Magazine

Pop music seems to be in the midst of a revival of sorts. Every month, a new “internet queen of pop” seems to emerge from the constant content explosion that is TikTok, from Renee Rapp to Chappell Roan. While these artists are all pumping out fantastic back-to-back cuts, one consistently stands out from the crowd: PinkPantheress. I was introduced to PinkPantheress, as much of her fanbase was, in the summer of 2021. Breaking onto the scene with a generational run of five back-to-back singles within 3 months, it felt like nowhere on the internet was safe from her frightfully catchy hooks.

Dan Bejar’s Destoryer is one of Western Canada’s biggest names in indie rock. Recording music for over twenty five years, Destroyer’s lush instrumentation and whimsical lyricism has seen many different genre shifts over the years, spanning from indie-folk to synth-heavy art pop, as Bejar and band navigate shifting inspirations and moods. 

CJLO has been heading down to the SXSW festival since 2016 with only the pandemic preventing us from going back. In the planning stages before the festival, there was a renewed sense of energy and excitement for us to platform CJLO to a higher stage. The excitement came to a stop when the team learned that this year the festival was being sponsored by the US Army and by Collins Aerospace (a subsidiary of RTX Corporation, previously known as Raytheon). With that knowledge, there was a shift in our hearts and soon everything began to shift around us as well. 

Not much can convince me to go out on a Sunday night, let alone out of my immediate neighbourhood, and above that, after I spent the day moving all my belongings to a new apartment. However, this particular late March Sunday promised a truly jam-packed show of slowcore legends, exhilarating DJs, and up-and-coming rock bands. So, trying to ignore my lumbar pain, I headed out for the night to witness Ciel Noir, a one-day festival produced by Blue Skies Turn Black, featuring five acts you’ll likely never see on the same bill again.