Arts

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started reading Martha C. Franks’ Books Without Borders: Homer, Aeschylus, Galileo, Melville, and Madison Go to China. The book is Franks’ account of teaching the liberal arts to high-school students in Beijing from 2012 to 2014. Guided on a cultural journey of Western literature through discussions and dialogues, we learn […]

February is African Heritage Month, which aims to preserve and promote African cultural heritage. Dancer and singer Merlin “The Enchanter” Nyakam is coming from France to help us do just that at the Issamba event on February 15. Nyakam was born in Cameroon, Africa. He admits that he is more comfortable speaking in French, saying […]

Raphael Weinroth-Browne Worlds Within (Independent) 4.5/5 Raphael Weinroth-Browne is a Canadian composer and cellist known for his musical artistry in groups such as The Visit, Musk Ox, and Leprous. Weinroth-Browne is now releasing his first studio album, Worlds Within. And, just like his band work, Worlds Within shows off Weinroth-Browne at the height of his […]

Saturday, February 8 Here’s looking at Q, kid Have you heard that the new black is actually Arctic Blue? Well, it is, with Josh Q and The Trade-Offs, singing their soulful and brooding notes from the deep end of the northern tundra. In a blend of Inuktitut and English lyrics, The Trade-Offs sing the Arctic […]

The Victoria Film Festival’s program guide can be daunting, featuring everything from movies that are deeply meaningful and will really stay with the viewer long after the end credits roll to movies that are more on the lighter side of things. If you’re more into the former, Charles Wilkinson’s Haida Modern: The Art and Activism […]

After a seven-year hiatus, Toronto reggae/ska band Bedouin Soundclash returned in 2017 with a few more things to say. But vocalist/guitarist Jay Malinowski says the band wouldn’t be playing together again unless it was from the heart. “The only way we were going to start playing again was if we were creatively inspired,” says Malinowski. […]

The Warhawks Starlight Disco (New Rivals Entertainment) 2.5/5 Gloucester City, NJ indie rockers The Warhawks are back with their latest EP, Starlight Disco. The follow-up to their debut LP, 2019’s Never Felt So Good, Starlight Disco offers six new cuts and hints at a change of creative direction. The Warhawks lead with their familiar refined […]

Wolf Parade Thin Mind (Royal Mountain Records) 4/5  “Explosive” is the only way to describe Montreal/BC-based indie rock band Wolf Parade’s fifth studio album, Thin Mind. The first track, “Under Glass,” screams for attention in its first 10 seconds and establishes the album’s sweeping pace. Rolling waves of instrumental energy crash into lyrical themes of […]

Annihilator Ballistic, Sadistic (Silver Lining Music) 3/5 Diehard Annihilator fans will love the Vancouver-based thrash metal band’s 17th album, Ballistic, Sadistic. Written, recorded, and produced by band mainman Jeff Waters, the album features heavy, inferno thrash beats combined with shoelace-tying time changes and speed-metal movements. 2020 Annihilator sounds tighter and beefier than they have in […]