NERO: Welcome Reality
Our pick for November 2021 is Welcome Reality, the groundbreaking debut album from English Electronic group NERO. The album is conceptual, taking a stab at what civilization might look like in the year 2808.
Join our team of music fans on
a journey to determine if influential music
from the past has withstood the test of time
THE MONTHLY ALBUM SELECTIONS
Listen to our Sonic Collective member explain the selection for the month. Be sure to follow up the next month to hear the reviews from the group.
Brian Eno: Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks
Our pick for October 2021 is Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks by Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois and Roger Eno, which is the ninth solo studio by British Eno and was released in 1983. It was a collaboration with his brother and Canadian Daniel Lanois. Many of the tracks have since appeared on soundtracks such as Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, and Heat, among others.
The album was originally recorded as the soundtrack for a feature-length documentary movie called Apollo, but the film went through several iterations and wasn’t particularly well received. But the music has gone on to make a much deeper impression upon listeners since its release.
Public Image: First Issue
Darren selected the very first album from Public Image, soon to be changed to Public Image Ltd., or PiL as an acronym. This was the project that John Lydon, known as Johnny Rotten of the notorious Sex Pistols started in 1978 directly after the Sex Pistols broke up. Known as one of the strongest Post-Punk bands of all time, it is very interesting to see how John Lydon developed as a writer and a musician.
Four bands people love to hate
For April 2021, The Sonic Collective member Darren Scott has chosen the Sleaford Mods, Divide and Exit album. This new and edgy working class electronic punk music is minimalist, raw as hell and has a distinctly new sound. With our world is so much chaos, we need more voices like this, telling it like it is. Enjoy Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn as the Sleaford Mods.
Bjork: Homogenic
Bjork’s 1997 album Homogenic was nominated for a grammy for Best Alternative Rock Performance, losing to Radiohead’s OK Computer. I guess if you have to lose to another album, that’s high on the list of ones to lose to. Homogenic certified gold in the US and Canada and Platinum in Europe, which are pretty solid numbers for such an eclectic-sounding artist.
Sublime: Sublime
For June 2021, Sonic Collective member Alain Dupuis has chosen to review Sublime's 1996 self titled album, their first major label debut. Does this album hold up? Can ska, punk, and reggae all collide into an album that we enjoy? Listen along with us, and stay tuned for our review.
ZZ Top: Tres Hombres
This month we’ll focus on ZZ Top’s third album Tres Hombres, which was released in 1973. While not very warmly received upon its release, as time has passed, it’s regularly recognized as the band’s finest album. It was their first album to enter the Top 10 and single La Grange reached number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100. Get ready to soak in the blues, rock, and dive fully into the original early roots of what has made ZZ Top one of the world’s greatest and longest standing rock bands.
Sleaford Mods: Divide and Exit
For April 2021, The Sonic Collective member Darren Scott has chosen the Sleaford Mods, Divide and Exit album. This new and edgy working class electronic punk music is minimalist, raw as hell and has a distinctly new sound. With our world is so much chaos, we need more voices like this, telling it like it is. Enjoy Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn as the Sleaford Mods.
Lady Antebellum: Need You Now
The Sonic Collective has decided to pick a round of influential country music artists. Member Scott Gregory explains why he chose the Lady Antebellum: Need You Now album. Listen to this selection and then join us back on April 1, 2021 to hear our review of this classic Lady Antebellum album.
The Monthly Reviews
Each month our members rotate picking the artists or theme to be reviewed, dissected and discussed. Join us!
Review of NERO: Welcome Reality
Here's our review of our pick for November 2021, Welcome Reality by NERO. This is the debut album for this electronic group, released in 2011. Have a listen to hear what we thought of it.
Review of Brian Eno: Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks
Here's our review of our pick for October 2021, Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks by Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois and Roger Eno, which is the ninth solo studio by British Eno and was released in 1983. It was a collaboration with his brother and Canadian Daniel Lanois. Have a listen to hear what we thought of it.
Review of Public Image: First Issue
Many music fans know of the punk revolution in the late 1970s that highlighted the band The Sex Pistols and their eccentric, passionate and often blasted-on-drugs-and-alcohol lead man, Johhny Lydon, aka Johhny Rotten. Johhny was quite jaded and was upset at how the Sex Pistols ended and wanted to make his own music. Cue his new band, Public Image. For September 2021, Sonic Collective member Darren Scott selected this first Public Image, soon to be Public Image Ltd. album, First Issue. It's raw, it's angry, it's experimental, it's post-punk, and it pushed our reviewers to the edge. Listen to our review of this 1978 album and hear how it stands up against the test of time and our musical palates.
