Stylus Magazine – Winnipeg music & culture since 1989

April 29, 2025March 23, 2025

Album Review :: LEON’S GETTING LARGER :: YOU BE GOOD NOW

a punpkim head lying in a chair surrounded by beer cans (prairie and killter)

by Bradi Breckman

“These aching bones, these two years at home, all these things I own, I think they’re plotting against me.” — Leon’s Getting Larger (“Oh the Places You’ll Go”)

After several years of live shows, singles and EPs, Manitoba band Leon’s Getting Larger released their first official album last fall. You Be Good Now is a collection of old and new tracks that combine aspects of alternative, rock, indie and emo genres into a cohesive sound. The album features a mix of short and long songs which, when listened to in order, blend into one another, engulfing the listener in the sound, and not letting them leave until the final chord is struck.

April 22, 2025March 23, 2025

Album Review :: Orelands :: Secrets and Select Missions

album cover starry sky with clouds neon sign that says Orelands on the horizon.

by Mykhailo Vil’yamson

Even though one might see the We, Here and Now! record label and mistakenly assume that Orelands must be made up of Shakespearean bards from the Stratford Festival in Ontario, the band itself emerged from the hard rock, zinc-laden mining town of Flin Flon. Though only one member of this three-piece actually lives there – i.e., the drummer, Dean Martin – both Jay Hovland (songwriter, guitarist, vocalist) and Scott Ellenberger (bassist) also have roots in Flintabbatey Flonatin.

April 18, 2025March 23, 2025

Concert Review: Holy Void

by Sabbir Hossain

I had been unaware of the local scene despite being a self-proclaimed “music lover” for much of my youth and adolescence. It wasn’t until I joined Stylus which presented me with a valid excuse to get out of my shell and see what Winnipeg’s vibrant music scene had to offer. There was only one problem — I didn’t even listen to the local artists. Much of my playlists were of artists signed to major record labels. My parents were immigrants and obviously weren’t immersed in the city’s arts or culture, and as a result, neither was I.

April 15, 2025March 23, 2025

EP Review :: WITCH HAZEL :: CASA ROSSO

by Maggie A. Clark

Clicking around on Bandcamp again, I stumbled upon a local indie-rock outfit known as Witch Hazel. Now, maybe I should have heard of them by now; I am, after all, a writer for Stylus Magazine. But what you might not know about me is that I am a lousy, no-good dilettante, so it takes me a while to catch on to small details like “what bands exist in Winnipeg in 2025.”

April 11, 2025March 23, 2025

Concert Review :: Sam Singer and the Beautiful Movers Orchestra

West End Cultural Centre (November 22, 2024)

written by Jonah Strassel

Mere moments before accepting the illustrious 47th annual Schmolaris Prize, Winnipeg’s own revered singer/songwriter Sam Singer was busy gracing the stage at the West End Cultural Centre to celebrate the release of his second full-length album, Where the Rivers Do. What made this a truly special night was that Sam had assembled many of the key players from in and around the Winnipeg music scene, a collection of folks which he had dubbed The Beautiful Movers Orchestra. Ten moving parts on stage, each of them adorned in uniform jumpsuits sporting name tags, soulfully bringing layers of gorgeous sounding strings, horns, piano, and pedal steel guitar to the personal and emotional lyrics being crooned into the mic. Sam’s voice is so unique and the inflection he uses to accentuate it sounds almost as if Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen had a baby and that child grew up to join The Strawbs.

April 8, 2025March 23, 2025

Album Review:: Attica Riots:: Life’s a Sugar Pill

by Jamie Glenwright

After six years of radio silence (aside from live performances), Attica Riots finally released their second EP. Life’s a Sugar Pill dropped on December 9th of last year, and it doesn’t disappoint at all. It has the same upbeat, melancholy-ish vibe they are known for. Their new EP has five songs that are all lovely in their own ways, and I’m thrilled to have the pleasure of reviewing them all as my first article for Stylus.

April 4, 2025March 23, 2025

Artist Spotlight :: Interview with Brendan Grey of Super Duty Tough Work

by Kim Wiesner

Stylus (S): Your tour with Cadence Weapon kicks off here in Winnipeg at the new Sidestage venue. How are you feeling about it?

Brendan Grey (BG): I’m feeling great. I’m excited; I think we’re all very excited. It’s going to be great to get back to all these cities which we haven’t been to in quite some time. It’s going to be interesting to be supporting Cadence Weapon. So, yeah, we’re feeling good. The blades are sharp. We’ve had a good year up until now. I think we’re just really excited to play a show in Winnipeg and then play a show in these cities to which we’ve been, but haven’t been in a second, right? Hopefully reconnect with people that we know and/or know us and then connect with some folks who maybe haven’t had the chance to see us play yet.

March 28, 2025March 23, 2025

Artist Spotlight :: Interview with Cadence Weapon

by Kim Wiesner

Interview on November 6, 2024

Stylus (S): The deluxe version of your album Rollercoaster came out last month, and it’s about the internet, the ups and downs of it. What’s your relationship with the internet / social media right now?

Cadence Weapon (CW): Well, I have a complicated relationship with the internet right now. I feel like as an artist, you feel an obligation to use the technology because it’s the best way to reach people. But then every time you try to reach your audience, you’re getting throttled, you’re getting your reach blocked, and that frustration really inspired me to make this record. I consider it to be a bit of a love letter to the early internet. When I first started out, I first got my record deal from the internet, from just sending my tracks to random people and then posting on a blog and then record labels hitting me up. I feel like that kind of direct audience connection is much more difficult to have today. It’s like when you go on Instagram, you gotta jump through all these hoops. It’s that kind of thing. So, I feel like the album is really about the social media age we’re in right now and how we navigate it as artists and individuals.

March 25, 2025March 23, 2025

Album Review :: Dinner Club :: Brave Faces

by Mykhailo Vil’yamson

The unknown is intimidating because, by definition, it’s unfamiliar. This can express itself as fear — either unfounded or rational — or alternatively, as fascination. Regardless, uncharted territory is worth exploring when there’s a choice, as one never knows what one might find. It’s easy to surround oneself with the recognizable and “safe.” But isn’t life more exciting when deliberately leaving room for surprise?

February 13, 2025February 13, 2025

Album Review :: Jason Tait & Patrick Michalishyn :: G-384

by Maggie A. Clark

Some readers may well be scratching their heads right about now.

“Jason Tait, huh? Yeah, I recognize him. The drummer from Red Fisher and that other band — you know, the one with that song about Gump Worsley! Patrick Michalishyn, though: now where have I seen that name before?”

Try “one page ago,” on account of the above “CKUWho?” profile. In the interest of full transparency, I should mention that he did ask me to review his split tape, and I obliged. So let it be known — if you ask nicely enough and I have a spare evening, I’ll just do whatever you say. I’m easygoing and I crave the approval of others! (And on that note: if you have an album you’d like me to review, shoot me an email at assistanteditor@stylusmagazine.ca.)