Bemoaning suburb-induced disenchantment is hardly new territory: the routine monotony, the hopelessness, the lover who makes the boredom bearable. Despite treading on such worn ground, the sheer grandiosity of Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs is enough to shed new light on an overdone theme. A foreboding tension builds throughout the album, starting on “The Suburbs,” a [...]
Where The Messengers Meet – Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band
After fully rocking out on their self-titled debut, the Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band return with an abstract and plodding follow-up. The drastic stylistic change would seem like a bad idea for most artists, but MSHVB may have just found its niche. Where the Messengers Meet swoons with a melancholy whimsy, like a rainy day [...]
Osheaga Recap From Newshouse
Last weekend I trekked up to Montreal for a day at the Osheaga Festival. I wrote it up for the Newshouse at Syracuse. Check it out. —In addition, I had the following comments about the Canadians and their fascinating festival habits which had to be cut. So I’ll share them here.— Their concert going customs [...]
