The long weekend is almost upon us!  How will you celebrate?  Beers on the patio?  Mowing the lawn?  Debating whether or not you actually care about the series finale of The Office? Regardless, start your holiday right with our Week-End Wrap Up - a collection of the coverage that has come our way over the past seven days for Pigeon Row artists & clients.

Beams perform “How Wonderful” from their debut, Just Rivers, for Exclaim! TV: “The seven-piece self-described “art-country indie folk rock band” lived up to their classification, demonstrating a tight performance despite their size. They featured a wide variety of instrumentation including a lap steel, singing saw, mandolin, and banjo, pulling them off with vigour to deliver a strong rendition of ‘How Wonderful.’”

Watch the performance HERE.

The Rooster on Beams‘ Just Rivers: “Just Rivers is the perfect little 11-song album that lasts just long enough to show off their range, get in enough of their sweet harmonies, bewitch you with the way they can change tempo, and sneak in a cover or ‘Glory Box’ by Portishead. Beams doesn’t just give you what you think you’re getting when you start listening to an ‘alt-folk/country’ album – they jump around a bit from fun, fast and furious to full-on-mandolin-solo country jams to slow and beautiful ballads with the most heartfelt vocals.”

Read the whole review HERE.

Sonic More Music on Beams‘ Just Rivers:  ”A record diverse in the ways of folk, roots rock and I thought I might be dreaming when I first heard it but I wasn’t; they have a singing saw…with 7 different musicians and a singing saw this record pulls no punches….it’s that good.”

Read the whole review HERE.

The Orillia Packet & Times catches up with Beams: “[Anna] Mérnieks writes about growing up with a lack of family stability and about growing up in the suburbs.  Beams has been performing together for two years, but the members have been playing together in different bands for a decade, Mérnieks said. ‘We know how to communicate with each other. There aren’t a lot of little fights that happen in other situations where you’re just getting to know someone,’ she said. ‘We know how each other communicate and what’s going on in each other’s lives.’”

Read the whole piece HERE.

Chromewaves previews Beams‘ Just Rivers: “Local country-pop newcomers Beams have made their debut album Just Rivers available to both buy and stream. There’s a video session with the band at Exclaim and they’ll be at The Central on June 14 for NXNE.”

Read more HERE.

FFWD Weekly talks to Shotgun Jimmie about his new album Everything, Everything:  ”Everything Everything, is a carefully manicured collection of pop songs that cram 16 fully formed ideas into less than 40 minutes. No one will mistake it with a punk album, but much of Jimmie’s inspiration did come from a surprisingly aggressive place. ‘For a couple years before I made the record, I had been listening to Jay Reatard a lot, that album Blood Visions,’ he says, describing a valid obsession with the late punk legend’s classic. ‘It’s these really sort of fuzzy, blown-in-the-red, blasted-out pop songs. Super short, super catchy… Jay Reatard does it in a way where those songs are super well crafted. They’re completely finished. They have a punchline ending almost.’”

Read the whole feature HERE.

Prairie Dog Magazine on Shotgun Jimmie‘s Everything, Everything: “His latest album, Everything Everything, is his most mature and fully fleshed out to date. It’s the result of his holing up in a Manitoba cabin to focus entirely on the record—a move that in the wrong hands could’ve turned into semi-interesting bearded blubbering, but in Jimmie’s, helped create an expansive yet intimate album, captured on everything from jankety tape machines to handheld voice recorders and featuring friends like Julie Doiron. And it’s not just fun and games—most of it is, sure, like his explosive ode to his peers in Ladyhawk, but songs like ‘I Will Climb Mountains’ are downright dirge-like.”

Read the whole piece HERE.

The Eargazm on Dark For Dark‘s track “Sweetwater” from their debut album Warboats: “What makes Dark for Dark’s ’Sweetwater’ so great (and what ultimately caught my attention) is the human element of this formula. The endearing sincerity of ’Sweetwater’ — Rebecca Zolkower’s delicate voice, gliding over smoothly strummed folk guitar and a down-played beat — creates a melodious beauty unlike any other. The vocal harmonies throughout the tune are perfect. All-in-all, ’Sweetwater’ is an incredible, unassuming song.”

Read the whole review HERE.

Exclaim! on AA Wallace‘s (disambiguation): “A recent trend has seen every band and their dog ditching their guitars for keyboards, trading jangly indie rock for smooth ’80s synth-pop. AA Wallace (the mastermind behind Halifax, NS rockers Sleepless Nights) follows suit on his solo debut. But where too many acts end up excising personality in favour of precision, (disambiguation) maintains Wallace’s idiosyncratic style of pop craftsmanship. Embracing a lo-fi aesthetic uncommon to these types of projects, the songs reflect Wallace’s push-pull with modernity.”

Read the whole review HERE.

MVRemix on Gianna Lauren‘s new album, On Personhood: “From Halifax, Nova Scotia is the up-and-coming indie artist, Gianna Lauren. This Canadian vocalist for On Personhood pairs with multi-instrumentalists J.J. Ipsen, Justin Nace, drummer Marshall Bureau and engineer Andy Magoffin. The obscurity within Lauren’s emotion-filled, smooth voice harmonizes with the serene guitars and soft drums to give this album dream-like feel.”

Read the whole review HERE.

Herohill on the Shawn Mrazek Lives! album Thought He Was Dead: “Shawn’s pallet is accessible and engaging; eight guitar jams built on a mix of sloppy rough edges and ear pleasing melody that reminds us that indie rock, when done well, is invigorating. Shawn has just enough whimsy in his words to balance his fondness for Lou Reed’s pacing and swagger. He effortlessly (and naturally) strays from the borders of his hooks and uses those occasional half beats to keep you captivated.”

Read the whole review HERE.

Magnet Magazine features “I Think We’ve Got A Problem” from the debut Reversing Falls full-length.  Check it out HERE.

Arts East launched their new mini music podcast this week and the inaugural episode features tracks from Gianna Lauren and Baby Eagle.  Check that out HERE.

Finally, here is a re-cap of some of our clients that have hit the !earshot charts this week:

Weekly Top 50 National Charts :
#9 – Shotgun Jimmie – Everything, Everything
#21 – Ghostkeeper –  Horse Chief! War Thief!
#24 - The Burning Hell – People

We’re settling into our new office here in Halifax’s North End and we’re about to share some real exciting stuff that we’ve got lined up.  Until the secret’s out though, take solace in our Week-End Wrap Up – a collection of the coverage that has come our way over the past seven days for Pigeon Row artists & clients.

Voir on Reversing Falls‘ self-titled debut: “Reversing Falls, trio montréalais qui, avec ses diables à ressort de mélodies, ses guitares dans le tapis et ses tourments post-adolescents, a touillé en compagnie du coréalisateur Mark Lawson (Arcade Fire) dix petites bombes dépassant rarement le cap des trois minutes. Pas de concept, pas de posture, pas de prise de tête: qu’un premier album de power pop plus foudroyant qu’une gorgée de Sunny Delight par temps de canicule.”

Read the whole review, en français, HERE.

Noisography on Reversing Falls: “The music is a defining projection of who this band is, and that honesty and believability make the record more enjoyable when compared to others who have gone down this path.  The song writing is intricately injected with layers of guitar hooks and fills over the rhythm lines, providing a full sound without overpowering the melody.”

Read the whole review HERE.

New Canadian Music on Reversing Falls: “It has been a long wait for the first full-length disc from Montreal trio Reversing Falls, but they have finally risen to the occasion. This is hook-heavy melodic rock that brings to mind bands like Guided By Voices, Everclear or a rockier Sloan.”

Read the whole piece HERE.

Alt Sounds on AA Wallace‘s (disambiguation): “A sugary stylophone haze, complete with disjointed synth-melodies and echoing vocals across a solid dance beat, contrasts with some frustrated lyrical nihilism, showing us a singer who is existentially overwhelmed but defiant, drained but resiliently affirmative. The result is rather pleasing.”

