Our Favourite Songs of 2020
This is the music that soothed us during countless moments of anxiety, channelled our anger, and pumped us up when we needed to push back.
Michael Rancic
Clearance Culture Is Hindering Canadian Artists' Creativity
“Clearing” a sample is a process by which artists attempt to gain the rights to use elements of a song from its rights holder. It’s an intentionally opaque and expensive process that privileges major labels and stifles creativity.
Deep Digs: Mort Garson’s Lucifer - Black Mass (1971)
Black Mass stands out in composer Mort Garson’s long and idiosyncratic discography like an inky smear on an otherwise colourful and varied canvas.
Untradition - Dark Summer
This is a sharp, maximal record that cuts through the darkness in thoughtful and rewarding ways.
Le Couleur - Concorde
Looking back at the peak of air travel through the lens of loungy disco on their latest album Concorde, Montréal’s Le Couleur deftly avoid the pitfalls of nostalgia by balancing their retro longing with a healthy dose of tragedy.
Clara Engel - Hatching Under the Stars
Though this album came out in April, with the days getting shorter and as we head toward longer bouts of darkness and cold, it feels perfectly suited for fall.
Basic Instinct - Late Bloom
With this release the Vancouver-based duo do more than just adhere to genre standards or cliché - when the smoke clears, Late Bloom is one of the year’s best metal releases.