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You Oughta Know: Rock Plaza Central
Rock Central Plaza is more literate than your average indie act. They’re led by a twice-published author who wrote an entire album about robot horses and their latest effort was inspired by a William Faulkner novel.
While Toronto’s vibrant music scene has produced a number of big name indie bands — Broken Social Scene and Feist to name two — you’d be hard pressed to find...
Jonas bros. ready to take on T.O.
If there’s any doubt whether or not the Jonas Brothers are still one of the most sought after bands in the world, just look at their travel schedule.
“We’re en route to the New York airport, then going to Madrid, then London and then to Texas,” says Kevin Jonas, the oldest member of the musical family.
“And then we’re with you guys.”
It’s that last stop that thousands of Toronto teens...
White Rabbits — It's Frightening
White Rabbits
Album: It’s Frightening
Label: TBD/MapleMusic
Rating: ***
Driving rock made this sextet the must-see band of 2007, so it’s a bit of a surprise to see the group tone things down here. While there’s still some amped-up tracks — namely the disc opener Percussion Gun — there’s also a number of softer grooves. The more relaxed tunes, like The Salesman, are actually the highlights...
The Crystal Method — Divided by Night
The Crystal Method
Album: Divided By Night
Label: Tiny E Records
Rating: *** (out of five)
When The Crystal Method exploded on the dance scene in the late-’90s, their competition was limited to a handful of acts. Now, everyone’s playing loud, big-beat dance music, so the duo has to step it up if they want to stay relevant. They’ve tried to do just that by enlisting a bevy of popular indie artists,...
Melissa McClelland – Victoria Day
Melissa McClelland
Album: Victoria Day
Label: Six Shooter/Universal
Rating: *** 1/2
The Hamilton-based songstress delivers a lush collection of layered country tunes and orchestral jazz-tinged numbers, all delivered in her spectacularly honeyed voice. While it’s not Earth-shattering stuff — she plays it fairly safe on most tunes — it’s still a comprehensive and moving listen. This album is...
Apostle of Hustle — Eats Darkness
Apostle of Hustle
Album: Eats Darkness
Label: Arts & Crafts/EMI
Rating: ***½ (out of five)
Andrew Whiteman has always been odd — he channels spirits and once co-owned a bra store in Winnipeg — and he’s used that quirkiness to his advantage. Apostle of Hustle again delivers a boundary-pushing collection of rollicking indie sounds mixed with slick guitars and airy instrumentation. The strangest...
Music fans watching wallets
David Silverberg is your typical music fan. The Toronto-based writer buys about seven albums a year and goes to shows every six weeks. Or at least that’s what he did until the recession forced him to take a hard look at how he spends his cash.
“I’m definitely buying less music and going to less concerts,” he says. “I can put my money towards more applicable things. Concerts are nice...
Music Meltdown
“I’m feeling this depression,” said Montreal and New York-based musician Martha Wainwright in December, before embarking on a Canadian tour. “No one’s buying records anymore; we’ll have to go back to the life of a touring artist in the 30s, where they’d sleep upright on a school bus and go from town to town.”
While Wainwright might be joking about the school bus, she’s dead serious...
Bryan Borzykowski is a Toronto-based writer and editor working mainly for business and entertainment publications. He regularly contributes to Canadian Business magazine, Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, PROFIT, MoneySense and the Advisor Group. Bryan's the editor of Review magazine and is a senior editor with Connected for Business magazine. He's also a contributing writer with Hello! Canada and was once a weekly music columnist for Metro News. He's been nominated for several National Magazine Awards and recently co-authored