Read the whole review HERE.

The Toronto Star on AA Wallace‘s “Temporal Suspension” from (disambiguation): “Leveraging what sounds like a lingering affection for ‘80s synth acts broad enough to span The Human League’s ‘Don’t You Want Me’ and Stevie Nicks’s ‘Stand Back’, Halifax’s Alexandre Aaron has come up with the most insidiously catchy bedroom-pop we’ve heard all year. It’s also a solitary rallying cry for the age.”

Read the whole piece HERE.

GUFF Magazine reviews AA Wallace‘s Halifax LP release show: “Hypnotic samples, electronic melodies, and dance inducing synth-pop grooves are all expected at an AA Wallace show, and last Friday night they were most definitely present at the Seahorse for his latest LP release. The album, titled (disambiguation), showcases his electronic prowess and vibrant fusing abilities, while his captivating nostalgic lyrics show off his talents as a songwriter. With the addition of a backing band the show lived up to it’s hype.”

Read the whole review HERE.

Beatroute features Shotgun Jimmie in their cover story this month: “Jimmie’s still Jimmie. Yep, he’s still that same loveable soul with a perpetual smirk plastered across his face, slinging hymns and chorals about the little, lovely things in life. But, now he’s older, wiser and apparently in pretty great shape. A charming cornerstone of Canadian indie for almost two decades now, Shotgun Jimmie is one of the hardest working, most sincere and all around lovely musicians in the game.”

Read the whole feature HERE.

The Coast on Shotgun Jimmie‘s Everything, Everything: “Sackville, NB’s favourite adopted son travelled to Brandon, Manitoba to record these 16 tracks, average length two minutes 25 seconds, which entertain an admirable variety of notions. ‘Growing Like a Garden’ packs rhymes such as ‘alarming’ and ‘farming’ into a delightful companion for lazy afternoon drinks. Another master of brevity, Guided By Voices, gets an offhand salute in ‘Ladyhawk,’ featuring speed strumming in the key of A.”

Read the whole review HERE.

The Broken Speaker talks to Mike Campbell about The Carleton Music Bar & Grill‘s five year anniversary: “’Making five years in this business is incredibly difficult. Nobody knows it now more than I do. It’s my first run at something like this and I can’t tell you how difficult it is. But I think my staff deserves a pat on the back and I want to draw some attention to it,’ says Campbell at one of the tables of the Carleton as we talk about some of the events that have happened in the building and drink too much coffee.”

Read the whole feature HERE.

Mike Campbell stops by CKDU‘s Halifax Is Burning to chat about The Carleton Music Bar & Grill‘s five year anniversary.  Listen to the interview HERE.

The Kingston Whig-Standard features Stephen Fearing and his new album Between Hurricanes: “It’s been a long time between records for Stephen Fearing, but it’s also been a momentous one. That’s why his CD is aptly named Between Hurricanes.  In the seven years it took Fearing to get Between Hurricanes out, he went through a divorce, remarried and now has a daughter, and he parted company with his long-time manager Bernie Finkelstein, who ran Truth North Records, also jumping from that label. Parts of those experiences turn up on the CD.”

Read the whole piece HERE.

Stephen Fearing drops by CIUT’s Back to the Sugar Camp to perform a couple songs live in-studio.  Have a listen HERE.

Stephen Fearing shares the story behind “Cold Dawn” off his latest record, Between Hurricanes, on CBC‘s Daybreak South.  Listen to that HERE.

Exclaim! previews Dark For Dark‘s Warboats: “The title of Dark for Dark’s debut LP, Warboats, may imply aggression, but this Halifax-based folk trio’s music is of a decidedly gentle — something they will prove when the album arrives May 21. The group is fronted by singer-guitarist Rebecca Zolkower, who is backed up by Jess Lewis and Mel Stone. They are joined by a cast of contributors who flesh out the harmony-heavy arrangements with mandolin, banjo, piano and french horn.”

Read the whole piece HERE.

Herohill on Dark For Dark‘s Warboats title track: “The purity of these harmonies could stand defiantly against any storm. A ray of sunshine that could slice through fog, winds, torrents of rain. A warmth that somehow even makes goodbye feel comforting. Much like the rest of the album, these five-minutes benefits from rough edges left in tact. Gentle horns wash delicately over this song, but the melody, pacing and vocals are never overstated.”

Read the whole review HERE.

Magnet Magazine features the Beams single “Be My Brother” from their album Just Rivers. Check it out HERE.

The Alternate Root on Alan Jeffries‘ Coffee ‘Til Midnight: “[Alan Jeffries] returns to his first love by walking a fine line between traditional and progressive bluegrass sounds on his debut album, Coffee ‘Til Midnight.  Oldtime music takes on timely topics on Coffee ‘Til Midnight as it wrestles with the economy (‘I Ain’t Broke [But I'm Badly Bent]), takes instrumental solace in the art of reading (‘Bookworm’) and balances extremes over a beat that will tie your toes in a knot (‘Hot Corn Cold Corn’).”

Read the whole review HERE.

Both the Express And Company‘s “Carry Me Along” and AA Wallace‘s “Temporal Suspension” are up for contention on CBC Radio 3′s R3-30.  Vote for those songs to make the countdown HERE.

Finally, here is a re-cap of some of our clients that have hit the !earshot charts this week:

Weekly Top 50 National Charts :
#11 – Shotgun Jimmie – Everything, Everything
#15 – The Burning Hell – People
#21 – Ghostkeeper –  Horse Chief! War Thief!

What will you do this weekend? Enjoy the sunshine? Go see your favorite band? Watch some hockey playoffs? Chat about the Big Brother Canada finale? Whatever you choose, get the weekend started right with our Week-End Wrap Up, a look at some of the coverage that has come our way for Pigeon Row clients over the last seven days.

Shotgun Jimmie graces the cover of Verb Saskatoon: “What separates Everything, Everything from the pop albums it borrows ideas from is Kilpatrick’s songwriting.  Rather than write about big ideas like love and loss, he sings about the things we take for granted.  The songs on Everything, Everything chronicle the minutiae of everyday life: the ordinary, the uninteresting, and the banal.  What makes the record so strong is how it unfolds much like the moments that make up our own lives – sometimes pleasing, sometimes infuriating, always chaotic, always engaging.”

Read the whole feature HERE.

NOW Magazine on the Reversing Falls debut: “Big, foregrounded power chords, emotively strained vocals, drum machines and short, scrappy melodies add up to singalong beer-drinking anthems for grown-up Matthew Good fans. The three-piece (sometimes four-) wear their influences on their sleeves, but you get no sense they’re doing it for cheap buzz.”

Read the whole review HERE.

500Khz on Reversing Falls: “The approach of the group evokes the radio-friendly rock of the 1990s, except that Reversing Falls focuses its attention on their melodies other than the current virility.  It even works in the folk leanings of Everyone Everyone Everyone.”

Read the whole review, en français, HERE.

The Toronto Star on the Reversing Falls song, “Shitty Birthday,“ from their debut album: “Their bio references Sloan and Matthew Good, but neither of those influences quite captures what this Montreal three-piece gets up to on their debut full-length in general and this track in particular. More mordant than the former and less ambitious than the latter, it takes a seemingly throwaway complaint — a lousy birthday present — and turns it into something that sounds far more ominous. You’ll laugh, you’ll shudder.”

Read the whole piece HERE.

The Chronicle Herald features The Carleton Music Bar & Grill as it celebrates its fifth anniversary during the month of May:  ”It started as a simple idea five years ago, but the Carleton Music Bar & Grill has become one of the most prominent sites on a street in transition. Friends and music industry veterans Mike Campbell and Mike Rhodes, along with five other investors, hatched a plan in 2007 to create a casual space on Argyle Street for people to relax in. It has since become much more than that, being named venue of the year on several occasions by Music Nova Scotia and the East Coast Music Association.”

