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Ian MathersFeatures
Bob Norman Ross: Teacher, Painter, Optimist (October 29, 1942 – July 4, 1995)His way of gently exhorting the view at home to “be brave” when they were deciding what to do first, to not be afraid of that terrifying gulf that confronts every artist when you can do anything or nothing was peacefully encouraging. [24 September 2009] From Safety to Where: The Factory Years of New OrderThe full sweep and glory of New Order's accomplishment -- from the static gloom of Movement and “In a Lonely Place" to the happy, confident likes of Technique and “Run” -- cannot be underestimated. [12 February 2009] I’m Coming to Get You, BarbraZombies present a wholly different kind of terror, especially when that ghoul is your friend or brother or child. [28 October 2008] “My Head Is Filled With Fire”: A Conversation With Retribution Gospel Choir’s Alan SparhawkAlan Sparhawk gives back what he's taken, but that's not to say he's not holding onto his hope and wit. [4 September 2008] The Delicate Ecology of the Used BookstoreYou know, it's not easy rummaging through your trash. Ian Mathers takes a look at the secondhand bookseller's world from the inside. [2 July 2008] Spinoza’s EthicMathers explores how the Ethic was a life saver not in the sense of sustaining him through dark periods, but by changing his sense of what life is. [10 June 2008] The FallThe frightening, wonderful world of Mark E. Smith and the Fall offers decades of music and dozens of albums to sift through for the one that best represents what they are all about. [25 April 2008] Reviews
Hot Chip: One Life StandOpening their hearts and streamlining their sound at the same time, Hot Chip make their most unabashed and colourful record, and maybe their best. [9 February 2010] 
Retribution Gospel Choir: 2Alan Sparhawk's rock band makes a record just as sharp, funny, moving and self-lacerating as all of his best work with Low. [29 January 2010] The Fiery Furnaces: 8 November 2009 - Guelph, ONIf you were looking for some of the Fiery Furnaces' semi-traditional live madness, this show might have been disappointing. [27 January 2010] 
Divisible: Less Than LionLA duo's debut is a set of pop songs with enough compositional complexity and emotional intelligence to demand your attention. [21 January 2010] Andrew W.K. + Calder Quartet: 4 October 2009 - TorontoIt was a weird end to a weird night, one that was a perfect fit for a performer dedicated to trashing our conceptions of what ought to be party music and how we ought to act in public much more than he's dedicated to trashing hotel rooms. [17 December 2009] 
Mountains: EtchingIf you weren't there, this 'live' album is a thing of beauty. If you were, it's a little more frustrating. [9 December 2009] 
Variant: The Setting SunIf you only listen to one album of ambient dub techno this year, you could do a lot worse than to check out the latest from Deepchord's Steve Hitchell. [3 December 2009] 
Engineers: Three Fact FaderLong delayed sophomore effort from UK's finest modern shoegazers expands their sound in all the right ways. [1 December 2009] 
Aarktica:In SeaGlacially beautiful guitar-drone outfit serves up the perfect pinnacle to its career to date. [30 November 2009] 
Slaraffenland: We’re on Your SideThis slightly unclassifiable Danish quintet are good to have on your side, like a friend whose support is rock-solid if uneffusive. [6 November 2009] 
Gregor Samsa: Over AirDutch radio session and rarities collection shows again just how good this overlooked Virginia post-rock band is. [15 October 2009] 
The Mountain Goats: The Life of the World to ComeAmerica's best currently working songwriter tackles the Bible with surprisingly and gratifyingly diverse results. [5 October 2009] 
Tangled Star: That Time EPAustralian country rockers make a strong case for the vitality of the EP. [28 September 2009] The Shortwave Set: Replica Sun MachineBritish "Victorian Funk" meets Danger Mouse, Van Dyke Parks, and John Cale; cleans up its act; and becomes slightly less interesting. [21 September 2009] 
Wheat: White Ink, Black InkMercurial, oddly lovable indie underdogs return, striking a balance between their pop leanings and their self-sabotaging sides. [16 September 2009] 
Sir Lord Von Raven: Throw Me Back in the OceanOakland garage revivalists manage to replicate the spirit, not just the sound, of its predecessors. [13 September 2009] 
Apostle of Hustle: Eats DarknessA concept album that is at its best when it cares less about the concept and more about the songs. [25 August 2009] 
Jack Peñate: Everything Is NewA "new direction" that for once is actually new, Peñate doesn't sound anything like his first album and that's very much for the better. [19 August 2009] 
