With Midnights, Taylor Swift returns to an electro-pop style comparable to what she offered on Reputation in 2017. These are 13 mid-tempo or rather danceable songs that she presents, perfect rhythms for warm and festive nights. Moreover, we can discover in addition an extended version, "3 AM Edition", which contains seven additional tracks to go to the early hours of the morning. One can hear several confessions, like those which one can make in period of insomnia, with regrets, recriminations, resignations, etc. However, the very cool atmosphere of the record makes it really pleasant throughout its length. Without being very surprising, Jack Antonoff's textures and arrangements are particularly successful, even if one feels that he is a little less comfortable than on Folklore for example. Here is another extremely efficient record from Taylor Swift who continues to impress with her wide creative palette.

Music Videos: « Anti-Hero » - « Bejeweled »

With her tenth album, one can say that Björk succeeds in presenting the best mix of experimental concepts and personal experiences. Quite a feat considering her lifelong penchant for somewhat dry and difficult to access experiments. Of course, once again, one must approach the album with an open mind, since Björk is far from offering everything on a silver platter. It is up to us to make the effort. However, the soon-to-be 57-year-old Icelandic artist does offer some of her most touching songs to date. She actually deals with different types of love and how they are expressed. Whether she mentions her daughter, her mother, her ancestors or the one she loves, she always remains touching... on an innovative background where the arrangements will challenge you on many occasions. (October 2022 Featured Review)

After a five-year absence, the Toronto-based alternative band returns with their third album. The band members haven't had it easy since 2017's Antisocialites: stolen demos, damaged gear, and personnel changes. However, they seem to have used these difficult experiences as sources of inspiration, as Alvvays present an even stronger record than their previous one. The band builds on their strengths (catchy melodies and gritty riffs) but takes them to another level. Synthesizers are included, reminiscent of the 1980's, and it gives a not unpleasant new wave touch. Each piece is a great listen, and they all flow together beautifully. With only 39 minutes for 14 songs, the efficiency of these songs is almost always immediate. Here is a very pleasant album to discover piece after piece, with as exclamation point the energetic "Pomeranian Spinster". (October 2022)

Gentiane Michaud-Gagnon is a talented pianist and composer from the Saguenay. With Walls Made of Glass, Gentiane MG presents her third album, accompanied by her faithful acolytes Levi Dover (double bass) and Louis-Vincent Hamel (drums). On this new album, sound exploration is at the forefront. Inspired by her environment, she offers 10 luminous and passionate pieces full of contrasts. Her approach to contemporary jazz blends on several occasions with impressionistic and poetic classical music. She succeeds in creating her own universe from her various influences. Along with the album, Gentiane published a book containing scores for each of the compositions, accompanied by poems, paintings, drawings, and collages. (October 2022)

The record company wanted to release a greatest hits compilation, but instead Muse decided to give us their ninth album, with songs that sound somewhat like their most popular in the past. The result is highly effective as the band delivers perhaps their strongest songs since 2009's The Resistance. From the opening track, Muse immerses us in the world of Marilyn Manson on the title track with a fusion of Manson's "The Beautiful People" and "Psycho". The satirical song was inspired by the attack on the Capitol in Washington in January 2021. "Compliance" takes us back to the last two albums with its synthesizers, while "Verona" reminds us of U2 and "Liberation" carries us to the world of Queen, while revisiting "United States of Eurasia". At the end of the record, with "Euphoria" and "We Are Fucking Fucked" the band revisits the hits "Time Is Running Out" and "Knights of Cydonia". In terms of themes, Muse moves away from extraterrestrial threats to focus more on real threats to our world. It is therefore possibly their most socio-political album to date. But musically, the band has set themselves up for guaranteed success, with a string of potential hits and songs that reflect their past hits (which some might criticize them for though). In the end, Will of the People turns out to be a very high quality album, 10 tracks that are enjoyable to listen to from start to finish. (September 2022 Featured Review)

Music Videos: « Won’t Stand Down » - « Compliance » - « Will of the People » - « Killed or Be Killed » - « You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween »

Harmonie des saisons conducted by Eric Milnes presents five concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach. With soloists Julia Wedman (violin), Jessy Dubé (violin), Matthew Jennejohn (oboe d'amore and oboe) and Eric Milnes (harpsichord), we can rediscover the concertos BWV 1043 (2 violins), 1055R (oboe d’amore), 1041 (violin), 1054 (harpsichord) and 1060R (oboe), five of Bach's most beautiful and best known works. The unique interpretation of the Harmonie des saisons, on period instruments, gives a traditional dimension to these often heard Bach concertos. An excellent recording! (September 2022)

Paul Marleyn (cello) and Stéphane Lemelin (piano) explore the music of three French Romantic composers: Édouard Lalo (1823-1892), Paul Lacombe (1837-1927) and Fernand de La Tombelle (1854-1928). The album contains a sonata for each composer. Composed in 1856, Lalo's "Sonata for Piano and Cello in A minor" was dedicated to the famous Russian pianist and composer Anton Rubinstein. Lacombe's little-known "Sonata for Piano and Cello, Op. 100" was composed in 1902 and dedicated to Jules Loeb, a professor at the Paris Conservatory. As for the melodic "Sonata for Piano and Cello in D minor" by La Tombelle, it was composed in 1905. This is a very nice record for fans of romantic sonatas. (September 2022)

After Act 1 in 2021, Imagine Dragons completes the story with Mercury: Act 2, which they add to the first one for a double album. This second disc contains 18 tracks that examine the time that passes after the shock and grief of loss. While the first part dealt with these messy emotions with some of the rawest and most vulnerable moments of the band's usual radio-friendly repertoire, the second part loses some of its focus and coherence. There are still several good songs, but there are simply too many attempts in all sorts of directions. Act 2 starts off strong with the irresistible singles "Bones" and "Sharks", but it quickly takes on a more reflective bent, which doesn't necessarily suit them. Dan Reynolds laments his shortcomings on "I Don't Like Myself" and begs for relief on "Take It Easy". The second half is weighed down by similar moments that drown out their catchier songs. Compiling both parts on Mercury: Acts 1 & 2, the band presents the full experience across 32 tracks, including the hit single "Enemy" from the Arcane League of Legends soundtrack. (August 2022 Featured Review)

Music Videos: « Wrecked » - « Bones » - « Sharks »

Six years after Lemonade, Beyoncé is back with the first album of a trilogy, carried on by the debut single, "Break My Soul". Renaissance begins with a slow and unique introduction, "I'm That Girl", before picking up the pace to become a great R&B sequence with house and disco influences. While "Break My Soul" is certainly the perfect radio-friendly single, many of the tracks on the record also have excellent commercial potential, and they fit together greatly for over an hour. This is an album without any ballads and with great creativity, certainly one of the best R&B albums of the year. (August 2022)

Music Video: « Break My Soul »

Acadian Laurie LeBlanc missed a lot of family fun during the pandemic. So now he presents an album entirely dedicated to summer fun. The country artist explores all aspects of summer partying, from cocktails to the beach, barbecues, sun, and vacations. He even pays tribute to the Beach Boys. LeBlanc presents a bilingual album of 12 songs, half in French and half in English. The title track is in both languages. It's a positive album, tailor-made to celebrate! And according to LeBlanc himself, it will be his last career album... (August 2022)

After years of navigating the sometimes (often) bland pop world, Demi Lovato takes a pop punk turn on Holy Fvck. The result is her most authentic album to date, and perhaps the strongest in her career. The aggressive riffs are compelling, and Demi sounds genuinely angry, not just for appearances, addressing themes of mortality, trauma, and addiction. "Freak" (featuring Yungblud), "Skin of My Teeth" and "Substance" will quickly convince you, as will the particularly heavy, almost metal, "Eat Me" (featuring Royal & the Serpent). As for the mid-tempo title track, it's no less aggressive in what it says. The second half contains a little more powerful rock ballads, but still with a good dose of aggressiveness. Demi inevitably recalls P!nk, Avril Lavigne's most punk moments, and even Courtney Love in her most intense moments of rage. With Holy Fvck, Demi Lovato fits perfectly into the new pop punk movement of the early 2020s, along with Yungblud in particular. It remains to be seen what she has in store for us next. Will she return to a more radio-friendly pop rock sound, or will she continue to spit all her rage in our faces, without compromise? (August 2022)