The Halifax Musicphile talks to Joel Plaskett, Christina Martin, Steve Poltz and Mike Campbell about the Carleton Music Bar & Grill‘s fifth anniversary: “In five short years, The Carleton ‘has become the singer-songwriters dream listening room to play in Halifax,’ says East Coast Music Award winner Christina Martin.  Martin’s words are echoed by San Diego-based singer Steve Poltz, who has played The Carleton about 25 times.  Poltz calls The Carleton ‘the club to play when travelling to Halifax.’”

Read the whole feature HERE.

Grayowl Point on Beams‘ Just Rivers: “Whatever it is Beams are doing, they’re doing it well. If they want to be all weird and experimental on their next album, that would be just as cool as if they decided to be a bit more straightforward folk. But this middle ground, straddling the line between both worlds, seems to be serving the band best.”

Read the whole review HERE.

Babysue on Beams‘ Just Rivers: “The songs on Just Rivers have a nice organic sound and feel…and they’re purely driven by smart lyrics and heartfelt vocals. The folks in this band are playing a style of music that is somewhat reminiscent of lots of other bands and yet…there’s something undeniably different about their music. It could be the inherent sincerity and direct delivery. Twelve well-crafted cuts here.”

Read the whole review HERE.

The Music Nerd chats with Beams about Just Rivers: “Toronto-based indie-folk band Beams is headed to the Hub City with its phenomenal new record Just Rivers in tow. Boasting incredibly lush melodies, the group made their newest record after having essentially scrapped an almost completed album.”

Read the whole piece HERE.

The Coast features AA Wallace and his hometown release for his LP, (disambiguation):  ”After spending a day at work in front of the computer, AA Wallace comes home to his bedroom studio in the north end and, surrounded by a medley of machines, starts to play. Like any good armchair voyager into the deep space of the internet, Wallace realizes the escapist pastoral dream of weary office workers and urban hippies is mostly pleasant fiction. Truth be told, he misses his computer when he’s camping or fishing—after all, the electronic music community, fueled by internet forums and media sharing sites like Soundcloud, is something not easily accessed offline.”

Read the whole feature HERE.

Exclaim! offers an exclusive stream of AA Wallace‘s (disambiguation): “The Halifax-based Wallace recorded these eight songs in a bedroom using found sounds from bargain bin records and broken toys. Sonic touchstones include French house, chillwave and DIY electro, and a press release calls the disc a ‘nu-disco album about alienation and failure.’ The album kicks off with the laid-back electro-pop dance beats of ‘Offline.’ Elsewhere, ‘Post-Mortem Depression’ sinks into murkier instrumental terrain, while ‘Complaining About Airports’ is filled with creepy samples and apocalyptic vibes, and ‘Lipstick and Stethoscopes’ is funkily upbeat.”

Stream the album HERE.

!earshot 20 talks to AA Wallace about his new album, (disambiguation). Listen to the interview HERE.

Grayowl Point on Heaven For Real‘s Wanton: “With all of songs clocking in at around the 2-3 minute mark, Heaven For Real don’t have time for superfluity, packing each quick number with multiple instrumental layers, shifting, like in ‘Love Solo,’ between fairly mellow sections to gritty and bold sounding parts. The EP’s second song ‘Owner’ treads on this pattern, filling each moment of the song with some distinct sounds while ‘Bobby’ is more of the softer surf-pop sounding number.”

Read the whole review HERE.

Babysue on Gianna Lauren‘s On Personhood: “Mix Leonard Cohen’s style of songwriting with Suzanne Vega’s voice…and you might begin to have some idea of what Canada’s Gianna Lauren sounds like. This young lady has a sound and presence that could easily affect millions of listeners over the coming decades. Her songs are smart and ultimately very mature…and her voice is completely magical. The moody atmospheric pop compositions on this disc are compelling and just slightly unusual.”

Read the whole review HERE.

Herohill on Quiet Parade‘s Old Haunts: “If you live in Halifax and fill out a ballot for The Coast Best-of survey, you’ve heard of Quiet Parade.  Front man Trevor Murphy – a.k.a., Acadian Bacon – has transformed his stripped sown solo effort into a full band affair, but with help from the icy production of Daniel Ledwell, the bigger sound and heavy percussion still feels incredibly personal and intimate.”

Read the whole piece HERE.

CKCU‘s The Guest List talks to Stephen Fearing about his new album, Between Hurricanes: “Stephen Fearing plays at the Gladstone Theatre on Sunday evening (May 5). He has a great new album out called Between Hurricanes. Stephen talks about the new album, touring solo again, Canadian politics and the impact Chopper McKinnon had on his career.”

Listen to the interview HERE.

Finally, here is a re-cap of some of our clients that have hit the !earshot Top 50 National Weekly Charts this week:
#3 – The Burning Hell – People
#9 – Shotgun Jimmie – Everything, Everything
#16 – Ghostkeeper – Horse Chief! War Thief!
#26 – AA Wallace – (disambiguation) 

We’re gearing up for a wonderful weekend in Halifax, how are things in your neck of the woods?  Have a look at some of the coverage that has come our way over the past seven days for Pigeon Row artists & clients.

Erin Costelo performed on CBC‘s Q on Monday. “Halifax musician, composer and arranger Erin Costelo’s latest record – We Can Get Over — finds the jazz-trained singer/songwriter channelling soul and pop sounds of the 1960s, but with a contemporary thematic emphasis on finding comfort and confidence in her personal and musical lives on the east coast.”

Listen to the interview and performance HERE.

Grayowl Point on AA Wallace‘s (disambiguation): “For an album’s worth of ‘bedroom disco’ music, Halifax musician AA Wallace sure does a hell of a lot. (disambiguation) covers a wide range of both song themes and musical textures that will keep the avid listener well interested.”

Read the whole review HERE.

500Khz on AA Wallace‘s (disambiguation): “The real surprise arrives with ‘Temporal Suspension,’ small electro-pop dance bomb memorable both on stage and on disc…this song stands out for its impeccable melodic work, but also as a nihilistic rejoicing anthem.”

Read the whole review, en français, HERE.

Snob’s Music on Beams‘ Just Rivers: “What do you get when you take some hard plucking hillbilly banjo, gorgeous melodies, and a cold creepiness?  Well you get Just Rivers, the debut album from Toronto’s Beams. It’s a unique combination of sounds and atmospheres that Beams have pulled together for their debut.”

Read the whole review HERE.

Weird Canada on Heaven For Real‘s Wanton: “Rather than a long, modernist tangled web, each song on Wanton is its own flippant little narrative, snubbing grandiose post-isms for no-phony pop prose. Dynamic, sporadic and unpredictable, the plot progression of Wanton’s closing and (sort-of) title track unfolds alineary, with bursts of conflict on either side of the sandwich meat, a stylistic reversal of its seminal influences. The brothers Grundy have done it again.”

Read the whole review HERE.

The Chronicle Herald features The Burning Hell, and chats with frontman Mathias Kom about People and living in Newfoundland: “’It’s a wonderful place, but it’s got some strikes against it,’ [Kom] sighs. ‘The weather is horrible most of the time; it’s really isolated, especially in the winter. But all of that is trumped by how amazing the people are. I’ve never been surrounded by such a large volume of fantastic people. They’re all creative and fun and warm and welcoming, and it’s an absolutely great community.’”

Read the whole feature HERE.

The Chronicle Herald names Lead Mule‘s self-titled debut their CD Pick of the Week: “The record at hand is Lead Mule’s, and the quartet shows a lot of versatility on this five-song EP, rocking hard while integrating strong melodies, delivered with gusto by singer Mat Bridgeo. It’s not too much to ask to have a bit of personality on a recording, and Lead Mule’s response matches the old description of the Ardmore Tea Room’s milkshakes, ‘more than enough.’”

Read the whole feature HERE.

Shotgun Jimmie performs “Sum Of My Parts” from his new album Everything, Everything for ExclaimTV!.

Watch the performance HERE.

Gianna Lauren performs “Ghosts” from her new album On Personhood for CoastTV.

Watch the performance HERE.

