NARCOS FAMILY BAND – Pink Blues EP

Labelled “the heaviest band you’ve never heard” by the DyingScene website, Narcos Family Band already have a reputation to live up to. Since they’re not a strictly a metal band (or better yet, a doom metal band), they’d have a hard job being the heaviest all the while bands like Heriot and Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard have plied their trade, but they’re definitely bloody raucous…and if “bloody raucous” is one of your staples when it comes to discovering new music, then ‘Pink Blues’ should definitely be sought.

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MASON SUMMIT – Summer Cold

In the last quarter of 2015, Mason Summit left a lasting impression with his third album ‘Gunpowder Tracks’. Exploring various avenues of pop, Americana and folk, the singer-songwriter showed a talent and knowledge of influences that stretched beyond his years. With the world awash with great music in the digital age, it didn’t quite reach the size of audience it deserved but, for those who actually heard it, the feeling was unanimous – this was an unexpected gem that set expectations high for a follow up.

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JESS LaCOY – Lioness EP

Jess LaCoy is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.  Her debut EP finds her in control of most of the musical aspects – she not only possesses a good voice, but also plays all guitar parts and handles writing and production duties respectively.  In this sense, ‘Lioness’ seems to be a well-chosen name for her debut EP, since she’s someone who commands a strong presence.

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BRUTAL YOUTH – Sanguine

Hailing from Toronto (via St. Johns, Newfoundland), Brutal Youth have shared stages with Sick of It All, Descendents and old-school UK shouters Cock Sparrer. This third release – mixed by the legendary Mass Giorgini – captures their aggressive and insanely focused sound on a studio disc without losing too much of the intensity you’d expect from a great live set. With a sound that fuses hardcore roots with a touch of skate punk, then combines that with a distinctly Canadian edge – as per Propagandhi and Ste. Catherines – ‘Sanguine’ is one hell of a punk record.

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VARIOUS ARTISTS – Songs, Bond Songs

In 2014, music fan and entrepreneur Andrew Curry masterminded ‘Here Comes The Reign Again’, a double disc set of recordings by cult singer-songwriters and power pop bands covering various UK hits from the 1980s. The results, as you’d expect, were a mixed bag, but the high points were high enough to recommend an addition to any quirky record collection. Three years in the making, the follow up brings back various familiar faces for a near complete run through of themes from James Bond movies. The results are…interesting…but mostly, nowhere near as good as such a project seems on paper. This is a project fraught with problems, not least of all that Bond themes just can’t be reproduced on a meagre budget. Continue reading →