Mirror
Mirror
By Ian Gormely

If M83's Before the Dawn Heals Us was the soundtrack to a French noir thriller, then this is the Broadway musical. Mirror is the name and soundtrack of a multi-media project assembled by former Slow front-man Thomas Anselmi. Anselmi was able to recruit a wide array of artists — teen actress Frances Lawson, former Bowie pianist Mike Garson, Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan — to help shape his dark electro-pop, which is about as far away from Slow's riot-inducing rock as you can get. Gahan's "Nostalgia," which could easily fit onto any of Depeche Mode's records during their turn of the '90s peak, and the Lawson sung "Nowhere" are stunning highlights, torch songs ready for your next break-up mixtape. But front-loading the album with this one-two punch reveals the sameness that plagues Mirror's other seven tracks. Their melancholy plodding becomes tiresome as tracks begin to bleed into one another and by the halfway mark, you're already scouring your playlist for something with a little more vitality. Anselmi's visuals might have carried these songs in a live performance setting but without them, most of Mirror lies dead in the water. (Independent)
Death - …For the Whole World to See
Forgotten even by the men who made it, …For the Whole World to See is part of a debut album that never was by three brothers from Detroit during the mid-'70s. Fighting against stereotypes and embracing their city's influence, they made some of the fiercest and inspiring rock'n'roll ever uncov ...Read More
Faunts - Feel.Love.Thinking.Of.
Having formed in 2000, Edmonton, AB's Faunts have been around for nearly a decade. On Feel. Love. Thinking. Of., their second full-length and fourth release in total, their maturity as a band truly shows. Prepared with a rich sonic palette that combines hushed production with a love of vintag ...Read More
Handsome Furs - Face Control
Like the cleaned-up, courteous 18-year-old who returns from the military an adult, it's evident that Handsome Furs have learned much from their tour of duty, discovering the world and making comrades while supporting their 2007 debut, Plague Park. Wolf Parade front-man Dan Boeckner and partne ...Read More
Howie Beck - How To Fall Down In Public
While Howie Beck hasn't gotten the love from his home country that he's received in Europe, How To Fall Down In Public will hopefully change things up. Jangling his way through a looser set of songs than on previous albums, this is damn fine, intimate pop. "Flashover" starts off with Beck's p ...Read More
The All American Rejects - When The World Comes Down
Au Revoir Borealis - Dark Enough For Stars
Benjy Ferree - Come Back to the Five and Dime, Bobby Dee Bobby Dee
Bon Iver - Blood Bank
Boom Pam - Puerto Rican Nights
The BPA - I Think We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat
Bruce Springsteen - Working on a Dream
Colossal Yes - Charlemagne’s Big Thaw
Contrived - Blank, Blank, Blank
Cut Off Your Hands - You & I
The Escape Frame - The Escape Frame
Faded Paper Figures - Dynamo
The Famines - 2X7
Funeral for a Friend - Memory and Humanity
Goblin Cock - Come With Me If You Want To Live
Gregory And The Hawk - Moenie and Kitchi
The Hylozoists - L’Ile de Sept Villes
In-Flight Safety - We Are An Empire, My Dear
Iran - Dissolver
Jason Bajada - Loveshit
John Frusciante - The Empyrean
Ketch Harbour Wolves - Dead Calm Horizon
The Lanterns - Apocalypse Youth
Lily Allen - It’s Not Me, It’s You
The Lonely Island - Incredibad
Loney Dear - Dear John
Made In Mexico - Guerillaton
Middle States - Happy Fun Party
Mike Bones - A Fool For Everyone
Now, Now Every Children - Cars
O’Luge - Movements
Panic at the Disco - Live in Chicago
Point Juncture WA - Heart To Elk
Sholi - Sholi
Swervedriver - Raise/Mezcal Head
Various Artists - Just Like Heaven: A Tribute to The Cure
Volcano Suns - All-Night Lotus Party
Volcano Suns - The Bright Orange Years / All-Night Lotus Party
The Von Bondies - Love, Hate and Then There’s You
New and Forthcoming Release Dates In Canada - All information is tentative and subject to sudden change
Check out the hottest new releases in Canada this week, including: 50 Cent Before I Self-Destruct, Boris Japanese Heavy Rock Hits #2 7", Kid Sister Ultraviolet, Norah Jones The Fall, Stereophonics Keep Calm and Carry On... Read More
King Khan
Montreal ex-pat King Khan has led a classically "rock'n'roll" lifestyle since leaving his home at 17, legally changing his name from Erich Khan to Blacksnake, and eventually relocating to Berlin. Since then, he's become renowned worldwide for his various garage, punk and soul projects, including the big-band soul project King Khan and the Shrines and his collaborative duo with Mark Sultan, the King Khan and BBQ Show.... Read More
Ian McCulloch of Echo & the Bunnymen
They don't call him Mac the Mouth for nothing. What was planned as an in-depth conversation about Echo & the Bunnymen with front-man Ian McCulloch, turned into mostly listening to the Mouth go to work in a brief 20-minute phone conversation.... Read More
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