Finally, here is a re-cap of some of our clients that have hit the !earshot Top 50 National Weekly Charts this week:
#5 – Shotgun Jimmie – Everything, Everything
#9 – Ghostkeeper – Horse Chief! War Thief!
#11 – The Burning Hell – People
#44 – Gianna Lauren – On Personhood

See the entire chart HERE.

Once again, seven days come and go and we return with our Friday feature, a look at some coverage on Pigeon Row artists and clients that have come our way this week. Check it out.

No Depression on Express and Company‘s Ontario: “On Ontario, Ireland is a loyal student of one of the most time-honored laws of great writing – whether of song or literary: write what you know. It just so happens, most acts of the genre (whether you wish to call it Americana, country-folk, country-rock, roots music or alt-country) embrace themes of love, love lost, family and the open road. However, the best of the bunch – and Express and Company deserve the honor of being included in the upper ranks with these eight songs – paint honest scenes that appeal to sentimentality without being hammy, tug heartstrings without yanking off the chain, and craft rural prose that doesn’t strike the listener as hopelessly antiquated…I’ll go on record to say Ontario is the finest front-to-back record of its kind I’ve heard since Whiskeytown’s Pneumonia.” ”

Read the whole review HERE.

Cult Montreal talks to Reversing Falls about their new, self-titled album: “Local austere rockers Reversing Falls are a squealing guitar band in a time where it’s slightly unfashionable to be one…In a recent conversation with singer/guitarist/Twitter celeb Crawford, we discussed bringing back big vocals, the glorious ’90s and the band’s infallible fourth member, trusty drum machine MPC 1000. That being said we should probably mention their quasi-fifth member, real-life drummer Jamie Thompson (of Unicorns fame), who guested on a pair of tracks.”

Read the interview HERE.

AUX TV on an exclusive Reversing Falls album stream: “Montreal’s Reversing Falls will release their self-titled debut next Tuesday, April 23, and AUX is happy to be streaming it a week in advance.  The three-piece, made up of Tyler Crawford (vocals, guitar), Charlie Neufeld (lead rhythm guitar), and Jesse Ash (bass) added drummer Jamie Thompson (The Unicorns) for the album; you’ve maybe seen Thompson play with them live, but if you’ve never seen them live, you’re missing out on a great cover of Hole’s “Malibu.” ‘This album is the only album I know of in recent history to feature a track that is an explicit response to Third Eye Blind’s Jumper,’  Crawford tells AUX, winning our hearts forever. ‘It’s track five, I Think We’ve Got A Problem.’ Noted.”

Stream the album HERE.

The Music Nerd talks to The Burning Hell about their new album, People:  ”Picking up stakes and relocating to a new city isn’t as daunting as some might perceive it to be, especially for a group like the Burning Hell. The indie-pop-rock band has relentlessly toured Canada and Europe in the past six years. It was actually in Europe last year that the group seized some downtime to head into the studio to make the latest record, People.”

Read the whole feature HERE.

NOW Magazine on The Burning Hell‘s People: “ The Burning Hell’s sixth album, People, feels sophisticated. Though still underpinned by Mathias Kom’s lyrical ingenuity – which has been a band feature since its inception – the bombastic aural chaos of earlier albums has mostly given way here to subtler, stripped-down arrangements that allow his story songs to shine.”

Read the whole review HERE.

Said The Gramophone on Shotgun Jimmie‘s Everything, Everything: ”Jimmie’s best songs are like hunks of amethyst lobbed at your head. <clunk> The lyrics are handsome straight-shooters – yeah, telegrams, I already said that. He is less muddled than me. He is of purer vision, more suited to: sunsets, riding into. Better at knock-knock jokes and ping-pong. While the lyrics come across the wire, in the hands of a delivery-man, the surrounding music is a conduit, a superconductor, a delivery system. Sugar for the medicine, decorated with rosettes and winks.”

Read the whole feature HERE.

The Telegram talks to Shotgun Jimmie about his upcoming shows at Lawyna Vawnya:  ”The last time I saw Shotgun Jimmie, he made a church full of quiet listeners unclasp their hands and throw up the horns. It was 2005, at the Dawson City Music Festival. We were all in an old wooden church at the south end of town watching a clutch of musicians perform as part of a festival workshop: they all had to take turns playing songs from their favourite musical moments in film. They sat on stools with banjos or acoustic guitars and played soft, happy songs, one by one. When it was his turn, Shotgun Jimmie stood up and played Chuck Berry’s Johnny Be Good from Back to the Future.”

Read the whole feature HERE.

All About Jazz on Evan Parker‘s Vaincu.Va! Live At Western Front 1978:  ”The British saxophonist, a champion of the extended solo improvisation remains a vital voice today. These reissues shed light on his experimental and innovative sound. Indubitably, the next step in this process is to release unearthed concert recordings. This live disc is a first-class recording, captured at Western Front—a Canadian artist-run- center for contemporary art and new music—during Parker’s 1978 North American tour. The quarter inch tape was restored and mastered for this LP (and digital download), making everything (including old technology) new again.”

Read the whole review HERE.

Exclaim! previews the new Aerosol Constellations record Dark Side of the Sun: “Formed seven years ago by Shearing Pinx drummer Jeremy Van Wyck and Stamina Mantis’ Bill Batt, Aerosol Constellations have issued a number of cassette and cd-r releases that explore dark, ambient textures using “field recordings, samples and an array of electric and acoustic instruments.” Despite the hefty back catalogue, Dark Side of the Sun will be their first proper full-length.”

Read the whole piece HERE.

The Coast on Heaven For Real‘s Wanton: Catchy and challenging, this debut collection shows the band stretching the limits of what a song can be—stopping and starting, shifting rapidly between raucous and delicate. Ideas, images and terms that came to mind while listening: pineapple juice, turquoise-coloured water, “What if Nathan used chimes?,” ear umami, a bloom of jellyfish, an industrial dough sheeter.”

Read the whole review HERE.

Alan Cross on Gianna Lauren‘s song “Trouble” from her album On Personhood: “’Trouble’ is a slow, seeping killer. It has this old, dusty west feel to it, like it’s letting you know something is creeping just around the corner.”

Read the whole piece HERE.

The Scene Magazine previews Jont‘s Hello Halifax: “Jont is a British singer/songwriter who recently arrived to live in Halifax, Nova Scotia. While best known for having his music featured on various US TV shows (including Grey’s Anatomy) and the hit film Wedding Crashers – he has also built a significant global community through the success of his innovative traveling house concert series – Unlit. These concerts and webisodes had became a ‘viral internet phenomenon’ by 2008 (The Guardian, UK), culminating in the sponsorship by UK mobile phone giant, Orange.”

Read the preview HERE.

It’s been another hefty week here at Pigeon Row headquarters.  Rumour has it, a winter blitz is on the way so snuggle up with some features on Pigeon Row artists and clients that have come our way over the past seven days.

The Chronicle Herald features Shotgun Jimmie and his upcoming Halifax show: “While the songs on his last release, 2011’s Transistor Sister, came about after a jaunt through Europe, Everything Everything has a glint of Americana about it (in a cultural, not musical, sense) with songs inspired by stays in California and Texas, mixed in with shout-outs to friends (Ladyhawk) and wry self-affirmative anthems (Proud Champions, I Will Climb Mountains).”

Read the whole piece HERE.

The Coast features Shotgun Jimmie: “Everything, Everything, Shotgun Jimmie’s third release on You’ve Changed Records, is worlds away from the sludgier Pavement aesthetic of 2011′s Polaris Prize-nominated Transistor Sister. Instead, Everything, Everything is upbeat collage-rock that smiles inside and out. Even the album art is an “I Spy” of clues and influences: a marquee, a metronome, a fine selection of pelts.”

Read the whole piece HERE.

