SOUND BITES

As our look back on the year that was catches up to the present (and peeks ever so slightly into the future), it becomes clear that the vast majority of rock artists preferred to avoid the last two months of the year; though it's typically the stronghold time of year for pop superstar stocking stuffers, I still find it just a bit odd to see that two month gap emerge after mid-October with no nominated songs. In fact, that's almost as odd as two established bands deciding to release their albums one week before Christmas. Regardless, our last batch of nominees runs the gamut: here we find new artists to look out for, home grown Maritime talent hitting its stride, and no less than three bands with multiple Album of the Year nominations. Song of the Year nominees #41-50 are:

Surprising turns from established heavy bands. New heights for critical darlings. Up and coming artists making strong first impressions. The back half of summer saw all of this and more, as even the dog days saw some worthwhile releases that begged our attention. The fourth collection of Song of the Year nominees are:

Usually, as spring gives way to summer album releases dry up. In 2015, however, it didn't really feel like the case. Sure, there were less albums released than in the spring but pretty much every week in June and July saw something worthwhile hit the shelves. Plus, there are a couple from July 10th, which is the date all new releases shifted from Tuesdays to Fridays. This batch of nominees also represents a nice cross section of new and emerging bands, established acts and long dormant bands breaking long silences. Our third set of Song of the Year Nominees are:

Spring 2015 saw some big albums released that were kind of disappointing (isn't that right, Mumford & Sons?), but it also saw some really good work by bands that typically fly under the radar. Some of this batch of nominees have been around for a long time, some are relative newcomers, and a couple of them made welcome returns from very long absences. The next group of Song of the Year nominees are:

Typically a chance to take a breather from the year that had just passed and resolve to get through the winter while looking forward to some great albums in the spring, 2015 bucked that trend in grand fashion. From established artists releasing highly anticipated albums that met or exceeded expectations to hungry new artists looking to make their mark, the first quarter of 2015 provided an abnormally high amount of quality songs and albums. The tone was also set early with female-fronted projects that hit with force and built momentum for women in rock that carried through the rest of the year (I wrote about that here in April). The first batch of Song of the Year nominees are:

Song of the Year Nominees November 2 - 30 New Artist, Solo, Comeback, Canadian, Heavy Nominees December 7 Album of the Year Nominees December 14 Awards Announcements December 21 As the weather turns cooler and the clocks get set to go back, thoughts of the dreaded winter to come start to materialize. Well, that, and Year in Rock. As an annual rundown of what happened in rock music, Year in Rock is one of my proudest traditions. From its initial inception as a double CD compilation I'd make for my friends to its current incarnation on this blog, Year in Rock has been my way of recapping rock's history, one year at a time, since 2000. Over the past fifteen years a lot of trends have come and gone, so many bands have formed and run their course, and the state of the music business itself has changed in dramatic ways. Likewise, the way I present Year in Rock has changed; from a kickass mix CD to painstakingly writing out the recaps here, Year in Rock ha...

With 2013's Acknowledge, Acknowledge , The Motorleague made good on years of hard work and heavy touring with an energetic, punk-leaning record with a few surprises; splashes of acoustic east coast flavour ( Oh, How the Mighty Have Fallen ), groove-heavy rock ( We Are All Going Directly to Hell ), and even a little indie rock ( Burned in Effigy ) found their way into the core sound of the record. However, for me it was the incendiary post-grunge screamer Failsafes that hit hardest; given a few spins, that song stuck out from the pack thanks to its intensity and its catchiness in equal measure. More than any other song on that record, Failsafes married melody and force in a way that made it a clear favourite of mine, for not just the album but indeed the year itself. Having earned a higher national profile thanks to Canadian major distribution and more hard miles on the road, The Motorleague went into Holding Patterns sessions with a higher profile producer in Eric Ratz (the man...