Four Bands People Love to Hate: The Reviews
For August 2021, we’ll take a closer look at four bands who find themselves in that category. The bands? In no particular order, Creed, Limp Bizkit, Dave Matthews Band, and of course, Nickelback.
Review of Björk: Homogenic
For July 2021, Sonic Collective member Scott Gregory chose to review the pride of Iceland, Bjork's 3rd studio album, Homogenic. None of the four of us within the Sonic Collective had ever listened to any full album from Bjork, so we were intrigued. Listen and you will find out why all four of us respected the artistry, we just had a rough time trying to understand and get into the album. In what scenario can you put this album on? What the heck is going on in the track Pluto? Is Bjork an alien from Bladerunner movies? To learn the answer to all of these questions, please listen along and visit us at TheSonicCollective.com for full show notes, links and media. Enjoy ... we didn't. Sorry Birch Tree lady.
Review of Sublime: Sublime
Alain DuPuis picked Sublime's self-titled third album, for June 2021. This album blew up the band with hits like What I got, Santeria, and Pawn Shop, but a truly sad reality was that just two months before this album was released, lead singer and guitarist Bradley Nowell had passed away from a heroin drug overdose. For the full show notes, review scores, and more, please visit us at TheSonicCollective.com.
Review of ZZ Top: Tres Hombres
The Sleaford Mods released Divide and Exit, their 7th album in 2014. This new intense music from the working class English punks Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn has a unique sound and voice from the streets. Listen to our show as we dissect this rising act and how we feel this is a new movement in music and punk rock.
Review of Sleaford Mods: Divide and Exit
The Sleaford Mods released Divide and Exit, their 7th album in 2014. This new intense music from the working class English punks Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn has a unique sound and voice from the streets. Listen to our show as we dissect this rising act and how we feel this is a new movement in music and punk rock.
Review of Lady A: Need You Now
We get together to discuss Scott G's pick for March 2021, Need You Now by Lady A. We went in with high hopes and there was certainly a strong reaction. Also, as we close out our round of country albums we stop to reflect on what we've learned about the genre. Thanks for listening. For full show notes and access to many more artists please visit The Sonic Collective on your favourite podcast platform and on our website at thesoniccollective.com
Musical Musings
Sometimes we just find cool music stuff on the Interwebs that we just have to share.
Four bands people love to hate
For April 2021, The Sonic Collective member Darren Scott has chosen the Sleaford Mods, Divide and Exit album. This new and edgy working class electronic punk music is minimalist, raw as hell and has a distinctly new sound. With our world is so much chaos, we need more voices like this, telling it like it is. Enjoy Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn as the Sleaford Mods.
A Conversation with Danko Jones
For 25 years, Danko Jones has kept rock n’ roll alive and strong. Over the course of 10 studio albums, from 2001s’ I’m Alive and on Fire’ to 2021’s upcoming ‘Power Trio’, the sound has remained solid, he’s continued to push boundaries, and consistently rocked. On this special episode of The Sonic Collective we chat with band founder Danko Jones about the history of the band, look to the future, and learn what he loves about music and performing.
Getting to Know WiL
Welcome to the Sonic Collective. On this special episode we’ll get to know a very talented musician from western Canada. From early days in the Calgary bar scene, building his name as a solo artist, to playing with two supporting players, singer-songwriter WiL has built a loyal following many musicians would love to have. In this fickle business, what’s kept him going for so many years, what does he still love about music, and what’s next?
A Chat with Sam Roberts – All of Us
On this special episode of The Sonic Collective, we chat with Sam Roberts, of the Sam Roberts band, about their October 2020 release, All of Us. He goes deep about how the songs were written and sharing it with the world in a time of COVID. But we start by going back in time, with Sam sharing what it feels like to have been recording professionally for almost two decades, being the son of parents from South Africa who immigrated to Canada, what it means to be Canadian, and even some of his musical guilty pleasures.
Get ready to hear a very candid Sam Roberts share on multiple levels.
Enjoy the musical ride!