CBC‘s Bob Mersereau on Shotgun Jimmie‘s Everything, Everything: “Fomer Sackvillian Jimmie returns with another stacked-up, home-cooked pot of hooks, happy tunes and cranked guitar. Recorded by himself in some cabin where he’s hanging in remote-ish Manitoba, Jimmie piles up the overdubs on his four-track, making lots of crunchy songs with clever couplets, lines you can’t, and don’t want to get out of your head. Like the adopted brother of both Joel Plaskett and Julie Doiron, there’s lots of catchy numbers full of observational, tiny details turned into cool stories.”

Read the whole review HERE.

The Scope on Shotgun Jimmie‘s Everything, Everything: “The album packs a whopping sixteen tracks into about 40 minutes and while it has hints of Jimmie’s previous work, it all sounds fresh and exciting…Overall, Everything Everything is Shotgun Jimmie’s most diverse work to date. It has something for everyone with a few, more profound moments mixed in with heaps of Jimmie’s catchy, straight up rock and roll sound.”

Read the whole review HERE.

Southern Souls on Shotgun Jimmie‘s Everything, Everything: “Each song is lined with unwavering confidence: the action of this record sustains itself; its rises and falls light up with a sun-bleached energy that never burns out. Shotgun Jimmie doesn’t tire from his travels; he turns them into anthems that champion everyday existence. There’s a familiarity in these songs that stitches every event together as a rare and forthright chain letter, with every sender emanating the importance of individual experience.”

Read the whole review HERE.

The Music Nerd catches up with Shotgun Jimmie as he makes his triumphant return to Sackville:  ”It might be two years since the release of his acclaimed record Transistor Sister but Shotgun Jimmie, performing at Sackville’s Legion Friday night, has been anything but idle. Aside from the promotional duties he undertook to promote the Polaris Prize long-listed record, Jimmie also contributed lead guitar to Weakerthans’ John K. Samson’s album Provincial and toured with Samson in the all-star Provincial band. You’d figure that all that socializing would have been led Jimmie to having plenty of help on his new record Everything Everything. But rather than capitalize on the friendships and relationships formed over the last two years, Jimmie took himself to Manitoba to make Everything Everything on his own. If you were worried that this isolation was going to somehow dampen Shotgun Jimmie’s spirits, you had best think again.”

Read the whole piece HERE.

CKDU‘s Halifax Is Burning interviews Shotgun Jimmie.  Give it a listen HERE.

The Coast features Quiet Parade and their new album Old Haunts: “Quiet Parade, a five-piece lyrically driven band who won your vote for three years running in the Coast Best of Music readers’ survey for Best Band To Enjoy Quietly, wears its heart on its sleeve. The band releases its new EP, Old Haunts, on April 12 at The Company House. Old Haunts deals with the past—specifically the things that creep back and haunt you today. The EP is full of emotion, honest lyrics and steers clear of mixing metaphors.”

Read the whole piece HERE.

The Chronicle Herald on Quiet Parade‘s Old Haunts: “Halifax band Quiet Parade turns a corner with its new EP Old Haunts, inspired by its members’ Yarmouth-area roots. Produced by Daniel Ledwell, the five songs link together to present a portrait of the effect of urban migration on the small towns left behind and the psyches of those compelled to depart their childhood homes.”

Read the whole piece HERE.

Sea Legs Collective on Quiet Parade‘s Old Haunts: “As a lyrics-driven band, they play songs heavy with meaning and heart-wrenching honesty, but in such a way that won’t leave you hopelessly depressed. It’s a fine line to walk, and they do it well.”

Read the whole piece HERE.

BRBR features Quiet Parade and their new album Old Haunts: “The sense of urgency Old Haunts transcends the brevity of the five songs. The group lives in Halifax, but has rural qualities in [their] artistic approach. The songs are shaped by the architecture and the fog of Yarmouth, the home town of [Quiet Parade frontman Trevor] Murphy.”

Read the whole piece, en français, HERE.

The Yarmouth Vanguard talks to Quiet Parade about Old Haunts: “The disc features five songs, including a new recording of a song that was included on a previous record by Murphy. Asked about the material on the new CD, Murphy said the band didn’t really set out to develop a certain theme, although he said he stepped back and tried to look at the songs objectively, to see what held them together. ‘When you say the phrase ‘old haunts,’ it immediately conjures up something physical,’ Murphy said. In the case of this particular CD, he cited, for example, a song about a small town facing some challenges, a track Yarmouthians likely could relate to. ‘The songs that I write have a lot of Yarmouth embedded in them … so the physical idea was there.’”

Read the whole piece HERE.

Quiet Parade performs “Edge Of The Ocean” from their album Old Haunts for CoastTV.  Watch the video HERE.

Live105‘s Live Underground interviews Quiet Parade‘s Trevor Murphy. Listen to the interview HERE.

CBC‘s Take Liberty features Quiet Parade‘s Old Haunts. Listen to the piece HERE.

The Coast talks to Gianna Lauren about her new album On Personhood and her upcoming Halifax CD release: “Playing with The Highest Order in Halifax and at The Old Confidence Lodge in Riverport on Saturday before a final show in Sackville, NB, Lauren isn’t exactly sure what’s to come. ‘I’m hoping these guys will want to stay with me in Halifax and we’ll start a new life together,’ she says, laughing. ‘I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to offer this again so I cannot wait to play a loud tavern show at Gus’. So far, people have been very generous. It makes me feel like we’re really onto something and it would stink to lose momentum, but I’m just going to enjoy this.’”

Read the whole feature HERE.

Magnet Magazine previews Gianna Lauren’s On Personhood: “Halifax singer/songwriter Gianna Lauren recently put out latest album On Personhood via the Forward Music label. For those of you fortunate enough to be in her touring route, Lauren will showcasing her prowess throughout eastern Canada over the course of the next week.”

Read the whole piece HERE.

The Coast on Gianna Lauren‘s On Personhood: “On Personhood’s six tracks have the density of a much longer album. Gianna Lauren’s beautifully captured second album, recorded over five days last June in a reconverted horse stable, is understated indie-rock existing between the meticulous and spontaneous. Lauren and her band channel the sort of intense thoughtfulness distilling entire emotional weather systems into a choice phrase or melody.”

Read the whole review HERE.

The Alternate Root on Stephen Fearing‘s Between Hurricanes: “Between Hurricanes showcases the tenderness and humanity of its characters in the songs of Stephen Fearing.  He cradles the stories in breathy whispers that rise with the strength of commitment.  The long ago spoken words of mother make for a current event story line in ‘Don’t You Wish Your Bread Were Dough.’ Stephen Fearing has a way of making his words come alive.”

Read the whole review HERE.

The Globe & Mail on Gabriel Minnikin‘s Parakeets With Parasols: “…the record is grand and ambitious, with Minnikin’s moods and pitchy baritone keeping things grounded. Not for ear buds or desktop speakers, the album works with Scotch and he-man stereos.”

Read the whole review HERE.

The Gaunlet reviews Lions In The Street‘s On The Lam: “On the Lam is a great modern take on classic rock — a genre that is too often moored by repeating the same old songs on the radio while new bands produce more alternative, folk and indie rock music. The heavy guitar riffs and percussion from Chris and Jeff Kinnon are a joy to listen to and frequently a nostalgic experience, at least for me.”

Read the whole review HERE.

Vue Weekly on Ghostkeeper‘s Horse Chief! War Thief! : “Roots music is a genre that’s tricky to separate from its traditions, chiefly because it leans on them by design: arrangements vary, but there’s a pretty set wheelhouse of sounds and structure at play in the genre. Sure, fine, but seeing Calgary’s Ghostkeeper lumped in with the genre (or, stranger still, blues) is beguiling at best: the band’s kinetic, fragmented approach to music is anything but a well-trod path. The band lets its songs turn on a bank vault’s worth of dimes: sly, grooving blasts of minimalist pop dive into rhythmic breakdowns, electronic blip-scapes and ominous, atmospheric drifts, often all within the confines of the same track. Ghostkeeper is more  Beefheart than Mumford, yet the band usually gets roped in with the latter.”

Read the whole piece HERE.

