Soundcheck: Kisses
As music can hit some pretty large chords, Soundcheck is a feature piece that spotlights today’s best artists and their favourites, firsts and a few uncommon bits. It’s hard to call Jesse Kivel and Zinzi Edmundson indie pop veterans but the partners-in-crime have turned KISSES into a L.A. project that stings with the strong understanding of how to stylize music with imagery. Their new Kids In L.A. LP is out in a few days (May 14th on Cascine)... Read More
Interview: Iggy Azalea
I’d be lying if I said my friends have never twerked to “My World”, or that “working on my shit” isn’t a stock phrase in my daily vocabulary, but looking beyond the catchy hooks and twerk-able beats, it’s hard to ignore IGGY AZALEA’s strenuous climb to household fame. Since freestylin’ to Yeezy’s “Hell Of A Life” in 2011, the 22-year-old Australian native has been plagued by shit-talkers,... Read More
Roots Radicals: Amnesia Rockfest Chases A DIY Reality
Though poutine, ugly sweater parties and “Hockey Night In Canada” make up for it, there’s a disconcerting lack of alternative festivals in the Great White North. Sure, our neighbours to the South may state we complain way too much, but that’s not necessarily the case when some of your own local folk start feeling like Nords stuck behind “The Wall”. When it comes to outdoor shindigs, Canada has a hard time competing... Read More
Interview: White Fence
Tim Presley is a songwriter that paves his own twisted road. Whereas being referenced to the term “traditional” seems harmless, it’s almost boring and repetitive, because why borrow a sound or a style when you can pen your own incarnation and watch it be free? Under the name WHITE FENCE, the West Coast native has sessioned with a handful of labels (Woodsist, Drag City and Castle Face) and counting his latest disc, Cyclops Reap, he’s... Read More
Interview: Mac DeMarco
In our present world, where random as hell YouTube videos triumph over underrated radio jams, it’s almost become easy for an artist to feel as if they’re “faking it” on stage. As eccentric as MAC DEMARCO is, the 22-year-old is a pure drop of authenticity. Ask anyone who recently saw him perform at CMJ, SXSW and CMW, and they’ll throw names like Iggy Pop around just as an attempt to describe his persona when he rips through... Read More
Interview: Norma Jean
For most of the 2000s’, NORMA JEAN were “Exhibit A” on how a band could disregard mediocrity for something bigger in the metalcore scene and in the southern U.S. They made albums that embedded influences, worked with everyone from Chino Moreno to Shelby Cinca, and even received a Grammy nomination in 2006 for Best Recording Package, an award won by the likes of Tool, Bright Eyes and Wilco. The secret: taking a conscious approach... Read More
Interview: Kitty
KITTY (formerly known as Kitty Pryde), is a 19-year-old rapper who hails from Daytona Beach, bumps Danny Brown’s XXX on the regular, and isn’t afraid to rep Bandcamp like it’s 2008. Just leave your criticisms at home; she’s aware of what the Internet is, but it’s not the foundation for D.A.I.S.Y Rage, her recent EP that screens detailed Gambino-ish stories alongside Diplo/Twin Sister samples and an early 2000s’... Read More
Interview: FIDLAR
The fellows in the LA punk quartet FIDLAR (“Fuck It, Dog, Life’s A Risk”) are no strangers to alcohol. They enjoy consuming it in its many forms, they pen songs about it, (“Cheap Beer”, “Blackout Stout”) and they’re not shy when it comes to talking about it. With that in mind, we carved a path up 6th Street in Austin to meet up with guitarist Zac Carper, bassist Brandon Schwartzel and drummer Max Kuehn,... Read More
Interview: Wax Idols x White Lung
The members of WHITE LUNG and WAX IDOLS may hail from opposite sides of the West Coast, but their impact on alternative is of equal magnitude. The former released Sorry last spring, a record that adds a lot more venom to traditional punk, and the latter is readying their sophomore kick, Discipline & Desire, a portrayal of how modern pop can stretch itself to sharpen the edges of post-punk. They both hold more intensity than a pack of wolves when... Read More
Interview: Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Plugging into albums like II and their self-titled can be a somewhat therapeutic adventure because at the end of the day, UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA create with a maddening amount of talent. Whether they’re lost in electric tones or strumming with an acoustic to strip a song down (watch this and wait for the chorus), it’s easy to miss how such an underrated band can sound… well, unbelievable. The trio visited Toronto earlier this week... Read More