Arts

Bob Dylan Rough and Rowdy Ways (Columbia) 4.5/5 Strange times are these in which we live. Where do we go for answers when our heroes are at home in quarantine? The last time the threads of the empire were frayed and apocalypse neared, an unlikely hero was created as Bob Dylan’s music morphed into something […]

Bananagun The True Story of Bananagun (Full Time Hobby) 4/5 After dropping a pair of damn good 7” singles in 2019, Melbourne’s Bananagun is ready to release their first full-length record, The True Story of Bananagun. There is no angst or sadness here, and it’s incredibly refreshing to hear rock ’n’ roll that brings fun […]

Permanent Collection Nothing Good Is Normal (Strangeway) 4.5/5 Making a great album is like taking a shot in the dark: although you can’t see what’s in front of you, you know that with luck you’ll hit your target. After a seven-year absence, Jason Hendardy scores a bullseye with his wonderful shot-in-the-dark comeback album, Nothing Good […]

Forest Bees Forest Bees (Independent) 4.5/5 One of the most unique challenges a musician can face is creating a solo album. What makes this such a challenge is that each track the musician writes has to convey its unique message in both a relevant and meaningful way, and they have to do it, more or […]

Ulthar Providence (20 Buck Spin) 3.5/5 The Bay Area has quite a reputation in the metal genre as being home to one of the largest and most influential thrash metal scenes in the world. To keep the tradition alive, Bay Area-based band Ulthar will release their second full-length album, Providence, on June 12. Brutal, fast, […]

Soft Plastics 5 Dreams (Paper Bag Records) 4/5 It feels like it was just yesterday that the once-Victoria-based indie rockers Frog Eyes announced that the release of their eighth LP, 2018’s Violet Psalms, would be paired with a farewell tour. Months later, frontman Carey Mercer was back at it, writing what would become tracks on […]

Camosun College’s 2020 Visual Arts grads have had to take their year-end exhibit to the internet. Originally, the Visual Arts grad show was supposed to run for two weeks in April, but because of current limits on in-person activities due to COVID-19 concerns, it will run from May until September online. Second-year Visual Arts student […]

Dive Index Waving at Airplanes (Neutral Music) 4.5/5 Making an album is a very courageous act. If the musicians are having second thoughts on a particular track or don’t like how something sounds but it’s too late to change it, it will be courage that will provide them with the faith needed to believe in […]

Suburban Living How to Be Human (Egghunt Records) 4.5/5 How do you measure the true impact of a good album? The answer to this question varies from listener to listener. Some people measure an album’s impact by how high it ranks on the music charts. Others measure it by how many times a radio station […]

Auroch Stolen Angelic Tongues (20 Buck Spin) 4.5/5 Extreme metal is one of the most well-known metal sub-genres, not only for its dark and brutal nature, but also for being mysterious, mystical, and multicultural. Stolen Angelic Tongues, a mini-LP released by Vancouver-based Auroch, is one of the best examples of how an extreme metal band […]