Mark Kozelek: Lost Verses LiveRed House Painters/Sun Kil Moon frontman goes it alone, with stunning results. Camera Obscura: 27 June 2009 - TorontoThis show not only brought life and muscle to the band’s new songs, it made me reconsider my feelings about their latest album. [17 August 2009] Stars Like Fleas + Echoes Still Singing Limbs: 15 June 2009 - Guelph, OntarioStars Like Fleas seem to be too restless, or in love with playing music, or maybe just too perverse to give themselves many nights off. [31 July 2009] 
Constantines: Too Slow for Love EPNo mere collector bait, this EP of stripped-down versions reveals both a whole new side of the band and just how good they are. [20 July 2009] 
Roni Size/Reprazent: New Forms 2Drum-and-bass classic goes under the knife at the hands of its maker and emerges in potent, stripped down form -- but boy, are the fans going to be pissed. [8 July 2009] 
Seeland: Tomorrow TodayEx-Broadcast and Plone members produce reliably nice album of soft-focus synthpop glee. [16 June 2009] Mountains: 28 April 2009 - TorontoMountains are an experience not quite like anything else the average PopMatters reader is likely to hear and shouldn’t be missed. [8 June 2009] 
Ben Klock: OneLong awaited debut full-length from German producer offers a darkly enchanting entry into the world of Berlin techno. [7 June 2009] 
The Hoa Hoas: Sonic BloomToronto band balances retropsychedelia and shoegaze murk to get you high. [3 June 2009] Mates of State + Black Kids: 10 April 2009 - TorontoBy the time Mates of State burned through a fervent and triumphant reading of “Fraud in the ‘80s”, still one of their best songs, my initial doubts were long forgotten. [13 May 2009] 
Client: CommandMalleable, aesthetically pleasing synth-pop outfit get better as they get less human. [6 May 2009] 
MONO: Hymn to the Immortal WindJapanese post-rock practitioners add an orchestra, get predictable but remain effective. [5 May 2009] 
The Hot Puppies: Blue HandsBrash young UK band succeeds with danceable exuberance, as long as they don't get too clever. [15 April 2009] TindersticksThis show was that rarest and most discomfiting of beasts -- a concert in which every song was good-to-great and yet the overall experience was in an odd way kind of a let down [13 April 2009] 
Deadbeat: Roots and WireMontreal-via-Berlin producer blurs ambient dub, reggae and house, to immensely pleasing effect. [10 April 2009] 
Mountains: ChoralThe ambient-drone duo make its first classic, in the vein of Eluvium and Stars of the Lid. [9 April 2009] 
Psapp: The Camel’s Back'Toytronica' duo make a striking album of hand-tooled, ramshackle pop that's good however it was put together. [8 April 2009] 
Sankt Otten: Eine Kleine TraurigkeitThe "German Portishead" has their forward-thinking debut re-released, a decade later... [5 April 2009] 
Fever Ray: Fever RayWith the Knife on hiatus, Karin Dreijer Andersson crafts something even more all-encompassing and darkly compelling than Silent Shout. [26 March 2009] Los Campesinos! + Titus AndronicusIt’s laudable and exciting that the band refuses to rest on its laurels live, but it also means that anyone who likes their recorded material needs to catch them in this environment as soon as possible. [13 March 2009] 
Christina Carter: Original DarknessCharalambides singer with gorgeous and strikingly effective voice serves up strident, awkward polemics. [12 March 2009] 
Dave Aju: Open WideThis album is made entirely using one man's mouth, not that you can really tell... [19 February 2009] 
It’s a Musical: The Music Makes Me SickA set of concise, frequently beautiful guitar-free pop marred by some really aggravating lyrics. 
Milosh: iiiToronto crafter of graceful ambient pop goes to Thailand, focuses, makes great leap forward. [11 February 2009] 
Various Artists: Hallam FoeNot just a soundtrack, this showcase for Domino Records satisfies as a mix. [1 February 2009] 
Free Blood: The SinglesBrooklyn duo make music that plays around in the area where the pop, dancefloor, and avant-garde worlds intersect, leaving you wanting more than this brief compilation gives you. [16 January 2009] 
The Dead C - Secret EarthNew Zealand noise rock archetypes continue to jar and thrill after decades. [13 January 2009] 
Rum, Sodomy & The Lash by Jeffrey T. RoesgenRather than just talking about the Pogues' lauded sophomore album, Roesgen takes us on a sea voyage, one that's compelling but leaves us wanting more. [7 January 2009] 
The Physics of Meaning: Snake Charmer and Destiny at the Stroke of MidnightOverstuffed, overegged collision of chamber pop and prog rock might be to someone's taste. [17 December 2008] 
Marnie Stern: This Is It And I Am It And You Are It And So Is That And He Is It And She Is It And ItPep talks and noise rock collide in thrilling but sometimes fatiguing ways, but no-one else is doing what Marnie Stern is capable of right now. 