Exclaim! previews AA Wallace‘s debut album, (disambiguation): “Halifax’s AA Wallace previously fronted the indie rock band Sleepless Nights, but for the past three years, he’s been making a name for himself in the world of electronic music. This spring, he will finally release his debut full-length with (disambiguation). It’s due out on May 7 through Acadian Embassy, and its release will be followed by shows at home and abroad.”

Read the whole piece HERE.

Southern Souls on Heaven For Real‘s Wanton: “The songs on Wanton are wound characteristically tight, but there are moments peppered throughout that feel relaxed, where the songs reel rather than convulse. All of which to say, with Heaven For Real, the Grundys continue to make some of the most idiosyncratic and fascinating pop music in Canada. And what’s more, by tinkering so successfully with their own craft, they’ve shown a keen sense of self-awareness and desire to push their own boundaries.”

Read the whole review HERE.

The Muse catches up with The Burning Hell‘s Mathias Kom: “‘We recorded [People] in Berlin last summer,’ Kom explained. ‘It’s full of songs about different kinds of people like amateur rappers, barbarians, wallflowers, industrialists, and much more. It’s more of a rock album than we’ve ever done before. I think it’s one of the best things we’ve done.’ The theme of the album is very fresh and the touch of rock for the usually categorized folk band adds a new sound that will keep fans interested. The Burning Hell has a lot to offer the music scene around the world and Kom hopes that with the new edge, the band will continue to please regulars and attract new fans.”

Read the whole piece HERE.

With Spring in full-effect (well, almost) the days are getting longer, and, much like the temperatures around these parts, coverage is heating up.  Have a look at some of the reviews and features that have come our way this week for Pigeon Row artsits and clients.

Live Music Guide on Quiet Parade‘s Old Haunts: “Quiet Parade’s magic lies in the lyrics, with every song showing incredible honestly and relatability. Fears, memories and a flickering hope for the future are ever-present themes that tie Old Haunts together…he words are beautiful and honest, forcing the listener to take a good, long look at these same issues in their own lives. At the same time, Quiet Parade does not dwell in the darkness, they look toward the light. There is always hope in their songs, there is always the promise of a better future.”

Read the whole review HERE.

New Canadian Music on Quiet Parade‘s Old Haunts: “Quiet Parade term themselves a’bleeding-heart quintet’ and their band and album name (and lead track ‘Ghosts’) may suggest something ethereal and melancholy. Happily, they mix lyrical introspection with a virilemusical spirit, as on the compelling and melodic ‘Edge Of The Ocean.’”

Read the whole review HERE.

BRBR on Quiet Parade‘s Old Haunts: ”Once a solo project led by Trevor Murphy, Quiet Parade has transformed into a full-fledged band. Old Haunts does more than celebrate this mutation propelling the Haligonians into an essential folk rock act on the east coast. The grandios ‘Edge of the Ocean’ discusses the death of a small town in the region, but it transcends regionalism through Murphy’s dark sensibility.”

Read the whole review, en français, HERE.

Quiet Parade‘s Trevor Murphy was a featured guest on the Haggard Business Podcast this week.  Download or stream the episode HERE.

If you’re in the Maritimes, you can catch two features on Quiet Parade this weekend.  CBC’s Atlantic Airwaves will feature the band and their new album, Old Haunts, on its new episode Saturday that airs at 10:00am on CBC Radio 2 and at 5:05pm on CBC Radio 1.  On Sunday night at 9:00pm, Q104′s Route 104 will feature an interview with the band and two live in-studio performances.

Grayowl Point on Shotgun Jimmie‘s Everything, Everything: “Everything, Everything feels like it has, well, everything going for it. The album has tons of ideas in both the lyrical and melodic content, all filtered through Jimmie’s very wry sense of humour. It doesn’t get much better than the line in the breezy ‘Growing in a Garden’ where Jimmie says ‘Darling it’s alarming that we both got into farming.’”

Read the whole review HERE.

500kHz on Shotgun Jimmie‘s song “Standing In A Line” from Everything, Everything: “The songs serves as a culmination and reminds us that Shotgun Jimmie is a staple of the Canadian music scene. No faults or downtime. If only indie rock could have the scope and immediate impact of ‘Standing In A Line.’” 

Read the whole review, en français, HERE.

BSide Magazine features Shotgun Jimmie in their cover story this week: “There is no doubt that the arrival of spring always makes for a wonderful and anticipated time of year – the sun shines, the birds sing, and this time around, so is Shotgun Jimmie. For those of us who are familiar with the critically-acclaimed Canadian artist and his seemingly effortless display of past works, Everything, Everything is given our stamp of approval with zero hesitation. In fact, with each new release from Shotgun Jimmie, we are left with the impression that things just keep getting better.”

Read the whole feature HERE.

Babysue on Shotgun Jimmie‘s Everything, Everything: “The songs on this album have wonderfully spontaneous qualities…to ensure that the music never ever sounds canned or phony. This sixteen track album is a pure delight, bursting at the seams with memorable melodies, smart lyrics, and a cool overall vibe.”

Read the whole review HERE.

Alan Cross on Shotgun Jimmie‘s song “Standing In A Line” from Everything, Everything: “The opening track to Everything, Everything is so deceptively short that it leaves listeners wanting more of its buzzing, British backbeat, and that is a sign that the choice of this tune as their leadoff was a good one. It’s a statement comparative to Elvis Costello’s dynamic “Welcome to the Working Week” from his landmark “My Aim Is True” LP. Would you shut off the turntable after tasting that quick opener? Absolutely not.”

Read the whole review HERE.

The Globe and Mail on Ghostkeeper‘s Horse Chief! War Thief! : “Who’s in this band, anyhow? Sounds like David Byrne, Syd Barrett, Jack White, a hallucinating Indian shaman and a bag full of Yoko Ono. There’s a bluesy whimsy and beat-and-drone aesthetic to eleven collages from the Calgary shape-shifters, Ghostkeeper. This is a new sort of psychedelia, one not yet invented, and maybe never will.”

Read the whole review HERE.

The Globe and Mail also talked to Ghostkeeper about the 40th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of The Moon: Calgary’s Ghostkeeper probably would not be sub-categorized with [Tame Impala and Django Django], but there’s certainly an eclecticism at work with its artful, unpredictable sound collages. Asked what ties new bands with each other and with Pink Floyd, Yes, Cream or later-era Beatles, the 34-year-old Shane Ghostkeeper suggests it’s all about the search. ‘We’re interested in dynamic, challenging songwriting and arrangements,’ he says. ‘We’re people who look for adventure, not a two-minute dance.’”

Read the whole feature HERE.

Babysue on Ghostkeeper‘s Horse Chief! War Thief! : “We love it when a band or artist keeps us guessing…and that’s just what the folks in Ghostkeeper do on the puzzling and ultimately strange Horse Chief! War Thief! We could play this album another ten or twenty times and we’d still be scratching our heads trying to come up with ways to describe the overall sound. So…this is one of those rare cases where we’re not even going to attempt to explain what’s going on here. You just have to hear it…and decide for yourself.”

Read the whole review HERE.

Herohill on Ghostkeeper‘s “Gospel Slinger” from Horse Chief! War Thief! : ”‘Blankets’ [the working title for 'Gospel Slinger'] started as a dark storm of guitars, screams and terror but underneath it all, was a simple program driven melody. Ghostkeeper spends the first two-minutes painting in lighter tones, before executing a sharp left and tying to balance tension and pure fear. Over time, the band stripped out almost every layer from the final mix, choosing precision and clarity over muddy exploration. The melody persists, but it’s given endless open space and the darkness, and while still ominous, feels more like a threatening storm building off the coast than hurricane like forces battering against your windows.”

Read the whole piece HERE.

Exclaim! debuts the new Quake Matthews video for “Dance Song” from his upcoming album, Corrado: “The video finds the dude pondering the state of hip-hop from his kitchen table, wondering why MMG has got it on lock over on MTV, and pooh-poohing the idea of mimicking someone else’s style just to get ahead. The song’s not intended as a diss track, though; even while taking aim at Mac Miller, Matthews notes that he gives him daps. Just thinking out loud, we suppose.”

