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Four Labels to Watch in 2004
Year in Review 2003
By None None
Silverthree
Five exceptional records in 12 months is pretty good for a label that has only existed as long. Based out of Fairfax, Virginia, Silverthree’s roster is as diverse as it is talented, ranging from the post-hardcore/new wave of Retisonic (featuring ex-members of Blue Tip and Garden Variety), to the dissonant atmospheric rock of Kimone. Having also released records by Spanish emo vets Standstill and the sort-of-super-group Cardia (featuring ex-members of Rival School and 2 Skinny J’s, among others), the jewel in Silverthree’s sparkling crown is still the AC/DC inspired rock of Panic in Detroit. Co-founded by Mark Harbin of Burning Airlines and Jawbox, the label’s records have been difficult to find up until now, but a recent distribution deal with Lumberjack in North America means that it won’t be long before these inspired sounds invade.
Sam Sutherland
Limitless Sky
A label to watch not only for great music, but for its relationship to the business of world music. Michel and Rosa Tyabji spent three years in Tanzania recording folkloric and popular musicians and staging free concerts. When they headed back to Seattle, the Tyjabis had with nine albums worth of material. The first three releases came out this year, kicked off by the absolutely crucial New African Composers Vol 1 and the propulsive soukous of Yellow Card by Ndala Kasheba. The Tyabjis' goal is to help Tanzanian artists understand and negotiate intellectual property rights, issues of international copyright and artist representation. Most record companies releasing music by African artists do so through recording or licensing music in London, Paris and New York, with little involvement in the communities from whence the music originated. Limitless Sky shows how the encouragement of musical diversity can be a means to social development around the world.
David Dacks
Rainbow Quartz
Founded in the mid-‘90s by music-loving Manhattan entertainment lawyer Jim McGarry, Rainbow Quartz has since blossomed into a premiere source for ‘60s-inspired, contemporary psychedelic pop. Although RQ’s first signing (dream-pop combo For Against) hailed from Nebraska, McGarry was intent on positioning the label internationally right off the mark: thus Nemo (Belgium), Time Lodgers (Norway) and UK bands Me and Coax were among early roster additions. The same sans-frontiers mandate has been maintained with such other international signings as France’s brilliantly named Strawberry Smell, Spanish synth-psyche unit the Gallygows and Israeli quartet Rock Four. McGarry’s homeland is well represented, too, with acts like Detroit’s Fletcher Pratt and Outrageous Cherry, Austin’s Cotton Mather and Philadelphia’s Lilys now bearing the RQ imprint, along with less ‘60s-derivative bands like Myracle Brah and New Radiant Storm King. Winnipeg’s Telepathic Butterflies and Montreal’s High Dials account for the label’s Canadian contingent. Although Rainbow Quartz’s musical spectrum remains largely homogenous, McGarry’s transcendent taste is reflected in electro/dub-bient sister label Amethyst, along with the hands-on honcho’s newly-minted alt-country label, Turquoise Mountain.
Chuck Molgat
Robotic Empire
You can’t throw a rock without hitting someone who runs an indie label; it’s getting harder for labels to emerge as leaders. But with past releases by acclaimed underground noise terrorists such as the Red Chord, Hot Cross, Page 99, the Now and Employer, Employee, along with a slew of vinyl, Robotic Empire (formerly Robodog) is an aggressive music label on the rise. The Empire stepped to the forefront of the underground in 2003 with the release of the critically-acclaimed and equally criticised Canada Songs by Daughters. Complemented by strong offerings from Crestfallen and Stop It!!, and the Mutation comp (featuring Ed Gein, the Minor Times, the Abandoned Hearts Club, among others), what the Empire lack in quantity they make up in quality. Following the blueprint that once made Hydrahead a juggernaut — special packaging and detailed artwork, limited vinyl pressings, attention to detail and, importantly, quality music — Robotic Empire is poised for great things in 2004, with a series of Isis remix twelve-inches, as well as releases from Circle Takes the Square, Creation is Crucifixion, Pig Destroyer, Mannequin and Page 99.
