SOUND BITES

( Local News is a new extension of Sound Bites where I talk about homegrown talent and try to raise awareness of some of the awesomeness New Brunswick has to offer. Expect periodic updates on new releases from local bands going forward, and be sure above all else to get out and support your local artists by showing up to gigs and/or buying some merch!) Relatively newly formed Moncton trio Nicotine Heartthrob released their new self-titled EP on December 1st. Comprised of Sam Wareham, Jordan Hayward and Jeff Boots, the band have served up six tracks of groove heavy hard rock that exist in a universe where Nirvana, Fucked Up and Royal Blood show up on the same festival bill. When I saw them at The Caveau about a month ago, they opened the triple bill (with Montreal's Gazm and Moncton's Diner Drugs) with a loud, energetic set that more or less translates its aesthetic to this EP, which isn't an easy task to accomplish. Stream and/or buy the EP here and use it to tide y...

2017 was the first year in recent memory that my Album of the Year was solidified so damn early. By the time summer rolled around, I knew that nothing short of a miracle would dethrone Father John Misty's Pure Comedy as my favourite album of 2017; any last minute listening sessions only served to find the first runner-up. This year was a little different, so as to say, more like previous years; a lot of records came out this year which I consider great, and my choice for the top spot has changed many times over throughout the year. It was, if anything, worse than normal to figure it out; whereas I often have two and sometimes three records fighting it out in my mind by this time of the year, 2018 had more like six or seven serious contenders. From established artists turning out career highlights at a stage in their career when that shouldn't be possible to young bands hitting their stride and promising bright futures, this year's decision making process was tough....

With another year nearing its end and a very quiet December looming, I figured it's as good a time as any to jump in with all the other blogs and name my annual champs. The other day, I created my Year in Rock 2018 playlist on Spotify, fifty songs that I feel represent all of the good in rock music this year. I also realized I hadn't actually shared it here, so if you want to put yourself in suspense about this year's winner for about three hours, go ahead and check out the playlist right now: As you can tell, this year was a pretty diverse one for rock music, with a combination of established acts continuing their tradition of quality content and some relative newcomers coming out of the gate swinging. We had a lot of rock bands pushing the pop trend even further, which allowed for some pop associated acts to lean the other way and meet in the middle. Maybe the end result will be a mush of bland pop/rock at some point, but there are also plenty of bands willing...

The obnoxiously long title of Smashing Pumpkins' eighth album (or the first volume of it, I guess?), and its status as the first with most of the original lineup since 2000, might imply that it's a much bigger deal than it is. At eight songs and just under 32 minutes, it's a very slight return. It's also mostly free of the pretension that has bogged down much of their previous work; there are no epic-scale song suites, no wild tangents to go off on, just a batch of songs that get right to the heart of the matter and make way for the next one. In this respect, it's really a rather impressive display of restraint; given the attention this record was going to garner, it would have been easy to stretch things out to a bloated mess. That "Vol. 1" descriptor may prove me wrong on that last point eventually, but Shiny and Oh So Bright in its current incarnation is a concise and compact serving that may not blow old-school fans away or convince any of Billy ...

With their fourth album, Mumford and Sons have decided to take another step away from their folk-rock beginnings, this time playing around with electronics and infusing some modern sensibilities into their once charmingly old fashioned sound. While it's commendable for a band of their stature to take some chances at this stage of their journey (and only three years removed from taking a big chance with their last album), at a certain point a band starts to lose their identity; their status as unwilling poster boys for what became a veritable hipster phenomenon notwithstanding, by dulling and standardizing their approach on Wilder Mind Mumford and Sons chose to blend into the sonic landscape rather than lead it in a new direction. On Delta , an album-length exercise in homogenization, Mumford and Sons showcase the maturity and melodic strengths that they're well known for, and the results are pleasant enough in moderation. However, much like Wilder Mind , there are a handf...

This post concludes my rapid fire run of half-assed reviews, and pretty much brings us up to date. ARKELLS Rally Cry October 19, 2018 • Universal Highlights  Hand Me Downs •  Relentless •  Company Man The fifth album from Hamilton rockers Arkells seeks to build on the momentum from smash stopgap single Knocking At the Door by piling on big hooks, slick production and blatant mainstream aspirations. They've been going in this direction for some time while maintaining the essence of their sound; it's sort of made them the scrappy underdogs who you can't help but root for. Now that they've made it, it's just a little disappointing to learn just how eager they are to scrub away virtually all trace of what they used to be in an effort to grasp that brass ring. DISTURBED Evolution October 19, 2018 • Reprise Highlights  Are You Ready •  A Reason to Fight •  Already Gone Somehow, someway, Disturbed have survived the nu-metal backlash and carved out ...

Muse have never been shy about their shtick; whereas most bands are content to go about their business and evolve their sound from album to album, Muse often goes for the hard turns. Since rising to prominence worldwide with their third album Absolution fifteen years ago, they've constantly tinkered with their sound, infusing their subsequent albums with Europop ( Black Holes and Revelations ), symphonic suites ( The Resistance ), dubstep ( The 2nd Law ) and full-fledged wartime paranoia ( Drones ). Throughout all of it, as ridiculous as the whole thing was getting, Muse presented each of these projects with a seriousness that begged uncertainty about their creative decision making. Was Matt Bellamy really so concerned about drones? Is this the time or place for a 12-minute symphony? Does the world need so much wub-wub accompanying this thinkpiece on thermodynamics? With their eighth album, it appears as though Muse finally admits just how campy they've become and decide...