John Lucas

I work with words.

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Vancouver-based writer and editor driven by a passion for telling a good story and inspiring others.

  • Phil Western: Longform

    I recently reviewed Vancouver music-scene mainstay Phil Western’s latest release, Longform, for the Straight. In the review, which you can read here, I described the double LP as “an exercise in what he is arguably best at: namely, hypnotic electro built from lush layers of synthesizer tones over a variety of creatively deployed but generally unobtrusive rhythms. The focus here isn’t so much on the beats as on the often psychedelic interaction of samples and live instrumentation.”

    Preview the album below, via Bandcamp:

     

     

  • DOXA 2014

    Brent Hodge’s A Brony Tale is a documentary about men who love My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.

    For the current issue of the Georgia Straight, I wrote reviews of three of the documentaries screening at the DOXA 2014 festival. Read my reviews of A Brony Tale, Death Metal Angola, and InRealLife here.

    Of the three, my favourite was Death Metal Angola, the story of two people and their struggle to mount a rock festival in the war-scarred African country. Check out the trailer below.