Los Campesinos!: We Are Beautiful, We Are DoomedWelsh septet follows up their stellar debut from... 2008. Working at that kind of pace could be worrisome, but not when the results are this good. [21 November 2008] 
Woven: Designer CodesLA quintet continues to balance between agression and drift, even if they're not quite as cohesive this time around. [19 November 2008] 
Theresa Andersson: Hummingbird, Go!Transplanted Swedish singer does it herself and does it well enough you forget about the makeshift origins of her songs. [14 November 2008] 
Populous with Short Stories: Drawn in BasicConsistently lush, inviting and rewarding. [7 November 2008] WireThis show marked Wire’s transition from the willfully difficult band that made Document & Eyewitness to one that has fully learned the art of keeping a crowd going without losing any of their edge. [3 November 2008] 
The Dears: MissilesMontreal's finest lose nearly the whole band, but still manage to make a satisfying transitional effort. [29 October 2008] The Wedding PresentI was worried that the band would either rely too much on their (admittedly) superb new album El Rey or else just do a sort of old-times revue, but they managed to strike a nearly perfect balance between the old and the new. [23 October 2008] 
Horse Feathers: House With No HomePortland indie folk trio get even more conventionally pretty, leading to moments of unique sublimity. [9 October 2008] 
Harold Budd & Clive Wright: A Song for Lost BlossomsLovely, impressive in its monolithic bulk, but for serious fans of the genre or composer only. [7 October 2008] 
Facts About Funerals: Love Songs & Funeral HomesSeattle songwriter picks himself back up after tragedy, with a new band, a new sound, and surprisingly open-hearted music. [2 October 2008] 
Mercury Rev: Snowflake MidnightIt should be ludicrous, it probably sounds ludicrous, but (and this is the glory of Mercury Rev), it works. [1 October 2008] 
Oneida: Preteen WeaponryBrooklyn trio contains multitudes, this time letting them out in droning, jammy Krautrock form. [18 September 2008] 
Tape: LuminariumPost-ambient Stockholm trio continues to satisfy and baffle in equal measures. [16 September 2008] 
Paavoharju: Laulu Laakson KukistaAscetic psychedelic Finns deliver second beautiful record, this time with a wider and more vivid palette to draw from. [12 September 2008] 
Grouper: Dragging a Dead Deer Up a HillLiz Harris has dialed down the washes of fuzz that cloaked her first two records as Grouper, and for the most part that's a good choice. [9 September 2008] 
Tamas Wells: Two Years in AprilFrustratingly, the music of Australian expat Tamas Wells is still unavailable in North America. [8 September 2008] 
Stars Like Fleas: The Ken Burns EffectUnderappreciated New Yorkers continue to stun, abrade, soothe and mystify... but now you can find their records. [14 August 2008] 
Gas: Nah Und FernThese discs ask you to treat them as parts of one mammoth work, phases in an exploration of what Voigt refers to as “different zoom, loop and alienation techniques". [13 August 2008] 
Philip Jeck: SandSand is composed and played purely on turntables, old found vinyl and record players [29 July 2008] 
Alison Moyet: The TurnLatest solo effort by the singer from Yaz goes theatrical, with mixed results. [28 July 2008] 
Wire: Object 47Old post-punk pros effortlessly whip up the most accessible record of their career, and one of the best. [18 July 2008] 
Mogwai: Young TeamMogwai's seminal, near-perfect debut no longer sounds like it has been wrapped in cotton batting. [17 July 2008] 
Festival: Come, Arrow, Come!Ethereal, heady acoustic psychedelia from talented sisters, kept short and sweet to leave you wanting more. [10 July 2008] 
Local H: 12 Angry MonthsPerennially undervalued, hard rocking duo return with a break-up album that might be a bit too on target to be comfortable. [7 July 2008] 
Joan As Police Woman: To SurviveSolid but not quite transcendent follow up from this friend of Antony and Rufus is solidly consistent, for better or for worse. [17 June 2008] 
The Wedding Present: El ReyIt's been a rough decade or so for Wedding Present fans, but they've finally come up with a fitting successor to Seamonsters. [5 June 2008] 
65daysofstatic: The Distant and Mechanised Glow of East European Dance Parties EPOne of the few acts still hoisting the flag for that old fashioned post-rock. [4 June 2008] 
Robert Forster: The EvangelistThe surviving half of the Go-Betweens songwriting team is still in fine form, but it's impossible not to the phantom pain. [21 May 2008] 
For Against: Shade Side Sunny SideNot to be confused with punk bands Rise Against and Against Me!, these guys have been making moody, effective post-punk out of the Midwest for a quarter of a century. [14 May 2008] 
Matmos: Supreme BalloonRelentlessly high concept electronic duo relaxes the rules, except for one, and come up with a winning but divided record. [6 May 2008] 
Retribution Gospel Choir: Retribution Gospel ChoirLow's main man speeds up (more), rocks out, draws blood. [25 April 2008] 
Los Campesinos!: Hold on Now, Youngster…Here's a riddle for you: How is a promising Welsh septet like an American political candidate? [18 April 2008] 
Thomas Brinkmann: When Horses DieMinimal techno examplar makes his pop debut, which is funnier than you might think. [2 April 2008] 
Samamidon: All Is WellOne of the best records of traditional Appalachian folk songs ever recorded, and that's probably damning it with faint praise. [11 March 2008] 
The Goslings: OccasionSludgey doom rock band returns with another album of eviscerating, masochistic, and transcendent noise. [7 March 2008] BlogsSound Affects: Medieval/Modern: An Interview with the Dry Spells [25 January 2010]Mixed Media: Hurts - “Blood, Tears & Gold” (video) [18 January 2010]Mixed Media: The Stylus Decade [8 January 2010]Mixed Media: Slipped Disc: Mountains – Choral [17 December 2009] |
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