Anthony Shackell, General Khan, and Mace
Anthony Shackell
Anthony Shackell // Self Released
Anthony Shackell is the debut album from none other than Victoria-based, multi-instrumentalist Anthony Shackell. I first heard Mr. Shackell's bass playing on Wet Cigarette's album last year (one of my favourite albums of 2020). I recalled a photo I had seen on Wet Cigarette's Instagram page: in it was a sunglassed-man, one lens missing, screaming into the void – one Anthony Shackell.
Shackell's debut is 38 minutes long, 7 songs deep. Perhaps it is just my pining for the fjords (hopefully live music hasn’t "ceased to be"), but I approached listening to this album like a live performance. Our singer-songwriter stands dead center on stage as other Victoria-based musicians join him on stage and then drift away as the next song begins.
The album cover (a black and white photo of Shackell) primed my expectations for melancholic acoustic songs (always solid). The eponymous Anthony Shackell surprised me in its exploration of a range of genres while still remaining grounded in what I have now come to know (and love) as the "Shackell Sound", trademark.
The album begins with fade-in that grabbed me by the audio cortex of the brain (picture that) and demanded my attention. It reminded me of approaching a venue where the door has been propped open to allow some relief to the sweaty bodies inside - sound escapes. Check out that bassline at 3.30 – that is just tasty.
Other genres this album explores includes grunge (check out those guitar chords on the chorus of “Leave You Alone”), melancholic acoustic rock (“I Can’t Make You Love Me”), and even touches on some 70s-influenced sunshine rock (“Spread A Little Love” is perhaps destined to be one of the great summer jams of 2021 – I’ll crack my beer to that). My favourite song on the album is the last one – “When I’m Gone”. The song is extremely catchy (that violin!) and is the first song I would show to friends off of this album.
Anthony Shackell: masterfully written, produced, and engineered by none other than Anthony Shackell, is an incredibly inspired debut album that leaves this music lover in anticipation of what this Victoria-based musician does next.
- Alex Bennett
General Khan
Wrath of Khan // Self Released
The uncompromising desire for political emancipation and collective liberation is often at the heart of hip-hop, as many artists in the genre tend to contend with the various conditions that shape their everyday experience as well as that of those around them. It is in that same spirit that General Khan delivered her debut record, Wrath of Khan, self-released on April 30th, 2021. General Khan is a hip-hop MC based out of Kjipuktuk, Mi’kma’ki (colonially known as Halifax, Nova Scotia), and she worked with audio-engineers AMBEEZ and Uncle Fester for the production of this album. The album is comprised of an introduction to General Khan as well as a breakdown of the issues and concerns that are informative of her music and activism. For General Khan, poetry is an expression that is tied to her identity as a displaced Pashtun. General Khan's art style is influenced by her lived experiences with oppression such as white supremacy, colonialism, displacement, racism, Islamophobia, disability, justice, and more.
“Garam Chai” is the intro track, titled in such a tongue-and-cheek way that preludes the hot tea that is about to be spilled throughout the record. General Khan sleekly introduces herself with vocal lines “Wear my heart down my sleeve / this city won’t let me breath / I heed thru humidity / lack of community rooted in my truth / I am a youth misplaced, has me lost in a haze / awaking everyday to the day same day / need change in a big way.” The instrumental groove throughout the record flows like an early-Noname track, with a strong drum, bass, and electric piano ensemble clearing the path for General Khan to lead the way. “The Last Dragon” slows down the record to a more sample-filled track bringing together the theme of consciousness-raising as an empowering exercise for putting struggle into perspective and guiding the artist with focused intent. Now, “3 Stripes” was the promo single for the album - it diverges from the usual instrumental mix, instead leaning into this choral loop where General Khan embraces her identity and uniqueness with the central hook: “Only hijabi on the mic in the three stripes / Yes, talk to me nice, in the three stripes / I will make you think twice in the three stripes...”