Watch the video HERE.

CBC Music hosted an exclusive stream of Quake Matthew’s Corrado this week.  Have a listen HERE.

Exclaim! on OBEY Convention‘s stellar line-up announce:  ”The OBEY Convention is self-described as ‘Eastern Canada’s only music and arts festival dedicated to the cultural outsider,’ and the music and arts festival will continue its mission this year with its sixth event. It runs from June 6 to June 9 in Halifax. Among the acts on board for 2013 are Mac DeMarco, Pissed Jeans, Chris Corsano, Grouper, Each Other, Babysitter, Cousins, Ketamines, Tonstartssbandht, and Pete Swanson. Artists will perform at an array of alternative and artist-run spaces around Halifax.”

Read the whole piece HERE.

The Province on Stephen Fearing‘s Between Hurricanes: “Just as you think Fearing has returned to thoughtful acoustic softness and sensitivity, he cranks out Keep Your Mouth Shut, which is a kind of Chuck Berry and Subterranean Blues style Bob Dylan and which you’d be more likely to find on his side project, Blackie And The Rodeo Kings. Otherwise, this is Fearing probing as before but sounding revitalized by his recent collaborations.”

Read the review HERE.

The Queen’s Journal catches up with Gianna Lauren to talk about her new album, On Personhood: “Instead of continuing her singer and songwriter style of performing, she’s collaborating with bandmates J.J. Ipsen, Justin Nace and drummer Marshall Bureau. ‘It was like tapping into a brotherhood because we worked so seamlessly together,’ Lauren said. While recording the new EP, Lauren and the band were devoted to constantly writing and rehearsing. ‘We slept together on the floor in a row, ate together and we never left the studio,’ Lauren said. ‘It was wonderful to see how other people hear my music.’”

Read the whole feature HERE.

Babysue on The Burning Hell‘s People: “We love great lyrics…but unfortunately lyrics are usually the weakest link with artists and bands. That is not the case here. Mathias Kom is a lyrical genius. It wasn’t more than a minute into the first track that this talented young man had us laughing our hearts out.”

Read the whole review HERE.

NOW Magazine on Aidan Baker‘s Already Drowning: “Berlin-based Toronto expat Aidan Baker takes a break from the ambient drone metal of Nadja to explore some minimalist weirdo folk ideas on this new solo album. Already Drowning is sparse and much gentler than the intimidating walls of noise some might be expecting. Still, you’re not going to confuse this with easy listening. Maybe uneasy listening. While it is melodic, it’s also a very dark album with an experimental perspective.”

Read the whole review HERE.

The Music Nerd and The Times & Transcript feature Ryan Cook and his new album Wrestling With Demons: “With his third full-length effort, Wrestling With Demons, Cook’s authentic country sound reflects his desire to pay musical tribute to the very roots of a genre that has lost its way over the past two decades. Cook indeed holds the country torch high. What is rather refreshing with Cook however is that he is also able to inject a significant dose of humour into his songs. After all, not just anybody could get away with singing of the perils of dating in the age of social media as heard in Cook’s song ‘Facebook Waltz.’”

Read the whole feature HERE.

Jenny Berkel performs “Sleep/Arlington” for Exclaim! TV.  Watch the performance HERE.

Settle in for the long weekend with the latest coverage on Pigeon Row artists/clients.  Gather your Easter eggs, snap into a chocolate bunny and enjoy these features that have come our way over the last seven days.

NOW Magazine on Shotgun Jimmie‘s Everything, Everything: “On Everything, Everything, the Sackville-based musician’s lyrics are his greatest asset. “Darling, it’s alarming that we both got into farming,” he croons on acoustic gem Growing Like A Garden. Set against energetic guitars and easygoing tempos, they surprise with their sweetness, vividness and skilful phrasing. Sturdy rocker Ladyhawk name-checks Guided by Voices while also being influenced by that band.”

Read the whole 4N review HERE.

Natural Anthems on Shotgun Jimmie‘s Everything, Everything: “More than anything else, Everything, Everything is a group of tracks that find Jimmie embracing the capabilities of his skill set, and leaves us unequivocally rooting for the fun-loving underdog. Sure, the Malkamus-esque tipsiness of goofy vocal lines (see “darling its alarming that we both got into farming” or “desert juice with lime and Vermouth, on the rocks in the afternoon”) still pop up from time to time, but Jimmie sounds more confident in his range than ever before.”

Read the whole review HERE.

Wavelength interviews Shotgun Jimmie: “The music of Shotgun Jimmie is pure gold Canadiana, with witty tanglings of slacker humour lacing the lot of it. Jimmie’s brand new record Everything, Everything is comically honest while deeply earnest, capturing mental polaroids of life’s weirdness and beauty. His sound has a distinctly East Coast folk rock twang but stands up as a curious totem of wide and varied inspiration. Wavelength’s Adam Bradley had a chat with Jimmie about his new record, touring with John K. Samson, and Shotgun Jimmie: ‘The Video Game.’”

Read the interview HERE.

Hartzine on Broken Deer‘s song “My Heart’s In The Highlands” from Polaraura: “Wind, wolves, rivers, snow and even the aurora borealis haunt the lonely and intimate ballads sung by Lindsay [Dobbin], building unparalleled soundscapes where hearing subtly replaces the view.”

Read the whole review, en français, HERE.

Trebuchet Magazine on Aidan Baker‘s Already Drowning: “Already Drowning is a remarkable and strong record that stands well within Aidan Baker’s usual canon of work but equally well without. You don’t have to be a fan of ambient, drone or noise to appreciate the music, but there are enough nods here to have bedroom producers scrambling to update their productions. Similarly fans of folkier singer-songwriter material will find a unique and satisfying experience that introduces them to new avenues of music.”

Read the whole review HERE.

Consequence of Sound on Quiet Parade‘s Old Haunts: “The five songs on [the] band’s new EP, Old Haunts, never lose control of themselves. They remain lovely, understated and focused on their adept melodies that extol a drunken-swoon affect. The songs are good, the arrangements are what you’d expect, but their restraint is what’s especially commendable here. Sure, “bleeding heart pop-rock” will always conjure some bitter images of certain embarrassingly over-animated radio mainstays, and Quiet Parade openly share a ballpark with some of those groups. But on Old Haunts, Quiet Parade demonstrate that they’re just as fit for sharing a bill with, say, Belle & Sebastian.”

Read the whole review HERE.

Stop The Train talks to Quiet Parade about their tradition of folk-art album covers:  ”You can take the boy out of the South Shore, but you can’t take the South Shore out of the boy.  For Yarmouth-born singer-songwriter Trevor Murphy, his experiences growing up in the small Nova Scotian community have affected every aspect of his musical career. One of those ways is in his album’s artwork. Since the start of the group in 2010, Murphy has consistently used pictures of the same house on the majority of his album sleeves as a sort of hidden Easter egg for fans of the group.”

Read the whole piece HERE.

The Gauntlet on Ghostkeeper‘s Horse Chief! War Theif!: “It would be an enormous understatement to say that Ghostkeeper’s newest album, Horse Chief! War Thief!, has been stuck in my head. This collection of 11 songs from the Calgary-based roots-rock band attached itself to my brain like a hungry leech to an exposed leg, and it has been feeding on my thoughts ever since.”

Read the whole review HERE.

