Sean Davis Newton, Ritual Dust, Bozo, and Shade Shelter
Sean Davis Newton - “[I Think I Love] Hockey”
Coming off this week's advance single release from Sean Davis Newton, I was reminded of an incredible stand-alone single he released near the end of the Oilers cup run. It’s a beautiful slice of Canadiana about loving hockey… well… kind of… the tune isn’t about loving the game itself, it’s about loving how the game brings us together. Strangers hugging and high-fiving, or (in my hometown's case) sharing some sadness. I think it’s important to remember why we love this game. Yes, it’s entertainment, but it’s more… it’s shared entertainment. It’s camaraderie. It’s community. All of my hockey memories involve the amazing people I spent them with. From the golden goal, to the run in 06, to this year's run. In ten years I won’t remember these games or their scores, but I will remember the experiences I had watching them and the people with whom I shared those moments. Sean Davis Newton perfectly articulates why I (and so many other Canadians) love this game.
Ritual Dust - Earthworks
Ritual Dust is a new musical project created by Montrealer, Lizbeth Poirier. Described as pagan folk electronic music, Ritual Dust’s debut is a tribute to the nature in Ireland and the wisdom it holds if one is willing to listen to its spirits, sacred trees, stones, fields, and rivers. Poirier went out of her way to bring traditional Irish sounds into this album, sampling folk strings, Irish bones, uilleann pipes, and a bodhran. She collected field recordings at ancient sacred sites and bogs in Ireland and then used all these sounds to create an incredibly unique take on techno music. There’s long experimental interludes between the moments where the high energy beats kick in and these experimental flourishes continue in the background while the BPM is cranked up. It’s a really cool cross pollination of genres and an album worth exploring further, just like the beautiful history and landscapes that inspired it.
Bozo - Too?
What do clowns do in their downtime? What kind of music do they enjoy? Is stereotypical circus music what they put on their record players to relax after a long day of contorting their bodies into tiny cars or taking multiple pies to the face? Toronto’s Bozo let us in on a little secret, clowns are ruckus rockers that rip roar through riff-tastically rough riot rousing rock n roll! Scrappy garage-rock meets hardcore punk on the sophomore album from everyone’s favourite clown themed band and one of the funnest groups around.
Shade Shelter - Headphone Jack Resurrection
Shade Shelter is the solo project from Edmonton artist Joel Cain (Beach Towels, Sir Quilt). Under the moniker he forays into jazzy experimentation which is where his latest album, Headphone Jack Resurrection really shines. The album has a few deterrents, one being its length the other being some moments that seem intentionally difficult on the listener. But those moments pale in comparison to the heights achieved on tracks like “Thank You For Using Self Serve Checkout” or “Existential Deadlocks” when Cain blends jazz, electronic experimentation, dub and hip hop. When he taps into those sounds, the album soars and its lengthy runtime melts away into oblivion.
- Jeff MacCallum