Music Videos: « Skin of My Teeth » - « Substance »

After four years of absence, the Las Vegas band is back with Viva Las Vengeance. For this seventh album of Panic! At the Disco, Brendon Urie comes up with a true tribute to rock 'n' roll in a recording that is extremely enjoyable and entertaining throughout the 12 tracks. He moves seamlessly between pop punk, emo and danceable rock, with Broadway-esque vocal flourishes. But above all, the music remains comparable to the greatest rock anthems, from Queen to Cheap Trick. Yet, despite the seemingly grandiose arrangements, Urie recorded almost everything directly to tape, without reworking anything, at least not at that stage. Knowing this, the result is even more interesting and reminds us of the good old days of authentic music on vinyl. The influences of the 1970's can be felt on several occasions: Elvis Costello on "Middle of a Breakup", AC/DC on "Sugar Soaker", Thin Lizzy on "Star Spangled Banger", as well as the Ramones on the opening of the title track. This is another solid album for Panic! At the Disco, a record that looks like a concept album, so much so that the tracks follow each other wonderfully, for 44 minutes that go by at high speed. (August 2022)

Music Videos: « Viva Las Vengeance » - « Don’t Let the Light Go Out » - « Sad Clown » - « Sugar Soaker »

On Honestly, Nevermind, the Toronto rapper offers a new direction for his rap / R&B music, focused on an almost house beat. For the occasion, Drake surrounds himself with the producers 40, Carnage and Black Coffee, but with very few collaborators unlike his previous albums. We can rediscover his vocal abilities, to our great pleasure, and the rhythms are irresistible and extremely catchy. Then, the brighter side of the album proves to be greatly pleasant in comparison with his much darker recent recordings. In addition to the house trend, we can hear some Latin passages and slower R&B ballads, but the whole remains very interesting, a pure happiness! This is a very successful record, certainly one of his best albums to date. (July 2022 Featured Review)

Music Video: « Falling Back »

From a very young age, George Harrison was listening to Indian music with his mother. He was able to spread his passion for India to his Beatles partners and they went there in 1968 with their wives and a score of friends, for a strange pilgrimage in order to soak up the culture and meditate. It is this journey that is told in the movie The Beatles and India, directed by Ajoy Bose, a rebellious teenager from Calcutta at the time the Beatles were visiting. This trip to Rishikesh, including their meeting with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (the originator of transcendental meditation), greatly influenced the band, which is reflected in the double album The Beatles (The White Album). The film is a good portrait of the Beatles' journey to India. Unfortunately, there is no music by the band, but rather covers by Benji Merrison and Beatles-inspired songs. (July 2022)

Six years after Taking One for the Team, the Montreal pop punk band is back with their sixth album in their 20-year career. Simple Plan presents some great pop rock songs, fusing their old time punk sound ("Best Day of My Life") with more current pop rock moments ("Iconic"). Opening with "Wake Me Up (When This Nightmare's Over)" is the style that made the band famous around the world, and this trend continues with "Ruin My Life" (featuring Deryck Whibley from Sum 41) and the first single, "The Antidote". Harder Than It Looks is varied while including few weak moments. It is only a little short with its 10 tracks totaling less than 35 minutes. (June 2022 Featured Review)

Music Videos: « The Antidote » - « Ruin My Life » - « Wake Me Up (When This Nightmare’s Over) »

The Ohio duo is already back with a new album, one year after Delta Kream, which covered classic blues songs. Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney return with 10 short and effective songs in the garage blues style they are known for, with elements of boogie, soul and psychedelic rock. Billy F. Gibbons (ZZ Top) adds his unique touch to "Good Love", while Greg Cartwright of Reigning Sound and Angelo Petraglia of Kings of Leon bring "Wild Child" to life as the album's introduction. All of the songs are interesting and, with the exception of the ballad "How Long", the whole thing remains catchy until the end. This is another solid recording from the Black Keys. (June 2022)