Finally, a wealth of Pigeon Row clients picked up big wins in The Coast‘s 2013 Best Of Music Readers’ Poll.  Congratulations going out to everyone! Here’s a list of the gold, silver and bronze winners:

GOLD:
Quiet Parade – Best Band To Enjoy Quietly
Kuato – Best Band To Turn Up Loud
Kuato – Best Experimental Band
AA Wallace – Best Electronic Artist
Halifax Pop Explosion – Best Music Festival

SILVER:
Rain Over St. Ambrose: Truth For News – Best Album
Ryan Cook – Best Country Artist
Erin Costello – Best Jazz Artist
Black Lips w/Cold Warps, Monomyth, The Group Sound at Olympic Community Hall, Halifax Pop Explosion – Best Live Show
Quake – Best MC
Cousins - Best Merch

BRONZE:
Christina Martin – Best Dressed Artist
Jerry Granelli – Best Jazz Artist
Purity Ring w/Southern Shores, Organ Magic, Club Stoic at The Marquee Club, Halifax Pop Explosion – Best Live Show
Dog Day- Best Merch

Read the list of all the 2013 Best of Music winners HERE.

We’re emerging from a snow-covered Halifax today to bring you some of the latest features on Pigeon Row artists and clients that have come our way this week.  Check ‘em out.

Buying Shots For Bands previews Beams‘ CMW showcase: “Toronto-based Beams is a band that is probably not on your radar… yet. This folk septuplet is set to release Just Rivers, which was produced by Peter J. Moore (Cowboy Junkies), on April 2nd. I’ve been hooked on this band since I first heard them and there’s this ease in their sound that really reflects how comfortable each of the band members are with each other.”

Read the whole piece HERE.

Quick Before It Melts previews the Beams single “Be My Brother”: “Together with iconic producer Peter Moore (Cowboy Junkies’ Trinity Sessions)  they’ve let their youthfulness and joie de vivre loose on Just Rivers, their long player debut, scheduled for release in May.  ’Be My Brother’, the album’s first single, is available now, alongside their cover of Portishead’s ‘Glory Box’, which gets a new lease on life as a spooky backwoods hymn.”

Read the whole preview HERE.

Haggard Business Podcast features the Beams single “Be My Brother.“

Listen/download the podcast HERE.

The Coast reviews the new Ryan Cook‘s Wrestling With Demons: “Yarmouth’s dark-eyed honky-tonker has spent time in Nashville since the last album, raising his awareness of how valuable or debilitating uniqueness may be. Humour and powers of observation are a huge asset when the singing and playing is this solid too.”

Read the whole review HERE.

Ryan Cook talks to The Coast about an upcoming Halifax show: ”‘It’s the thinking man’s country music,’ says Ryan Cook, one of three acts featured at the Casino’s New Music Friday showcase.  ’Or maybe country-western music for the modern world.’ Cook’s brand of country marries traditional music—his sound is inspired by the ’50s to ’70s—to contemporary themes.”

Read the whole piece HERE.

The Lance on Shotgun Jimmie‘s Everything, Everything: “Shotgun Jimmie, recently went out to the seclusion of a cabin near Lake Clementi, Man. and emerged with songs that are not just pages of a melancholy journal matched with music, they are songs that bring you to the places you visit every day, but with exciting melody. These songs aren’t sung with images of dreary nights, but clothes lines in the wind and alcohol-filled Skype dates.”

Read the whole review HERE.

The Four Oh Five names Shotgun Jimmie‘s Everything, Everything one of the best album streams of the week: “With more than a little of Born Ruffians and Tokyo Police Club in his DNA, Jim Kilpatrick – stalwart of the Canadian music scene for many a year – recorded his latest solo album in a cabin on a four track (what we now call ‘doing a Bon Iver’). Except he brought some friends along, and the warm, analogue four-track recordings have a rollicking, loosey-gooseyBasement Tapes feel to them, as the ramshackle band rattle though some well-constructed, tuneful indie.”

Read the whole piece HERE.

AUX TV catches up with Honheehonhee: “[The band's] over-the-top enthusiastic brand of junkshop indie-pop was as infectious as it was exhilarating. On the eve of Honheehonhee’s apocalypse, we caught up with Raudsepp to talk about how he’s preparing for the beach, Toronto’s finest swimwear boutiques, and the dangers of over-working your quads.”

Read the whole interview HERE.

Exclaim! debuts the Honheehonhee video for Rooftop Archipelagos: “The song mixes upbeat rhythms with bittersweet melodies, while the accompanying claymation video is a heart-tugging one. It shows a man growing old and ringing in a lonely holiday season in his apartment overlooking the city. The clip was created by Greg Smith, who co-produced and engineered Shouts. The band will launch the video with a release show on March 15 at l’Esco in Montreal.”

Watch the video HERE.

Trebuchet Magazine interviews Aidan Baker about his new album Already Drowning: “Aidan Baker is without a doubt one of the most interviewed electronic musicians on the internet. Even a cursory search brings up a cornucopia of Aidan Baker interviews that go into the recording process, his personal beliefs, why he writes, and what his perspectives are on the rather singular opinion that he’s bloody good at making music. The challenge then is to uncover some of the lesser-known things about this instrumental polymath, and ask the definitive questions that neither make the interviewer lo0k good nor really reveal much about the personality of the subject. Factoids if you will, stuff that we just wanted to know.”

Read the interview HERE.

Monsieur Délire on Aidan Baker‘s Already Drowning: “These are doom songs, with a taste of goth rock and post-rock, served on a bed of ambient. Actually, it sounds like Baker decided to bring together all his interests, all the facets of his work in Already Drowning. It’s often longish, but still poignant, and the highlights of this unexpected record are found in the songs sung by Engel (‘Already Drowning’), Castrée (‘Tout juste sous la surface, je guette’), and Bozulich (‘Lorelei/Comon Tongue’).”

Read the whole review HERE.

Parksville Qualicum News talks to Stephen Fearing about his Canadian tour and his new album Between Hurricanes:  ”Canadian folk legend Stephen Fearing has had a busy and rather chaotic life for the past seven years, and the small respite he recently found himself in meant it was time to make his eighth solo album.  It’s called Between Hurricanes and it represents the fact that Fearing was literally in a place where he was trying to write an album and paint his house in Halifax before hurricane season hit, but also he was taking a break from his usually event-filled schedule. ‘Things had stopped moving around a little bit,’ said Fearing over the phone, while driving to his next stop on his cross-country tour.”

Read the whole feature HERE.

CBC Music debuts the new Lions In The Street video for “So Far Away”:  ”Vancouver’s Lions in the Street are tearing it up at South by Southwest right now, playing tracks from their new EP, On the Lam. And since we can’t all be lucky enough to check them out in Austin, the band has just released a video for their track, ‘So Far Away.’ The video is a DIY affair, produced, shot and edited by the band’s drummer, Jeff Kinnon, with lighting by guitarist Sean Casey.”

Watch the video HERE.

The Coast talks to Peter Elkas about the Light of Day Parkinson’s Disease fundraiser happening at The Carleton this weekend: “The benefit that’s been rocking the US since the early 2000s, and internationally (including Ontario) for several years as well, is finally making its way east. ‘It’s the first ever Halifax Light of Day,’ says Peter Elkas. ‘I’m excited not only to raise money for Light of Day but also to do a show.’”

Read the whole piece HERE.

Earshot 20 features Lead Mule on their latest episode.  Listen to the episode HERE.

Thousands of artists will descend on Toronto this week to partake in Canadian Music Fest (aka Canadian Music Week or CMW), including Pigeon Row clients Rain Over St. Ambrose, Honheehonhee, Reversing Falls, Panos, Cousins and Beams.  Check them out at the following showcases:

RAIN OVER ST. AMBROSE:
Wednesday, March 20 @ Cherry Cola’s Rock N’ Rolla Cabaret – 10:00pm
Friday, March 22 @ The Hideout – 1:00am

HONHEEHONHEE:
Thursday, March 21 @ Rancho Relaxo – 12:00am

REVERSING FALLS:
Friday, March 22 @ Global Village Backpackers – 11:00pm

PANOS:
Saturday, March 23 @ Cameron House (Backroom) – 1:00am

COUSINS:
Saturday, March 23 @ Parts & Labour – 12:30am
Saturday, March 23 @ Tiki Lounge – 1:30am

BEAMS:
Saturday, March 23 @ Silver Dollar – 9pm