After the documentary film You're Gonna Miss Me came out five years ago and presented audiences with the image of what Roky Erickson had become, fans and other assorted hopefuls finally gave up the last dangling threads of hope they might have been harboring. It was unlikely that the singer would ever again assume active duties as a musician outside of the odd appearance onstage at a festival somewhere – and that wasn't even a given. The images of a...

Since indie rock in all its forms and glories first began to break onto the mainstream radar, those drawn to the music have noticed an unusual occurrence: while some fans might have been right on top of the game and “in it” since the very beginning, they find themselves joined at shows by a whole new mass of new fans drawn in by the band after they got a greater amount of exposure. As soon as they appear, the first...

The one constant in the major label music racket is that times change and musicians playing in that game have to change too – or risk being left behind. Sure – a classic album can live forever as a photograph of a moment and the powers possessed by those in the shot, but if a group is still working, they can't afford to rest on laurels. Cypress Hill know this and also know that, after six years away, they had...

In the context of rock n' roll, some albums are just inarguably timeless and of eternal value to listeners; they sound as good now as the day they were released, and pack the same emotional wallop no matter how much times may have changed. The list of such albums is not large, but is debated and quibbled over constantly – by turns, fans have questioned whether The White Album is of greater artistic value than Sgt. Pepper and Revolver, whether...

In the last twenty years, there has been no shortage of bands who have tried to find a soothing and serene balance between melody and dissonant texture but, other than Sonic Youth (who has the best track record to date, but even that isn't flawless), few have actually managed to pull it off. 'Few' is more than 'none' though, which means that Parlovr has joined a very select group with the release of their self-titled debut. And what a debut...

Alright, however it came to pass that light-weight metal somehow got called hardcore may be a mystery for the ages. Hardcore has been many things but, outside of Black Flag's misguided dalliances in the twilight of their career, the music could never be confused with metal. Perhaps perhaps the confusion that build up a couple of years ago was simply a case of semantics failing; as bands like My Chemical Romance got more confident and started to tighten up, they...

It's always a tremendous event to watch a band grow beyond their beginnings. Sometimes that growth is artistic and more fascinating is when the band grows literally, but in the case of Great Lake Swimmers, it just happens to be both. Wainfleet, Ontario-born singer/songwriter Tony Dekker first founded what would eventually become his Canadian folk rock institution in 2003 and did it the way in which it suited him best: he started alone on the circuit – playing his songs...

As much as everyone loves to say that they saw it coming after an event has happened, some of the best punk records ever released have seemed to come out of nowhere and smash unsuspecting listeners over the head. That isn't to say that bands like NoFX, Green Day, Rise Against and Rancid never left any impression on fans that they could be capable of making albums like Punk In Drublic, Dookie, Siren Song Of The Counter Culture and …And...

In the six years since MGMT crashed through onto the modern rock landscape, it's incredible how long and strong the band's staying power has been. In an industrial climate where Andy Warhol's foretold fifteen minutes of fame has been pared down to about three and a half, MGMT has done the unthinkable: they've stayed diverse enough and interesting enough that they've captured and held the attention of fans, and even succored them into waiting excitedly for the next release. Seldom...

It's funny just how provincial and arrogant North Americans can be when it comes to music. Much of the rest of the world seems to be much more open-minded when it comes to accepting music that didn't necessarily come out of their proverbial back yard. While Canadians have always been very receptive to music from the States, the UK and Europe, even they tend to miss a lot of what's happening abroad and breaking into the continent as a whole...