Revisiting “Titanic Rising” by Weyes Blood – 5 Years Later By: Siya Vallabh Overall Rating: 10/10 On April 5th, 2019, Natalie Mering released her fourth studio album under the Weyes Blood moniker, the first Weyes Blood album I ever listened to and remains one of my favourite albums of all time. The title of this writing calls this a revisitation, although I think calling this a love letter might be a more accurate description.  This album found me at a strange time in my life. At the time, I was continuously trying to nurse a heart by giving it to […]

Album Review: Bright Future by Adrianne Lenker By: Siya Vallabh Overall Rating: 8.5/10 The cover of Adrianne Lenker’s Bright Future features a slightly off-center, out-of-focus photograph of the singer-songwriter wearing a cowboy hat and I don’t think there’s a better representation of the album than that image. My first introduction to Lenker was her work in Big Thief, which I consider one of my favourite bands. In comparison to Big Thief, Lenker’s solo music is a lot more melodically and lyrically focused, a lot more stripped back than the full, production-heavy sound of the band. But that’s not a negative […]

Album Review: Underdressed at the Symphony – Faye Webster By Siya Vallabh There are a few songs and artists that I can describe as “love at first listen”, and that’s how I would describe the first song by Faye Webster I heard, “Jonny”, off Webster’s 2019 album Atlanta Millionaires Club. I was immediately taken with the smooth R&B-inspired sound, the subtly emotional vocal performance and the timeless-sounding lyrics. It’s been five years since then and Faye Webster’s fifth studio album Underdressed at the Symphony was released not too long ago. It’s ten tracks long, running at around 37 minutes, just […]

Album Review: The Death of Summer and Other Promises by Etta Marcus By Siya Vallabh Overall Rating: 7/10 Etta Marcus has not had her big break yet. She has not had any hit singles, no big tours or shoutouts from major celebrities. But I think it’s only a matter of time until she does. The first song I heard of hers was “Theatre”, the opening track on this “mini album”. The Death of Summer and Other Promises sits somewhere between an EP and an LP, its 8 tracks come in at a little less than a half-hour of runtime. *** […]

Mitski at Massey Hall By: Siya Vallabh Overall Rating: 9/10 It’s well past sunset on a cold February evening but the city is still buzzing. It’s twenty minutes to seven and I’m in a line around the block waiting to be let into Massey Hall. The crowd sticks out, a sea of Doc Martens, white button-down shirts, and everyone’s 5 foot 2. It’s night one of Mitski’s sold-out three-night run of shows, part of her tour for her seventh studio album The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We. The teens in front of me are young enough to need […]