Month: September 2007

By Jon Roe

The Mix Up, the latest offering by the Beastie Boys, is one of the most perfectly named albums ever. The Beastie Boys have given up their mikes and turntables to show their musical chops. While this departure from the norm is a solid experience, longtime fans may feel dismayed over the change as The Mix… Continue reading Spun: Beastie Boys

By Amanda Hu

Being musically original in this day and age is, by all accounts, really gosh-darn hard. How does one come up with new ideas when they are bombarded with pop music’s incessant, draining presence? In Secret Broadcast’s case, they simply don’t.The Calgary trio’s debut EP, Plastic Fantastic is a thinly disguised throw-back to the Killers, the… Continue reading Spun: Secret Broadcast

By Ryan Pike

In an era where seemingly every fly-by-night pop star has acting aspirations or every big screen starlet has dreams of a singing career, it’s difficult to remember who did what first. Luckily enough, Mandy Moore’s first studio album in four years, Wild Hope, reminds fans that the musician-turned-actress still has a singing career. It’s a… Continue reading Spun: Mandy Moore

By Ryan Pike

Matthew Good has been a musical benchmark in Canada since he burst onto the scene in 1995 as the lead singer of the Matthew Good Band. Hospital Music, Good’s third solo album and seventh studio album overall, may represent the artist’s first misstep, though sales likely won’t reflect it.Like most Good albums, Hospital Music is… Continue reading Spun: Matthew Good

By Richard Freeman

Mae’s third album, Singularity, is the sort of “inspirational” music perfect for consumption by the sad and confused teenager set. Considering Mae’s style, it’s no surprise. Overwrought and over-the-top, Mae returns to the successful formula of absurdly-sentimental, histrionic power-pop that made their two previous albums so popular with whiny teens looking for romance. Newly signed… Continue reading Spun: Mae

By Wendy Pringle

When venturing into uncharted musical territory, a band can’t hide within the comfortable surroundings of a genre with a regular following. Usually only those who can demonstrate artistic brilliance will catch the attention of an otherwise stubborn audience. The Consonant C’s whimsical approach to making music doesn’t veil a remarkable talent for constructing unique, intelligently… Continue reading Spun: The Consonant C

By Amanda Hu

Few bands have the right to boast about their extensive intertwining working relationships, various pseudonyms and overall acclaim like Animal Collective. The Baltimore music group has left an infamous trail of successes behind them through their record label, Paw Tracks, the works of somewhat constant members Avey Tare, Panda Bear, Deakin and Geologist and their… Continue reading Spun: Animal Collective