Gauntlet - About: Richard Lam

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Spun: Shiest
They Call Me Shiest
2010-03-11 - Richard Lam

Spun - There are at least half a dozen red flags with They Call Me Shiest even before putting it in the CD player. There is the home-made album cover, with Shiest looking a little too tough for his own good. There are unflattering track titles like "Nuttin New" and "Props Pilin Up." There is the dead link for his website provided on the CD. Yet it is either a pleasant surprise or huge disappointment that Shiest's music itself is pretty good.

Each track features a different producer or DJ, keeping the music fresh and varied. Each song inscribes its own identity, using a good range of beats and samples. "Tax Return" is a smart little piece commenting on monetary concerns, backed by some vintage jazz. "Narcolepsy" is a confident and catchy track, featuring fellow Canadians Quake, Boy ILL and Lee Fitz.
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Ploughboy closes after eight years on campus
2010-02-25 - Richard Lam, Gauntlet News

After eight years of business, Ploughboy -- an independent baked goods and coffee shop in the University of Calgary's ICT Building -- has closed its doors following the university's decision not to grant the business a new lease.

"We're all really distressed with the decision as there's no other explanation given," said Ploughboy owner Garry Killbourn.
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Student's education documented in audio
Audio series tracks conversations with instructor Ron Glasberg, student, over years
2010-02-11 - Richard Lam, Gauntlet News

Six years of conversations between former student Marco Barile and University of Calgary professor Ron Glasberg have been compiled and edited for a new audio series in the Communication and Culture department.

Recorded in Glasberg's office, Conversations with the Captain tracks Barile's journey through his undergraduate degree and master's thesis, capturing his self-doubts, fears, excitement and gradual maturity and personal growth.
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Social work tool may help prevent homelessness
2010-02-11 - Richard Lam, Gauntlet News

Is it possible to predict homelessness before it happens? Research at the University of Calgary's faculty of social work has developed a tool that may greatly help populations at risk of becoming homeless.

Developed by a team led by U of C researcher Leslie Tutty, the Homeless Asset and Risk Tool is currently seeking the funding necessary to pilot and validate its use in Calgary for 2010.
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The end of the world as we know it
Dystopian fiction and its enduring relevance
2010-02-04 - Richard Lam, Gauntlet Features

"Later, as he sat on his balcony eating the dog, Dr. Robert Laing reflected on the unusual events that had taken place within this huge apartment building during the previous three months."

This is the understated opening sentence of J. G. Ballard's High Rise, a horrific look at a society gone wrong. High Rise is one in a long line of dystopian novels, sharing shelf space with bleak stories of harvested babies, totalitarian rule, technology run amok and the complete loss of human identity.
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Spun: Tetrix
Tetrix 10
2010-01-28 - Richard Lam

Spun - Local art-electronica artists Tetrix have finally hit double digits with Tetrix 10, their 10th release since 2002’s Tetrix 1. It is stunning to look back and see that these musical adventurers have released at least one album annually. Like the lyrics on opening track “The First Green Leaf” every new Tetrix release is “Ringing in the new year / It’s heard / It’s told / Let it bring you!”

Not every Tetrix release has been perfect. Experimenting with the boundaries of electronic music and vocal manipulations, the band has gradually been testing their limits and refining their distinctive sound through album releases and powerful live shows. Here, they branch out further than ever before, with beautifully fuzzy ballads, Beastie Boys-esque rap and apocalyptic drones, making them more accessible than ever.
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Spun: State Radio
Let It Go
2010-01-21 - Richard Lam

Spun - Guitar-heavy and politically charged, Boston-based trio/activist group State Radio returns with their third album, Let It Go. The album cover and jacket are filled with images of police, protestors, scrawled writings and newspaper clippings. Themes of injustice and power imbalance run heavy throughout, but the anger is balanced by an enduring sense of hope.

The songs are mainly grungy guitar-chugfests, which occasionally delve into other styles. "Calling All Crows" and "Evolution" are a pair of reggae-infused calls to arms while "Doctor Ron the Actor" recalls the sharp guitar bursts of the Pixies' "Oh My Golly." "Bohemian Grove" manages to work in political nursery rhyme Old Mother Hubbard, the assassination of Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto and the imprisonment of Burmese politician Aung San Suu Kyi. "Knights of Bostonia" is an unashamed sing-along stadium anthem, boasting and preaching "Sit straight and listen up . . . You only you can set you free."
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Spun: Devendra Banhart
What Will We Be
2010-01-21 - Richard Lam

Spun - Devendra Banhart's career has produced a steady, reliable selection of soft-yet-quirky folk music.

Each of his six albums-- including his latest, What Will We Be-- has garnered remarkably consistent and respectable acclaim, both a strength and a weakness for Banhart. There is little to be unhappy about with this newest release, but there is also very little that distinguishes it from his past work.
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Spun: Sea Wolf
White Water, White Bloom
2010-01-21 - Richard Lam

Spun - From the opening organ and strings of "Wicked Blood," it's easy to see Sea Wolf's influences. The emotional rock songs on White Water, White Bloom, their sophomore album, are immediately reminiscent of Arcade Fire and Modest Mouse. Lead singer Alex Brown Church's vocals even sound like a slightly sadder, deep-voiced Win Butler. As such, the piano blinks and chugging guitar lines are immediately familiar to most indie rock fans on first listen.

"Orion & Dog" is one of the more stripped-down numbers, driven by acoustic guitar and accentuated by lightly plucked strings where boisterous rocker "O Maria!" is the exact opposite."The Traitor" is the emotional peak of the album, a bright, soaring number with steady percussion and sweeping, widescreen orchestration.
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Spun: Patrick Watson
Just Another Ordinary Day
2010-01-21 - Richard Lam

Spun - With the success of Closer to Paradise and Wooden Arms, Montreal-based Patrick Watson have decided to re-release their out-of-print debut, Just Another Ordinary Day. While the album shows the band's early signs of experimentation and maintains their air of mystery, it ultimately feels like an assortment of half-executed ideas.

Many of the album's tracks are piano-based ballads, with a warm and full sound strangely detached and inaccessible. The lengthy songs are largely musical meanderings with little direction or flow. "Woods" contains interesting instrumentation, but the vocal wailings grate. "Mary" plays it straight, resulting in a pleasant, jazzy shuffle. "Silent Night" is another highlight, a piano-based instrumental track hypnotically employing strings and drunken trumpets for nearly seven minutes.
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