Joanna Gruesome

Weird Sister (Slumberland Records / Fortuna Pop! released in September 2013)

This band is keeping the indie-pop spirit alive! #tweeasfuck

My Faves for 2013

Originally published in the CJLO Magazine.

   

TOP 10 ALBUMS

01. Fuzz - Fuzz
02. Kvelertak - Meir
03. The Feeling of Love - Reward Your Grace
04. Earthless - From the Ages
05. Mikal Cronin - MCII
06. Yo la Tengo - Fade
07. The Pastels - Slow Summits
08. My Bloody Valentine - m b v
09. Kurt Vile - Wakin' on a Pretty Daze
10. Deafheaven - Sunbather

TOP 10 MONTREAL ALBUMS

01. Solids - Blame Confusion
02. Elephant Stone - Elephant Stone
03. Archery Guild - DIN
04. UBT - Ego Orientation
05. CTZNSHP - Doom Love
06. Cafeïne - New Love
07. Dig It Up - Manners
08. Suuns - Images du Futur
09. The Besnard Lakes - Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO
10. Freelove Fenner – Do Not Affect a Breezy Manner

BEST REISSUES

01. Nomeansno - Wrong
02. Sunn O))) - Black One
03. Dead Meadow - Dead Meadow
04. Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left, Bryter Layter, Pink Moon (Back to Black)
05. Parquet Courts -  Light Up Gold (released in 2012, reissued in Canada in 2013)

BEST COMPILATIONS

01. William Onyeabor - World Psychedelic Classics 5: Who is William Onyeabor?
02. Molly Drake - Molly Drake

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

01. Thee Oh Sees - Floating Coffin
02. Black Sabbath - 13
03. Dumb Numbers - Dumb Numbers
04. The Men - New Moon
05. Joanna Gruesome - Weird Sister
06. Diarrhea Planet - I'm Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams
07. Kid Congo Powers & the Pink Monkey Birds - Haunted Head
08. Pharmakon - Abandon
09. Pissed Jeans - Honeys
10. A Tribe Called Red - Nation II Nation

BEST SHOWS

01. My Bloody Valentine + Dumb Numbers @ Metropolis
02. Kvelertak @ Katacombes
03. Mudhoney @ Il Motore
04. Li'l Andy 3D @ Theatre Rialto
05. Woods + Parquet Courts + The Nymphets @ Il Motore
06. Michael Cronin + Shannon & the Clams @ Il Motore
07. Ringo Deathstarr @ Kathy & Kimy Restobar
08. Fucked Up + Cadence Weapon @ SAT
09. Archery Guild + Ostrich Tuning @ Sala Rossa
10. Melted Faces @ L'Escogriffe

Stephanie Dee is CJLO's Magazine Editor and the host of Twee Time every Friday from 8 to 9 PM. She occasionally hosts Champions of the Local Scene, which airs every Wednesday from 6 to 7 PM.

Who Is William Onyeabor?

Originally published in the CJLO Magazine.

If you have no idea who William Onyeabor is, you're not alone. The information available about him is unfathomable at best, but what I can tell you is that he is a Nigerian man of mystery. 

Rumoured to be a High Chief in Enugu whilst running a flour mill (yes, wheat!), Onyeabor all but abandoned the (tongue firmly placed in cheek) fame and fortune the music industry had to offer to find Jesus and open an Internet café. What he left behind in his journey into obscurity is the greatest musical gift (and most likely the compilation album of the year) for the rest of us to discover and to cherish. 

In this fifth installment of Luaka Bop's World Psychedelic Classics series, Who Is William Onyeabor? is an honest and for true feast for the ears. Onyeabor's music is a captivating—and dare I say, revolutionary—interpretation of psychedelic, electro-funk, and disco mixed with West African jùjú style beats. Throughout the album you hear the fabulous female backing vocals that shine through clear as the stars in the sky. The tracks "Why Go to War" and "Something You'll Never Forget" reveal the fragile situation of the Nigerian civil war, yet William's careful weaving of crazy rhythms, Moog synth sounds, and messages of peace fill the room with hope and joy. 

The CD version compiles 9 tracks from an eight-record body of work originally recorded and self-released by Onyeabor between 1977 and 1985. For serious music lovers, the vinyl release has 5 extra tracks pressed in a three-LP set with the cleanest, thickest wax that any record collector would trade anything to have spinning on their turntable. The set rests in a full-colour gatefold sleeve complete with lyrics sheet and liner notes written by NYU's very own Punk Professor Vivien Goldman.

Rating: 5/5
Recommended tracks: "Body and Soul", "Atomic Bomb", "Why Go to War"

--Stephanie Dee hosts Champions of the Local Scene (Wednesdays, 6-7 PM) and Twee Time (Fridays, 8-9 pm). Follow her on Twitter @tweegirl.