Magazine

Independent, provocative, now! The CJLO Magazine is the resource for features, reviews, and interviews. Established in 2004, and run by dedicated CJLO volunteers, the magazine covers the latest and best in local and international music, art, theatre, film, festivals, and more!

Review: Past Lives

August 4 2023 // Remi Caron // Film

Past Lives is the directorial debut feature of Celine Song, and one of the best films of the year. After making its premier at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and garnering positive reviews from critics  it’s now in theaters. Past Lives is a meditative, slow film about first love that has been lost, the immigration experience, and of the nature of relationships.

Shazam Fest 2023

July 27 2023 // Robert Portnoff // Magazine // Features

In the Eastern townships of Quebec, just outside of Ayer’s Cliff, Shazam Fest took place over the July 13-16th weekend. Thursday through Sunday, and I had the opportunity to check out Friday’s lineup. Since its humble beginnings eighteen years ago the festival of circus and music has grown up to become one of Quebec’s best kept secrets. Held on one of the most idyllic festival sites around, with a hidden valley that leads to a natural amphitheater and the Shazam village which hosts the festival’s stages and vendors.

30 Years On: Siamese Dream and In Utero

July 14 2023 // Daniel Braz // Magazine // Music Reviews

1993 was a good year to be a music fan: MTV was arguably at the peak of its cultural influence, CD's were flying off the shelves every day, and music fans were spoiled for choice when it came to what they could listen to. If you were among those who enjoyed alternative music, you were probably anticipating the releases of Siamese Dream by The Smashing Pumpkins and In Utero by Nirvana on July 27 and September 12 of that year.

Beyond Genre: A Playlist

June 26 2023 // Malika Bawa // Magazine // Music Reviews

My favourite part about making playlists on Spotify is finding the one “thing” that connects the songs to one another. The general theme of the playlist is probably the most important part, and from there, the rest flows freely. “Beyond Genre” was created in the same way. As a musician and lover of jazz, it’s interesting to see the many ways artists take the jazz genre and tweak it to create new waves of music that can’t be classified into one section or another. This playlist is a compilation of music that isn’t necessarily jazz, but where we can recognize influences through chords, melodies, or harmonization. 

 

This is Going to be Ryan Olcott’s Year: An Interview

June 2 2023 // Kaitlyn DiBartolo // Magazine // Interviews

“I felt awkward and weird most of the time because I didn't know shit, but now I know shit,” Ryan Olcott tells me, referring to how much has changed since he and his band, 12 Rods, last released new music. “My Year (This is Going to Be)”, came as a happy surprise to a devout, yet ever-growing fan base upon its release back in April; being the first new 12 Rods single in over 20 years.  I had the opportunity to talk with the Minneapolis musician, producer, singer, and lyricist over what lapsed into a two-hour phone call to inquire about his latest album If We Stayed Alive, releasing July 7.

Piknic Electronik's Opening Weekend Knocks on Summer’s Door

May 28 2023 // Alex Menjivar // Magazine // Concert Reviews

Last Sunday everyone’s favourite summertime festival, Piknic Électronik, kicked off its 20th season with a solid line-up of some of the biggest names in the Electronic music scene; internationally and locally. Taking place from May 21 to October 1 every Sunday on Montreal’s Île Sainte-Helene, festival goers can catch numerous DJ/Producers perform on two stages. This year's line-up includes legends such as New Yorkers Louie Vega and Kerri Chandler, Montreal’s own and Piknic fan favourite Misstress Barbara, and Fred Everything.

Beach House's Become EP: a Review

May 23 2023 // Dallas Calvert // Magazine // Music Reviews

Beach House surprised the world by releasing a new EP Become, on April 22, 2023. The collection being the second EP in the American dream-pop duo’s discography, follows their 2022 album Once Twice Melody. Victoria Legrand (vocals, keyboard) and Alex Scally (guitar, keyboard, backing vocals) have been making music together since they formed the band in 2004.

Beau is Afraid: Not A Mother's Day Movie

May 15 2023 // Remi Caron // Film

Cineplex recently posted some Mother's Day movie suggestions now in theaters, one of them being Beau is Afraid. I couldn't help but feel a certain dread at the idea of Ari Aster's latest film being recommended for mothers and sons. Don’t get me wrong, Beau is Afraid, is a vast spectacle of a film that succeeds as being one of Aster's most complex robust works as a director, almost hitting the three hour mark.

Filmmakers from the Indian Sub-continent Diaspora Shine Bright at the South Asian Film Festival of Montreal

May 11 2023 // Sruthi Matta // Film

South Asian Film Festival of Montreal (SAFFM) 2023, presented by Kabir Centre for Arts & Culture is back after a year of dormancy. The festival was screened with Bibliothèques de Saguenay and La Cinémathèque québécoise from April 28 to May 10. This year’s films were picked all the way from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, to Canada and the United States; aired in person and online.  Kabir Centre aims to unite communities through thought-provoking films from the Indian Sub-continent empowering the culture and the languages. 

Cats, Clutch, and Beer Torture

April 26 2023 // Hunter Walwaski // Magazine // Concert Reviews

My first experience with opening act, Amigo the Devil, was a standard affair. Their output originally came in as a mere muffled kick drum echoing around the depths of the MTELUS– a steady beat rocking the gaping porcelain mouths upstairs. Joining this heartbeat were the anguished hurls of an occupant in the next stall, whose devilish retching combined with the muffled beat in a way that would make the best black metal bands jealous. Amigo the Devil weren’t that bad.

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