Music Video: « Wild Child »

Colombian-Montrealer multi-instrumentalist Ramon Chicharron presents his fourth career album with Destello de estrellas (star sparkles). He offers 12 Latin songs, danceable and sunny, all in his native language. Chicharron mixes Latin and Caribbean rhythms with electronic sounds, as in the first three singles: "Contigo Escapar" (with Natasha Kanapé Fontaine), "Estrellas", and "Yerbatero" (with Elkin Robinson). Collaborators also include Cruzito, Boogat, Poirier and Ephniko. This is a very good album for fans of electro-tropical music. (June 2022)

Florence Welch is back with her fifth album after a four-year absence. From the title, one might expect Dance Fever to be a danceable and energetic album, but it is not. It is rather a pure and introspective album with very nice and almost spiritual compositions. There are still some good and catchy pop tracks, notably "Free" and "My Love". However, "Choreomania" and "Cassandra" return to confessional spoken words and church organs, for much softer songs. The whole offers a nice coherence and remains pleasant throughout, for possibly the best Florence + the Machine album in 10 years. (June 2022)

For their 12th album, the Red Hot Chili Peppers welcome back guitarist John Frusciante, who had been absent for a decade. They also reunite with legendary producer Rick Rubin, who was absent on the last album, The Getaway, released six years ago. All these reunions seem to bring a renewed sense of fun to the band. However, the maturity of the last decade is still there. Rather than a string of hits as in the past, the band offers a coherent whole with elaborate arrangements for 17 songs totaling 73 minutes. There are some lighter funk elements at various points, but the whole thing remains serious, perhaps a little too serious. In fact, despite some good moments ("Black Summer", "Poster Child", "The Heavy Wing"), the album seems a bit too long and could have been tightened up to keep the fun going throughout. Without being uninteresting, the very elaborate Unlimited Love might repel many of their fans who will rather turn to their past hits. (May 2022 Featured Review)

Music Videos: « Black Summer » - « These Are the Ways »

Five years after the disappointing Everything Now, the Montreal band is back with its sixth album. Arcade Fire manages to find its bearings on WE, with an emotional album greatly influenced by the pandemic, but which also contains some very good moments of entertainment ("Age of Anxiety II (Rabbit Hole)", "The Lightning II"). Also note the presence of a renowned collaborator in Peter Gabriel who accompanies the band on "Unconditional II (Race and Religion)" (a song that puts Régine Chassagne at the forefront). The first half of the record, consisting of the suites "Age of Anxiety" and "End of the Empire", is a bit more personal, while the second half, with the suites "The Lightning" and "Unconditional", is more of their fun-loving band work. This second half inevitably takes us back to the sounds of Funeral and Neon Bible. The album is concluding with the soft acoustic title track. The production of Nigel Godrich, Win Butler and Régine Chassagne turns out to be rather successful, which reconciles us with their past, even if the album still contains some unevenness among the 10 tracks. (May 2022)

Music Videos: « The Lightning I, II » - « Unconditional I (Lookout Kid) »

With Fables, Canadian pianist Philip Chiu presents a solo album on which he combines two piano transcriptions of the music of Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) with "Mnidoonskaa" ("An Abundance of Insects"), a 2021 work by Anishinaabekwe composer Barbara Assiginaak. Ravel's "String Quartet in F Major" from 1903 (a transcription of Lucien Garban's "Quartet for Solo Piano" published in 1921) and "Mother Goose: five children’s pieces" (a version for solo piano by Jacques Charlot published in 1910) can be rediscovered. For solo piano fans, Philip Chiu is a master who offers very beautiful interpretations. (May 2022)

