ION Magazine

Daily Specials

Matt Sharp and the Rentals Share First Single from New Records

The music industry, more than any other, is known for its constantly changing astrology. There are those few stars that have found a permanent home in the shifting constellations of music history—indelible pinpricks in the sky, whose perfectly coiffed and carefully managed images take years to arrive down on Earth. And even after they die, or disband, or otherwise go gently into that good night, their fame lingers like a beacon, their traveling reservoir of light not yet up. But more often, new artists are nothing but shooting stars. They appear suddenly and vanish just as suddenly.

The Juan MacLean

Mon, 08/10/2009 - 00:00 by AltaGrade

If you haven’t yet heard of The Juan MacLean you’ve probably been sitting in a nuclear bunker waiting for shit to hit the fan or eroding in Middle America. With their latest effort, The Future Will Come, released in April on the acclaimed DFA records, The Juan MacLean are now touring, leaving kids from city to city whistling their tunes. If you like to dance to robot-tinged lyrical content and club/dance songs with actual melodies and instruments you will probably be into them.

Dinosaur Jr

Mon, 08/10/2009 - 00:00 by AltaGrade

One way to understand the story of Dinosaur Jr. is to consider the way of the mighty albatross. They learn to fly together, but inevitably break apart, returning to their roots only when they’ve reached maturity. Sound familiar? The band’s bassist, Lou Barlow, declares, “I wouldn’t be in this band, I wouldn’t be working as Dinosaur Jr. right now if I hadn’t gotten better at picking my battles.”

Lady Sovereign

Wed, 07/01/2009 - 00:00 by AltaGrade

Lady Sovereign, a young midgetesque female Briton, raps in a manner that you can relate to. Although at first listen her music may not seem catchy enough, it quickly causes your mind to forget about priorities and your formal behaviour turns into an informal dance of the body. On the surface, lyrically, Lady Sovereign doesn’t seem to offer very much that you can relate to. But relating one thing to another happens with a string of inevitability, because we do wake up late in the morning, and we do go out, and we are improper.

Buraka Som Sistema

Sat, 04/18/2009 - 00:00 by AltaGrade

Rolling African plains, herds of galloping Zebras heading towards a watering hole, chants of the Massai in the distance. What does this have to do with Buraka Som Sistema? Absolutely nothing. Buraka Som Sistema are the first wave of Kuduro producers to gain worldwide notoriety. Hailing from Lisbon and Angola, the foursome have picked up some loyal and high profile followers like Diplo, Switch, Hot Chip and M.I.A. who count themselves among the legion of BSS fans.

MTV Europe Award nomination… CHECK!

The Handsome Furs

Sun, 04/05/2009 - 00:00 by AltaGrade

“The way this record is presented is more honest as what we are as a band,” says Dan Boeckner of The Handsome Furs’ latest album Face Control. Dan, who also co-fronts Wolf Parade, and music/life partner Alexei Perry’s personas and music stand out from their indie-rock comrades. Face Control, their follow-up to 2007’s Plague Park, is a brusque force. Their inspiration, drawn from Russian techno and their travels across Eastern Europe is evident in every aspect of Face Control.

…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead

Sun, 04/05/2009 - 00:00 by AltaGrade

Everyone likes …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. If you like indie music, you like them. If you like metal, you like them. If you like radio-friendly music, you like them. So if everybody likes them, why aren’t they on North American FM airwaves? Sometimes those in charge have no clue as to how to market a band with potential and a massive following. If you’ve got a hammer, everything looks like a nail, and Trail of Dead are a white hot rivet, holding up a futuristic ivory tower full of music’s fist pumpers and noblemen.

The Pains of Being [Pure at Heart]

Mon, 02/09/2009 - 00:00 by AltaGrade

“Good bands will find a way to make it work,” says an excited Kip Berman on the telephone from his self-proclaimed “dirty” home in Brooklyn. Kip is the kind of young man you would dream about as a teenager in the Nineties who would swoop into your town with his collection of Sonic Youth cassettes and his love of all things precious. His band The Pains of Being Pure at Heart is the kind of band you wished existed your entire life, and he feels the same.

Ladyhawke

Mon, 02/09/2009 - 00:00 by AltaGrade

Pip Brown is sitting in her hotel room in Melbourne, waiting for another call. Today the girl known as Ladyhawke is more like Rapunzel. She waits for the phone to ring, and for a voice to appear on the other end of the line, from the other end of the world, and for it to ask the same questions that until months ago, the bashful singer had grappled to answer.

When Pip released her self-titled debut album, in September, she lit up the music industry’s radar. The more she was labeled The One to Watch, the more she became the one to talk to.

Troy Lovegates

Tue, 12/02/2008 - 00:00 by vanessa

The street and the gallery are two diverse domains for an artist’s work, each with their own set of benefits and drawbacks. Many street artists today have successfully established a place for themselves in each of these domains. Canadian Troy Lovegates aka Derek Mehaffey aka Other is one of these highly skilled artists. Troy Lovegates began painting on the streets around 1988 after noticing graffiti on the buildings in Toronto that would magically appear overnight.

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