LRH's Best Albums of the Decade

A decade is a long time. Sometimes it can be hard to grapple with such large swaths of your life, and so we use music to anchor our memories. The albums we love the most serve as audio touchstones, tangible in a way that calendar dates just aren't. When did you graduate? When did your mom get sick? When did you move into the new house? When did you go through that break up? The answers are all albums.

We dug through the last ten years and each picked 5 albums that served as our soundtracks for that time. Plus some honourable mentions, 'cause damn - 5 albums across 10 years? Tooooo hard bud. Take a listen on our Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ivBjqtjaZkSXFQn8vXxkB?si=yqEDky9jTIKGjh8vjdpEUQ

Jay:

Jason Isbell – South Eastern
Andy Shauf – The Party
Wintersleep – Hello Hum
Hey Rosetta – Seeds
Bon Iver – Bon Iver

Paul:

Hey Rosetta! - Seeds
Dan Mangan - Club Meds
Wintersleep - Hello Hum
The National - Trouble Will Find Me
Ben Howard - Noonday Dream

Ryan:

Periphery- Periphery II
Jason Richardson - I
Bon Iver - Bon Iver
Leon Bridges - Good Thing
Big Red Machine - Big Red Machine

AJ:

Wintersleep - The Great Detachment
Everything Everything - A Fever Dream
The Tragically Hip - Man Machine Poem
Glen Hansard - Rhythm and Repose
Daft Punk - Random Access Memories

Mike:

A Wilhelm Scream - Partycrasher
PUP - The Dream Is Over
Circa Survive - Blue Sky Noise
Dance Gavin Dance - Instant Gratification
Tokyo Police Club - Champ

Honourable Mentions: 

Braids - Deep in the Iris

Hollerado - White Paint

Hannah Georgas - For Evelyn

Owen Pallet - In Conflict

Jenny Lewis - On the Line 

Trevor Powers - Mulberry Violence 

Julien Baker - Sprained Ankle

John K Samson - Winter Wheat 

Kathleen Edwards – Voyageur

Land of Talk – Cloak and Cipher

Oshwa – I We You Me

Volcano Choir – Repave

Mother Mother – Eureka

Dan Mangan – Oh Fortune

Frank Ocean – Channel Orange

Mac Miller – Swimming

Alt J - An Awesome Wave

Protest The Hero - Volition

Chon - Grow

Flobots - Survival Story

BADBADNOTGOOD - III

We're hitting the road!

At some point, every Canadian band decides that driving across Saskatchewan in February is a good idea, now it's our turn! 'Town' comes out February 15th and we're heading across Canada to play the new tunes, see you out there :) Check out all the dates below and stay tuned as more shows will be announced!

Full details on the live page!

Feb 14-17: Montreal, QC – Folk Alliance International 
Feb 23: Calgary, AB – The Gateway  RSVP / Tickets
Feb 26: Edmonton, AB – The Buckingham RSVP / Tickets
Feb 28: Kelowna, BC – Fernando’s Pub RSVP
Mar 1: Vancouver, BC – Biltmore Cabaret RSVP / Tickets
Mar 2: Victoria, BC – Copper Owl RSVP / Tickets
Mar 4: Rossland, BC - Flying Steamshovel RSVP / Tickets
Mar 5: Red Deer, AB – Bo’s Bar & Grill RSVP / Tickets
Mar 6: Saskatoon, SK – Black Cat Tavern RSVP
Mar 8: Thunder Bay, ON - The Foundry / more info to come
Mar 21: St. Catharines - Warehouse RSVP / Tickets
Mar 22: Toronto, ON – Horseshoe Tavern RSVP / Tickets
Mar 23: Sarnia, ON  - Refined Fool Brewing Co. RSVP 
Mar 29: Kingston, ON – The Mansion RSVP  / Tickets
Mar 30: Corbyville, ON – Signal Brewing RSVP
Apr 12: Collingwood, ON – Crow Bar & Variety RSVP

Big Red Machine - Big Red Machine

It’s a cold fall night, you’re walking home from work. You decide to throw on an album that has been attached to the phrase “Man you have to hear this.”  You have some time on your hands until you make it through your front door and decide to go on a journey. Suddenly you find yourself walking slower and slower knowing that this experience is somehow re-wiring you on a molecular level. This was my second experience with the collaborative effort of Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner self titled Big Red Machine.

“I will lay laid open” perfectly sums up my frame of mind during this walk. Instantly I was hooked. As many great albums do, this resonated with the exact circumstance of my own experience at the time. It came by exactly when I needed it. I could feel the hypnotically looped drum patterns counterpointed by the sporadic melodies demanding more attention than I was able to give on my first listen. 

Justin Vernon’s ‘melody first, lyrics also’ method of writing really stood out to me on each track. His voice at times feels more like another stringed or percussive instrument rather than a traditional vocal. He uses drastic auto tune as an instrument rather than a crutch to turn his voice into something different. It felt as though the primary intent was to put the listener into a certain set and setting. The sonic soundscape was the focus rather than the ideas the words are conveying. I came to that realization after I walked into a fire hydrant. I had been walking with my eyes closed. I regret nothing. 

Continuing the theme of putting you into a space, the production on this record is impeccable. The idea of taking an intriguing, percussive and enthralling loop and just building layer upon layer is something I find really appealing. Each song introduces the theme that will be continuous throughout, then takes you in an entirely different direction as a guitar or piano motif grabs your attention then moves to the back. It’s an ever evolving, elliptical soundscape that puts you simultaneously into a space of profound love and loss. The theme of life and growth being ever-present and all encompassing. 

In short, I love this album. It will forever be something I constantly have on deck if I can’t think of what to listen to. It came by exactly when I need it and did not disappoint.

Ryan Pritchard

The Best of 2018

It’s that time of year again, when every well-known music critic puts out their best-of-the-year lists. Despite being neither of those things, we’ve gone and done our own! Here’s a quick rundown of each of our Top 5 favourite albums released in 2018. Or if you’re more interested in listening than reading, check out our Spotify playlist with selections from all of these records HERE. Plus, keep your eyes peeled over the next two weeks as we pen a few short essays on our top-ranked picks.

Jay
1. Swimming - Mac Miller
2. Let’s Be Wilderness - POSTDATA
3. Clean - Soccer Mommy
4. Big Red Machine - Big Red Machine
5. Earthtones - Bahamas

Ryan
1. Big Red Machine - Big Red Machine
2. Offerings - Typhoon
3. Good Thing - Leon Bridges
4. More or Less - Dan Mangan
5. Oxnard - Anderson .Paak

Mike
1. Neon - Erra
2. Good Thing - Leon Bridges
3. Grief Rights - The Honest Heart Collective
4. Vector - Haken
5. New Levels New Devils - Polyphia

Paul
1. By Grand Central Station - Heavy Bell
2. Noonday Dream - Ben Howard
3. Be The Cowboy - Mitski
4. More or Less - Dan Mangan
5. Clean - Soccer Mommy

AJ
1. Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa - Jeremy Dutcher
2. More or Less - Dan Mangan
3. The Wilder Beyond - Hillsburn
4. Between Two Shores - Glen Hansard
5. Both Ways - Donovan Woods

See you in 2019
-p

"Crush You" Video Out Now!

We are happy to say the official music video for Crush You is out now! Thanks to Canadian Musician Magazine for premiering the track and saying some super nice things about the song. Have a read here and check out the video at: https://youtu.be/rklqIrRHC4Q

Thanks to the Stirling Festival Theatre for the beautiful location and all the crew who made this happen!