Alex's Staff Picks

Apollo Ghosts Find Comfort Despite Crisis on Surprise Mini-Album 'Amethyst'

Exclaim! Staff Picks

PUBLISHED Feb 23, 2024

Vancouver underground heroes Apollo Ghosts have always specialized in bringing humour and sweetness to difficult subject matter...

Vampire Weekend Capture the Pains of Aging on "Capricorn" and "Gen-X Cops"

Exclaim! Staff Picks

PUBLISHED Feb 16, 2024

A colleague and I have an ongoing discussion about "homework bands" — that is, artists who competently make music that objectively ticks al...

Erika de Casier's "ice" Is Red-Hot

Exclaim! Staff Picks

PUBLISHED Feb 7, 2024

Erika de Casier wrote one of last year's best pop hits, NewJeans' "Super Shy," and she brings some of that same timid swagger to "ice"...

NYSSA Finds Fresh Excitement in Classic Rock on 'Shake Me Where I'm Foolish'

Exclaim! Staff Picks

PUBLISHED Feb 1, 2024

A totally over-the-top rendition of retro-sounding music, finding fresh excitement in rock 'n' roll's past...

ACR's Yearning Indie Rock Is Lathered Up with Comedy on 'Soapsud Clown'

Exclaim! Staff Picks

PUBLISHED Jan 31, 2024

Amidst the weirdness, there's a damaged beauty to these art rock tunes...

Carly Rae Jepsen Achieves a "Rare" Dreaminess with Bullion

PUBLISHED Jan 24, 2024

Carly Rae Jepsen specializes is giddy, maximalist pop — but, working with producer Bullion on his new single “Rare,” she shifts into a calm...

Dan Boeckner Can't "Lose" with His Cathartic Synth-Rock

Exclaim! Staff Picks

PUBLISHED Jan 18, 2024

Dan Boeckner has shifted through various projects throughout the years, but he's always moved along the same sonic continuum. Whether he wa...

Ducks Ltd.'s "Train Full of Gasoline" Explodes with Countrified Jangle

Exclaim! Staff Picks

PUBLISHED Jan 4, 2024

Toronto's Ducks Ltd. aren't a country band, but there's a chug-a-lug momentum to "Train Full of Gasoline" that recalls one of those Johnny...