Jul 16, 2013 By Frank Valish Issue #45 - Winter 2013 - Phoenix

Suede frontman Brett Anderson admits that he never thought much about reforming Suede after the band broke up in 2003. After storming onto the British music scene with its first two albums—Suede in 1993 and Dog Man Star in 1994—Suede saw founding guitarist Bernard Butler leave the band, but it soldiered on to release three more albums without him. After a brief reteaming with Butler as The Tears in 2004, Anderson embarked upon a solo career. The four albums he released under his own name, starting with a self-titled release in 2007, mostly eschewed Suede’s patented guitar rock sound for softer, gentler landscapes. Anderson seemed to have left Suede far behind. More

Jul 15, 2013 By Laura Studarus Web Exclusive

It’s Belle and Sebastian frontman Stuart Murdoch’s first visit to Montréal in seven years, and he has one of its more famous residents on his mind. More

Jul 12, 2013 By Austin Trunick Issue #45 - Winter 2013 - Phoenix

CHVRCHES’ euphoric electro pop can’t be shaken. The Scottish trio blends floor-rattling synths and rhythm loops with sweet, wide-eyed vocals. Ahead of the release of their first EP, Recover, and forthcoming debut album, The Bones of What You Believe, the band, which uses the ‘v’ rather than ‘u’ to make their name easier to find on search engines, has already earned comparisons to Purity Ring and The xx. Singer Lauren Mayberry had only been recording with keyboardists Iain Cook and Martin Doherty for less than a year before two of their early tracks, “Lies” and “The Mother We Share,” took off online in mid-2012. More

Jul 09, 2013 By Matt Fink Issue #45 - Winter 2013 - Phoenix

The Knife didn’t need to make a new album—they are clear about that—and you probably need to hang onto that thought if you’re going to have the mindset needed to unravel their latest release, the sprawling 96-minuteShaking the Habitual. True to its title, the fourth Knife album is all about breaking down routines and questioning the way things are done—something that has resulted in an album that is part hypnotic synth-pop opus, part noise collage, and part unclassifiable hybrid of every nightmare you’ve ever had. More