This is the first recording by I Musici de Montréal for ATMA Classique, and their first record in 10 years. It features the response to the devastation of World War II, "Metamorphosen: Study for 23 Solo Strings, TrV 290" from German composer Richard Strauss (1864-1949), and the beautiful "Symphony No. 4, Los Angeles" from Estonian composer Arvo Pärt (1935-...). Pärt describes his symphony as "a salute to the great power of the human spirit and human dignity". Conducted by Jean-Marie Zeitouni, the chamber orchestra recorded the two works several months apart due to the global pandemic. They succeed in touching listeners deeply with their tributes to beauty and their timeless messages of hope. All of this is masterfully performed by an orchestra with nearly 40 years of experience and great talent, for a superb album! (May 2022)

The young Norwegian female singer comes back with her sophomore album, three years after Sucker Punch. Sigrid gains in maturity and presents a record even more solid than her previous one, thanks to high quality compositions that are also refreshing. She offers positive dance pop songs as well as mid-tempo ballads with grandiose arrangements. "Risk of Getting Hurt" is a cross between Sia and Natasha Bedingfield, while the guitar in the opening "It Gets Dark" is reminiscent of KT Tunstall. As for the acoustic "Grow", it carries us into Coldplay territory. Finally, with "Bad Life", Sigrid even allows herself a duet with Oli Sykes from Bring Me the Horizon. How to Let Go is an extremely effective album that will certainly make Sigrid proud for many years to come. (May 2022)

Music Videos: « Mirror » - « Burning Bridges » - « It Gets Dark » - « Bad Life »

This is already the sixth album for Charlotte Emma Aitchison (aka Charli XCX) and she's not even 30 yet. After albums of alternative pop music, Charli XCX takes more than ever a mainstream direction on Crash, her last record for Atlantic Records. She now fully embraces her pop star status with influences from the early 1990s and the turn of the year 2000. The production is huge, but the creativity is still fully there, a mix that works well for Charli, especially on "New Shapes" (with Christine and the Queens and Caroline Polachek). On "Yuck," she refreshes the sound of the late 1980s, while "Used to Know Me" includes a sample of Robin S.'s "Show Me Love" from 1993. "Beg For You" (with Rina Sawayama) incorporates September's "Cry for You" and Milk Inc.'s "Don't Cry", so Charli is particularly adept at revisiting a repertoire from another era while adding her own creative touch. The result is an extremely enjoyable danceable pop album that will appeal to nostalgic fans of the 1980s and 1990s, as well as to fans of current and original pop music. (April 2022 Featured Review)

Music Videos: « Good Ones » - « New Shapes » - « Beg For You » - « Baby » - « Every Rule »

The English band Ibibio Sound Machine is back with its fourth album. Electricity offers again a great mix of West African funk and disco with electronic beats sometimes pop, but often more underground than in the past. The afro-futurist collective asked for the first time the help of outside producers in Hot Chip (Al Doyle and Joe Goddard) who allowed them to reorient their style a bit towards electro / new wave music a la Kraftwerk. The first song, "Protection From Evil" gives a very good idea of that. Female singer Eno Williams alternates between her native language (Ibibio) and English, and this will be the case throughout the record. The title track includes robotized vocals and electronic drums, but with a pop-soul melody. As for "Afo Ken Doko Mien", it is a beautiful love song with an ambient electro texture. "All That You Want" may remind of LCD Soundsystem with its synthesizer vibe, but quickly turns into European electro disco music. Finally, "Something We'll Remember" is a must-have disco anthem, perfect for the dance floor. All in all, Electricity presents a superb blend of energetic dance music, creativity, and diverse cultures. The whole thing is both varied and coherent, accessible and underground. This is a very creative album from Ibibio Sound Machine, certainly their best one until now. (April 2022)

Music Videos: « Electricity » - « Protection From Evil »

