Plants and Animals
Canadian Music Week Toronto ON, March 5 to 8

By Scott A. Gray

Seldom have I seen an act dominate a small stage like Plants and Animals did at the Horseshoe. Bristling with playful energy, the band wasted little time with banter, electing to pummel the audience with amped-up versions of songs from their recent EP and full-length. P&A stuck mostly to EP material, which translated particularly well from progressive folk recordings to stadium-sized rock-outs. Continual three-part harmonies, inventive chord voicings and unbridled enthusiasm gave the Montreal group a sound so huge it was easy to forget the expansive orchestrations of their recordings. By the end, it was hard to tell whether the band or the audience had more fun.

Oh No! Forest Fires
Toronto’s newest indie rock amalgamation held back nothing for their set at the Horseshoe. Comprised of former members of the Most Serene Republic, Five Blank Pages, Fox Jaws, and the Vulcan Dub Squad, the idea of it all sounds promising. But what sounds even more promising is the limitless noisy po ...Read More
9th Uno
A Textbook Tragedy
Abdominal
The Acorn
Alex Dimez
Architects
Deerhoof
The End
Grand Analog
The Holly Springs Disaster
Immaculate Machine
Johnny Truant
Katie Stelmanis
KRS-One
M.O.P.
Mindbender
No Age
Notes To Self
Politic Live
Red 1
Sebastien Grainger et les Montagnes
Sunparlour Players
Ten Kens
The Tom Fun Orchestra
Aside from deliberately misspelling their entire lyric book, there's nothing I dislike about Capade's Dno't Say It Mihgt Maen Somehitng. This record is everything a sophomore album should be; it's a much more developed effort stylistically and construction-wise than their debut, Wake Me Up... Full Review
Though recently implying that he's tapped out musically, Sufjan Stevens has never created something as pointedly ambitious as The BQE. Originally commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music for a 2007 performance, as a take-home release The BQE consists of an uncompromising essay ostensibly all about the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, a visually stunning film, a stirring orchestral soundtrack, a stereoscopic View-Master reel, and, in limited edition, a 40-page comic book about characters known as the Hooper Heroes.... Read More
Montreal’s no-wave, Moog-rock four-piece Duchess Says are brilliant at working with language. That is so to say, they are francophone, and yet front-woman AC sings more in rhythmic sounds than in anything linguistically discernible. Her male band-mates keep their distance, because her trance-like th... Full Review
Social Networking
• Be our friend on MySpace
• Be our fan on Facebook
Tweet us on twitter
Viewing the April 2008 Issue: Contents PageNewsClick Hear • Articles --> On the Cover  •  Front Five  •  Points  •  Questionnaire  •  Release Dates  •  Research  •  Timeline  •  Videogames  •  Web Exclusives • Music Reviews --> Recently Reviewed  •  Aggressive Tendencies  •  Beats & Rhymes  •  Destination Out  •  Frequencies  •  No Future  •  Pop Rocks  •  Wood, Wires & Whiskey  •  Concert Reviews  •  CMW Reviews • Motion Reviews --> Recently Reviewed  •  Dvd Reviews  •  Film Reviews  •  Music DVD Reviews  •  Videogame Reviews • Music School --> Label Life  •  Meet & Greet  •  Need to Know  •  Where I play Contests • Contact --> About Us  • Advertising  • Distribution  • Getting Reviewed  • Getting Published  • Letters To The Editor  • Partnerships  • Subscriptions • Exclaim! Radio --> Aggressive Tendencies Radio  • Beats & Rhymes Radio  • Frequencies Radio  • Destination Out Radio  • Groove Radio  • No Future Radio  • Pop Rocks Radio  • Wood, Wires & Whiskey Radio Exclaim! TV • Home & Latest Issue Browse Issues