This track is followed by my personal favourite, “Change.” The album changes thematically from the artist’s intervention over to the struggle for community in light of systematic oppression, and all it suffices to say is the recurring hook is captivating followed by simple lyrics like “Hear me out / and listen close / ACAB / and now you know” and the more articulate breakdown of confronting all-encompassing white supremacy. Aside from this track, “P.O.V.” is my second favourite following up on the topic of liberation and emancipation resisting the co-optation of the anti-racist and anti-capitalism by neoliberalism - but much more beyond that, the perspective General Khan brings us back way before colonial capitalism, reflecting on her ancestry and the complexities of the intergenerational struggle. Similarly, “The Wackness” and “Unimpressed” deliver some conscious reflections on the everydayness of white supremacy and the constant efforts to dismantle it. Lastly, “Peace” is like the credits rolling at the end of the show, delivered in an ad-libbed spoken word fashion that breaks down the album as a communal celebration of everyone and everything that went into the album. This track is so unconventional, but so fitting for the album whose themes focus on community resilience above all.
So, the album wraps up with lines like “Is it the end? / Or a new beginning?” Let’s hope for a new beginning and a blossoming. Wrath of Khan is a powerhouse of a debut album, uncompromising in the way the artist claims for her space in hip hop by challenging various layers of systematic oppression that inform her practice of one of liberation. This debut is an explosive one that must not go without heads turning and eyes blinking at its impact, as General Khan has undoubtedly established herself as a key figure in national hip-hop and there is more to come from this unstoppable force.
- Simone A. Medina Polo
Mace
SUFFOCATING // Self Released
Calgary young bloods Mace is a band that is younger than the COVID 19 pandemic itself, but they have already shown the world what they are capable of! The band was founded in October of the hellish year that was 2020, with a malicious demo that grabbed the attentions of all extreme music lovers who had the pleasure of discovering it. The following summer, the band had released their first studio EP titled Paranoia, which furthered the spread of the infectiously heavy beatdown band, driving the five fiery tracks into the minds of its lucky victims. That same summer the band added two new members to their arsenal. Mack Shaw of the ominous Infidus hops on board as a second guitar player, and Colton Sobey of Upir and Stench of Death moved into his office behind the kit for the heavy hitting beatdown crew.
Now, in April of 2021, Mace unleashes their follow up EP titled SUFFOCATING. Now if any if you have tried to put together a musical release in the COVID era, you know things can be tricky putting songs together without physically being together as a whole team. This has been the case for Mace since their inception, but their work does not seem to suffer from the adversity, which is possibly because a few of the members work with each other in different bands (Stench of Death and Set Straight).
The EP title, along with all the song names, are in all capital letters, fitting the sonic vibes of the loud, in your face style that Mace brought to the table for the EP! The artwork for SUFFOCATING, done by Mace’s own Brock Brown, perfectly suits the theme and vibe of the EP, showcasing the fear and anxiety that comes with suffocation. Their death metal style logo was done by Zack from Set Straight, giving off a razor sharp look, and appropriately includes the mid evil weapon the bands name was inspired by.
The first of the three tracks, “EXPIRE" begins with an static filled intro, with a distant voice stating “I don’t believe in God but I'm afraid of him”. The intro soon turns to frantic panic chords that leads the track into complete chaos, matched with lyrics of having suicidal thoughts but being too stubborn to let go. The end of “EXPIRE" sees a seamless transition into the next track, “NO LONGER REAL" which instantly punches you with quick and heavy riffs, blasting drums, and furious death metal vocals reminiscent of Cannibal Corpse. The song then morphs into more of a hardcore sound, which pairs nicely with the lyrical themes of disparity and loathing, waking up from dreams to be met with the cold face of reality. The EP ends off with the title track banger, “SUFFOCATING". This song is my personal favorite of the three, as it’s the most moshpit enticing track, with loads of chugging riffs to beat your friends up to! The best example of that is the breakdown that happens near the end, which gives the listener an adrenalin shot right to the head! The song is about battling addiction, in this case it appears to be about the uphill battle that is quitting smoking. It turns out to be a positive ending, stating “Your temptations don’t phase me anymore, motherfucker.”.
Mace is still such a young band, yet they already have two impressive EPs that have made waves in their scene, and are bound to spread their sound to a wider audience in the near future! Be on a look out for these certified bad asses, along with their numerous other fantastic heavy projects they have in the works!
- Justin Olson