After 30 years of career, the English band comes to us with its ninth album. If 2018's And Nothing Hurt featured a somewhat psychedelic mix of blues and gospel, Everything Was Beautiful returns to a slightly more standard alternative rock, though the songs were created around the same time. There are, of course, still many creative elements on the album, in long songs that are often close to six minutes (up to 10 minutes with the conclusion, "I'm Coming Home Again"). Yet, despite the length of the seven tracks, they listen beautifully and fly by at lightning speed, making for a very enjoyable album. The band remains extremely original and experiments a lot. They even go off on an unexpected country tangent with "Crazy", one of the few intimate moments on the record. But the highlight of the album remains the opening track, "Always Together With You", a sweeping rock anthem with 1970s glam rock influences. With Everything Was Beautiful, Spiritualized offers us possibly their strongest album in 25 years, since the excellent Ladies and Gentlemen... We Are Floating in Space. (April 2022)

Three years after Head Above Water, Avril Lavigne comes back full of energy with a very efficient album of less than 34 minutes. While she was divided between her punk and her emotional side on most of her albums, it is clearly the punk version of Avril that we can discover on Love Sux. We can hear 12 extremely energetic short songs, from the opening with "Cannonball", "Bois Lie" (with Machine Gun Kelly), "Bite Me", "Love It When You Hate Me" (with Blackbear), and the title track, all of which go by at lightning speed for our greatest pleasure. The collaborations of Machine Gun Kelly and Blackbear are rather useless, but let's also note that of Mark Hoppus in "All I Wanted", a much more interesting and worthy participation. With Travis Barker acting as drummer on the album, it was almost a Blink-182 reunion. With Love Sux, Avril Lavigne unleashes her madness and reclaims her rights as punk princess. Here is an excellent pop punk album for a highly effective release! (March 2022 Featured Review)

Music Video: « Bite Me »

On this album featuring the viola, violist Marina Thibeault and the Agora Orchestra, conducted by Nicolas Ellis, present two classical concertos, as well as two works for solo viola ("Ningodwaaswi" and "Niizh") from Melody McKiver of the Anishinabe Nation. The CD includes the first viola concerto in history, "Viola Concerto in G Major TWV 51:G9" from Georg Philip Telemann (1681-1767). One of the most recent works, the "Viola Concerto" from Peteris Vasks (1946-...) is also featured. Note that Melody McKiver's two solo works are taken from Reckoning, dedicated to the memory of the composer's grandmother, a survivor of residential schools. This is a very nice album for any viola fan, very enjoyable! (March 2022)

Two years after the excellent After Hours, The Weeknd is back with another great album. This time, the theme is a dawn radio show with Jim Carrey as the slightly creepy host of that morning radio station. Carrey creates the link between some of the songs, while adding to the atmosphere of the whole, before delivering a three-minute epilogue, "Phantom Regret". The result is an album of great coherence in which each piece is at the right place, for an enjoyable listening from beginning to end. Few tracks stand out among the 16 offered, except for the hits "Take My Breath" and "Sacrifice". Besides Carrey, other collaborators include Tyler, the Creator on "Here We Go... Again" and Lil Wayne on "I Heard You're Married". With Dawn FM, the Toronto artist refines his craft even further, for a first-rate R&B album. Even if 2022 is still young, the record is likely to be among the best of the year. Note that a deluxe version is also available, subtitled Alternate World. It features three additional tracks: a house remix of "Take My Breath" featuring Agents of Time, as well as two collaborations with Swedish House Mafia for a remix of "Sacrifice" and the hit "Moth to a Flame". (February 2022 Featured Review)

Music Videos: « Take My Breath » - « Sacrifice » - « Gasoline » - « Moth to a Flame »

This new album by the Saguenay Quartet (formerly the Alcan Quartet) features Marie Bégin as first violin for the first time. She brings a breath of fresh air to the Quartet and to works by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) and Maurice Ravel (1875-1937). In addition to Mendelssohn's "String Quartet in E minor, Op. 44 No. 2" and Ravel's "String Quartet in F major", we can discover "Federico II", the folk-inspired first movement of Giovanni Sollima's (1962-...) Viaggio in Italia cycle, a work dating from 2000. The Saguenay Quartet celebrates its 33rd anniversary in fine style with this new recording, which fits perfectly into the tradition of excellence of the band, having now some thirty recordings to its credit. This is an excellent chamber music record from this incomparable quartet from Quebec. (February 2022)