Culture

We’re far past the days when the idea of non-American performers tackling country music prompted skepticism. The Rolling Stones, for instance, could never pull off a credible country song from first note to last without lampooning the style, sometimes a lot, sometimes a little. The genre’s roots have always pushed the idea, at least by

In alternative music, whimsy can work better than going rigid with an aesthetical concept more often than not, and in the case of the new single “Twenty Four Seven Love” by the one-man-band ViennaCC, I think this is especially true. From the moment we get started in this throwback to the experimental sounds of left-field

Blurring the line between traditional gospel, pop-flavored CCM, country and folk music has been a popular trend in the last two years, but I wouldn’t necessarily count the new single “Here to You” from Lavendine as the result of a movement within their scene. On the contrary, there’s simply too much emotion and passion behind

In the music industry, there’s no room for fear – if you’re going to make a name for yourself in any capacity, you’ve got to be brazen with your craft, which is exactly what Tash Hagz is doing in his new single “The Ballad of Sanaleigh.” Continuing his experimentations with psychedelia and conventional pop structures,

Flutist Bill McBirnie teams with Bruce Jones once again for the seven song effort Forever. The two have worked together on previous releases, so they are acclimated to one another’s artistic vision and sound more in sync than ever before. The seamless compositional strengths of the songwriting are one of Forever’s standout elements; few instrumental albums in

Between lackluster acts like Young Doctors in Love and the simply atrocious Jeremy Rice, it’s easy to get a little prejudiced against some of the so-called buzz makers emerging from the Canadian underground at the moment, but in the case of a player named Calvyn Cass, it’s understandable why he’s been bringing so much positive

Lorenzo Gabanizza is one of those tireless, overachievers, who has mastered the art of serial songwriting. His latest release, has that sort of elder statesmen authoritarianism. “You’re Not There” is in some ways your typical blues standard, cloaked in the warmth of a tender ballad. Much of Lorenzo Gabanizza’s history is associated with his work

Stephen Wrench has enjoyed the sort of long and winding career in popular music that’s the stuff of legends. Wrench has rubbed elbows with the cream of the crop in 20th and 21st century music including the likes of Tom Petty, Artemis Pyle of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchett’s founder Banner Thomas, and the irrepressible Tommy Tutone. He’s managed, as well, to

Neal Fox is no stranger to expression; he’s been putting everything on the line in his records for years, living on the other side of the mainstream spectrum and putting his focus on the material and not the money end of the business. His work has been described as evocative and effervescent at times, but

How are you feeling about this year’s music you’ve put out so far?  I feel like now that I’ve finally had enough time removed from the making of all the songs I’ve released this year I can actually listen to them as just a listener now, and not as critical of a mindset, and I