Top five albums you may have missed in 2012

Landmark Apollo Ghosts Apollo Ghosts have been kicking around Vancouver’s independent music scene for ages, with standout record after standout record, but never quite managing to break through to the next level. Landmark continues both these trends, serving up 15 criminally underappreciated tracks of catchy, jangly, indie guitar rock. Jumping from straight-ahead rock numbers “I’m…

To gimmick, or not to gimmick?

From Keith Moon’s exploding drum kit to Katy Perry’s fruit costumes, musicians’ gimmicks are nothing new In your time here on Earth, you may have noticed people are fascinated by some very odd things. Blind passion, violence, sensationalism, an “image” and stuff that is just plain weird captivates many audiences. If it will generate some…

Bringing pop punk back

Eric Axen and Sightlines breathe new life into the genre When Eric Axen decided to start pop-punk band Sightlines, he wasn’t worried that people might be sick of the simple song structures and hooky riffs that Blink-182 and Green Day used in the mid-’90s and early ‘00s. “I think we’ve had about five years’ reprieve…