I’m a dog

by | Feb 15, 2019

I’m a dog. What makes you so sure? Well, when I come when my owner calls, I’m a good dog. If I eat my morning or evening meal, I’m a good dog. But it gets complicated. When I chase a squirrel, or pee in the front hall. Then, I’m a bad dog. So,...

The Explosions Go Boom

by | Jan 9, 2019

What it comes down to is that The Explosions existed for the sake of a song. Bob Mercer had written Wilson Lucas And Bruce as a protest of the B .C. prison system’s solitary confinement. Rather than go back to “the hole,” three B.C. pen prisoners,...

natasha and anders

by | Dec 28, 2018

Natasha D’Agostino’s Endings Rarely Are is the kind of album that can be damned with faint praise. That is, there are so many things to like about the record but… D’Agostino sings well, her accompanists read her well, and her own production...

Braidwood

by | Nov 23, 2018

In the year of the 50th anniversary of the release of The Beatles’ “White Album” comes Braidwood’s Second Cacophony. Obviously, Braidwood is not The Beatles but the diversity of Braidwood’s second album has a similar effect, and a Beatles...

The Potatoes

by | Nov 14, 2018

All the signs were good. The Potatoes was about to play it’s first gig – at the Smilin’ Buddha Cabaret, the centre of Vancouver punk-rock – opening for three nights for DOA, the preeminent Vancouver punk rock band. Then, on the way there in...

Arwen

by | Oct 11, 2018

I don’t know how old the Arwen album is. Not that it matters. A good album might take months, even years, to reveal its strengths. The trouble with reviews is that they are based on timeliness. A record can come out Tuesday and is reviewed by the weekend, based...