2018

Dutch Post-Rock Trio Aestrid to Play Ottawa This Week

The Netherlands-based post-rock trio Aestrid is bringing their hypnotic blend of infectious energy and affecting tempos to Ottawa this week, their unique chemistry and sound set to leave you breathless and exhilarated. Ottawa, this is band you won’t want to miss out on. Lead singer, guitarist, and founder Bo Menning will be joined in Ottawa […]

Video Release: Anxiety2 by Overwrought

Video Release: Anxiety2 by Overwrought

Initially formed as a duo in late 2016, Ottawa’s one-man atmospheric/depressive black metal band Overwrought has just released a video for the track “Anxiety2”, from its album “Disorder”, which was released last fall. Exploring some of the darker themes and emotions that mark much of the band’s catalogue, “Anxiety2” is designed to create “a dreary, […]

Soulful & Intimate: Rufus John to Play Ottawa This Thursday

Great news for fans of R&B/soul music: Kitchener-based mega talent Rufus John is making a stop in Ottawa this week while on tour to promote his sophomore album “Gone But Not Forgotten”, as well as a docu-series of the same name about the making of the upcoming release. “I felt that this was a way […]

We Must Be Dreaming!: Harea Band Releases New Video for “Must Be a Dream”

We Must Be Dreaming!: Harea Band Releases New Video for “Must Be a Dream”

Pinch us, Ottawa—our city’s very own Harea Band has released a video for their exceptional new single “Must Be a Dream”. If you’ve been waiting for something to tide you over until their sophomore album later this year, this is it: it’s the perfect showcase for the band’s fun-loving, funk-pop stylings, and a great way […]

Feature Friday: Shadowhand

They refer to it as “ghost-like soul”, and yes sir, indeed, Shadowhand has nailed their sound pretty succinctly.  This album feels like a soundtrack for evening encounters, and it’s pretty darn breathtaking.  Well sung, well performed, well arranged, well goodness gracious, you did it, fellas: it’s minorchorderoticscratchyvocal sexy. You know you want this kind of music […]

Feature Friday: Cast In Cadence

Even though Ottawa’s dynamic rock band Cast In Cadence’s second EP “Dead Ringer” was released in January, its four stellar tracks still have us buzzing. Clocking in at just under 15 minutes, this tightly crafted EP features four pieces of pop/rock perfection just ready and waiting for their turn on the radio charts. “Dead Ringer” […]

Feature Friday: Kelsey Hayes

With starry-eyed love songs and scorned-lover anthems saturating the airwaves, it can be easy to forget that that pop can be earnest and still be catchy as hell. It’s refreshing, then, that Ottawa-based singer-songwriter Kelsey Hayes’ new EP, In My Mind,  serves as a sterling reminder, proving that the best indie-pop can convey complexity and […]

Feature Friday: XiL

When carefully crafted and properly executed, music can be truly powerful: it can connect with you, alter your mood, and evoke deep emotions. The first EP by Ottawa’s XiL, “If I Should Live Forever, Then Know That I Am Dead Inside”, achieves all of this within the space of its six profoundly affecting tracks. It’s […]

Feature Friday: Jon Creeden and the Flying Hellfish

Let’s get two things out of the way before I talk about how Jon Creeden and the Flying Hellfish’s newest offering, “Stall”, blew me away. First: I’m not usually a fan of band names that have a “So and So and the So and So’s” format, because I always feel like the band is getting […]

Feature Friday: Empty Nesters// Soft Life

Ottawa fans of indie, neo-psychedelic, and low-fi, rejoice! Empty Nesters and Soft Life recently released Empty Life, a split EP that evokes feelings of teenage idleness, depression, and violence all vis-à-vis distortion, mellow vocals, and kaleidoscopic sound—quite a feat! Empty Nesters’ first track, cryptically named “???”, starts with an upbeat guitar rhythm that hints at […]