Albums that Changed Our Musical Tastes
Scientists say your musical tastes are formed by what you enjoyed in your teens. You hear a song, it resonates, and that style guides your musical tastes moving forward. There’s those monumental albums you can still remember hearing for the first time, all these years later. You likely remember where you were, the time of year, perhaps even what you were wearing, who you were with, and the smell in the air when you first heard it. Today we’re going to chat about just that - albums that influenced and changed our musical tastes.
An Exploration of Musical Supergroups
Welcome to the Sonic Collective, and another one of our exploratory podcast episodes.
In this episode, we’ll explore musical supergroups. So what is a supergroup? Well, for us, it’s a musical performing group of three or more persons, whose members have successful solo careers, are members of other groups, or are well known in other musical professions. They come together to form an epic alignment of mighty musical talents. For us, this isn’t a duo and they must have released at least one full-length album. These supergroups can also come from any genre. The term can sometimes also be applied to a group that has no specific preferred genre. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, and today, we’ll touch on a few that fall in both categories and some in between.
What Makes a Great Album? Featuring Broadcasting Legend Alan Cross
There’s been one common thread regardless of genre, time period, or concept, that’s run through each of our album selections. The search for a great album. The entire package. A group of songs that work together to create more than just a few good singles, rather an experience and journey for the listener. So what makes a great album? This is the question and discussion we had with Alan Cross, an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. Enjoy.
Boredom Cures for the Music Fan
To help you pass some time and discover some new music, here are my music recommendations for some of my favourite Spotify Playlists, Podcasts, Music Documentaries, YouTube Music Channels and even a link to my vinyl collection that I invite you to look at and you can ask me any questions about.
4 Movie Soundtracks That Matter
We all know that around the holiday season there is nothing better than watching a good movie. It also is a great way to avoid that weird uncle with bad
The Sonic Collective Members
Meet our team of music lovers.
Scott Coates
Bangkok, Thailand
Scott has lived in Southeast Asia since 1999, when he co-founded what became one of the region’s most respected luxury travel companies, Smiling Albino. There, he designed and led adventures throughout SE Asia and Nepal before selling out of the business in 2013 to try his hand at other pursuits. While working as a Team Building Consultant, he developed a keen interest in how people learn and grow which led him to serve as Director of People Development with one of the region's largest travel companies, EXO Travel. \An enthusiastic mountain biker, runner, and explorer, he also very much likes bobbing his head to AC/DC while sipping beers.
Alain DuPuis
Calgary, Canada
Alain is a native Calgarian with a longstanding love of music. Groomed on post-grunge and 90s alternative, he seeks to expand his audio horizons ever further, exploring all the genres he once looked down upon. When he's not busy working six days a week like some sort of maniac, he enjoys gaming, obsessing about whisky, working out or frequenting seedy karaoke bars around town.
Scott Gregory
Calgary, Canada
Scott Gregory is the newest dad of the group and brings his love of melody and music to the Sonic Collective. Scott is always full of facts and seems to have an uncanny love for the women in music. He likes to push the Collective into areas that we may otherwise overlook. Scott loves his new little family, the New York Rangers and all the music he can consume between diaper changes.
Darren Scott
Calgary, Canada
Darren currently lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada where he can often be found in the best live music venues in town (Palamino, Commonwealth, King Eddy's, Broken City, Cafe Koi, etc.) and he is used to being "The old guy" at the young punk shows. Darren likes to know the stories behind the music he listens to and enjoys the musical journey of it all. A "say it like it is" guy in his own words, he tends to go a little off the cuff from time to time. Ok, all the time. He loves his family, friends and Flames and has a sense of humour he thinks is hilarious.
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3 days ago
Review of NERO: Welcome Reality - The Sonic Collective
thesoniccollective.com
We listened to the debut album Welcome Reality, by celebrated British electronic artists NERO. Find out what we thought of it as we venture outside our musical wheelhouses this month.Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
1 month ago
NERO: Welcome Reality - The Sonic Collective
thesoniccollective.com
Our pick for November 2021 is Welcome Reality, the debut album from English Electronic group NERO. The album is conceptual, taking a stab at what civilization will look like in the year 2808.Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
1 month ago
Review of Brian Eno: Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks - The Sonic Collective
thesoniccollective.com
Many music fans know of the punk revolution in the late 1970s that highlighted the band The Sex Pistols and their eccentric, passionate and often blasted-on-drugs-and-alcohol lead man, Johhny Lydon, a...Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email