GOING LIVE: Refused, OFF!

REFUSED, OFF! SOUND ACADEMY, TORONTO / JULY 22nd In the span of fourteen  years, a lot can change but as the city of Toronto showed on a Sunday night in July, the admiration for what some label as “new noise” will never die. As prolific as their albums were, REFUSED were highly commemorated for their live performances and the sharp but fluid connections they made with those watching. On the first of two nights at the Sound Academy with... Read More

CONTEST: Refused

THE PRIZE: TICKETS TO TORONTO DATE Refused + OFF!. Sound Academy. Toronto. Refused coming to Toronto is a big deal – so much that our staff is already fighting over who can show off the tag “media” – and one lucky winner will get to endure sweat, tears and maybe blood when they hit the stage this summer. With help from our friends at AEG Live, we’re giving away a pair of tickets to the punk icons’ gig with OFF!... Read More

BLARE’s 40 MUST-HAVES FOR RECORD STORE DAY

Walking into a record store can sometimes leave you feeling overwhelmed. The artwork, the new favorites, the old favorites, the forgotten pieces of work that have your parents drooling over the dust still laced onto a classic they treated like a first-born when they used to be friends with a friendly-green dragon; it’s hard to shake the feeling of pure whimsical excitement. RECORD STORE DAY stokes that raging fire by supporting the independent... Read More

INTERVIEW: letlive.

Over the course of a year, Los Angeles five-piece LETLIVE. signed to a major independent label, sowed their proverbial brand of post-hardcore into South By Southwest and toured extensively across North America, the UK and even Australia. Numerous shows later, the group still perform at a level of intensity – which slightly mirrors the energy of a basement gig mixed with the ruthless speed of punk – that knows no boundaries but only one... Read More