And, when you've heard Old MacDonald Has A Farm for the one thousandth time, you know how they put it together, so you can take it apart.
—Alexandra Suhner IsenbergAvailable from Uncommon Goods. Make sure to check out the Canadian shipping instructions here.