Chris Gramlich
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Best Pop/Rock Album Year in Review 2003
 1. The Constantines Shine A Light (Three Gut)
Bry Webb would like to send a shout out to Hamilton. The preciously gruff front-man says "there was something about the feeling, everybody dancing and really having a good time," of the smudgy Steeltown, where the Constantines played one...Read More
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Best Punk Album Year in Review 2003
 1. Turbonegro Scandinavian Leather (Epitaph)
Back after a bad break-up, Turbonegro’s first new album in four years has transformed them into the biggest cult/punk band around. Asked about his band’s place on this list, guitarist/keyboard player Pal Pot Pamarious summed it up in clas...Read More
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Best Hip-Hop Album Year in Review 2003
 1. Viktor Vaughn Vaudeville Villain (Sound-Ink)
Underground mystery MF Doom, formerly of KMD, emerged in two alternate guises this year — a three-headed alien called King Geedorah, but more importantly, as Viktor Vaughn, a spacy, sci-fi rap stranger from a strange rap land. For head...Read More
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Best Electronic Album Year in Review 2003
 1. Manitoba Up In Flames (Domino)
During a year when electronic music lay in hospital suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome (or was it repetitive stress disorder?) acclaimed Canadian IDMer Dan Snaith discovered the elusive antidote — humanity. In a bold move that could have easily...Read More
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Soft Revolution is in the Stars Year in Review 2003
 They made an album of pure pop perfection with lush backdrops, tales of mended hearts and oooey-gooey unrequited love. Stars’ Heart is #18 on our year-end Pop and Rock chart this year and with their new focus — s-s-s-sex! — it might bump them up higher next year.
Their new album is expected in t...Read More
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Björk Starts the Fire Year in Review 2003
 Parc Jean Drapeau, Montreal, August 28
Toronto Island, Toronto, September 2
There was no orchestra or choir in tow to worry about. There wasn’t a new band of collaborators to break in. There was no new album to flog, just a glut of archival material for diehard fans to pore over, an...Read More
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June Carter and Johnny Cash Fade To Black Year in Review 2003
 We knew it had to happen, but something told me the first time I listened to American IV: The Man Comes Around, that this would be Johnny Cash’s final statement. While far from the best of the American series, the song choices told the whole story — "In My Life," "Danny Boy," "Streets Of Laredo," an...Read More
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Inside Madlib’s Bomb Shelter Year in Review 2003
 Madlib’s wildly eclectic output in the last year has traversed hip-hop, jazz, reggae, broken beat, and several alter egos. A restless creative spirit, the connection between this producer, DJ and multi-instrumentalist’s varied output is his intentionally raw, dusty and quirky style. This inimitable ...Read More
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The Year In Review - 2003
 The year’s best offerings in pop and rock, punk, electronic, hip-hop, country and metal are joined by essays on Canada’s new romantics, the loss of Johnny Cash and June Carter, Canadian success abroad, the hottest labels, best concerts and other 2003 highlights....Read More
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Best Metal/Hardcore Album Year in Review 2003
 1. The Blood Brothers Burn, Piano Island, Burn (Artist Direct)
"I don’t think that any of us consider our band groundbreaking. We feel that we’ve developed our sound, but it’s weird. We’re always surprised when people like our band," says Blood Brothers guitarist Cody Votolato on th...Read More
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Best Folk, Country and Blues Album Year in Review 2003
 1. Jay Farrar Terroir Blues (Artemis)
Jay Farrar’s muse has gone from Uncle Tupelo’s revolutionary take on traditional American music, to Son Volt’s more streamlined country-rock, to now, as a solo artist, an almost abstract expressionism. With Terroir Blues, Farrar’s progression ha...Read More
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Welcome to Wherever You Are Year in Review 2003
 Isolating artists by homeland is a sucker’s gambit. If we learned anything from the great grunge wars of the ‘90s, it’s that the surest way to kill a rock scene dead is to paint all of its players with the same stiff brush. Right now, in every American bookstore there are about a dozen magazines wit...Read More
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As is the case with any of the previous instalments in the Classic Albums series, Classic Albums: Paranoid is an hour-long investigation into what inspired, created and resulted from Black Sabbath's legendary 1970 sophomore opus. Breaking the album down into a track-by-track analysis a...
Full Review
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