Editorial Reviews
Mass Romantic [Original recording remastered]
Music Review:
Music Review
Stokowski conducts Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 4, Romero & Juliet & Capriccio Italien
The Art Of Egon Petri-Concert Performances And Broadcasts, 1954-1962
To Scratch That Itch: Luaka Bop Roots, Rock & Rhythm
Tide [Import] [Limited Edition]
Stefan Wolpe: Piano Music - Geoffrey Douglas Madge
From Amazon.ca
Reigning Vancouver melody masters Carl Newman (of Zumpano) and Daniel Bejar (Destroyer) team up for a great debut full of sharp pop hooks and consistently solid performances. Rounding out this mini-supergroup is Limblifter's Kurt Dahle, the Evaporators's John Collins, cow-punk crooner Neko Case and, interestingly, independent filmmaker Blaine Thurier. Whereas Zumpano have made a name for themselves by updating classic '60s melodic pop, the New Pornographers draw on influences that are less specific, at times coming off as new wave refugees. Standout tracks--and there are many--include the disc's grinding, keyboard-driven title track, the bouncy, rollicking singalong "The Slow Descent into Alcoholism," and "Letter From an Occupant," which may just be one of the greatest Canadian pop singles ever written. --Chuck Molgat
An Amazon.ca Canadian Essential
The debut of this Vancouver indie supergroup led by Zumpano's Carl Newman sent critics scrambling to the early '80s and mid '60s for power-pop forebears, and it sent everyone else bouncing down the street and shouting out car windows. In a happily urgent record full of tight harmonies and cryptic storytelling, the high point undeniably remains the great single "Letter from an Occupant," which rides Neko Case's country-crooner voice nearly off the rails. --Tom Nissley