Steven Beddall is a troubadour caught in the doorway between time – he soaks up influences of the past to create well-worn songs that have the rough-hewn timbre of a nomad. Evocative like a rain-bogged forest, mellow as a morphine drip and raw as a November squall, Wooden Horseman is the distillation of a long journey with no discernible end point.

“The beautiful thing about music,” says Vancouver-based troubadour David Ward, “is that it has all of those layers you have to sift through so you can get that much more out of it.”

Those efficiently shambolic shoegaze enthusiasts known as Yuck are still at it, having just released their sophomore album, which turns out to be a slow-burning and captivating sleeper.

In a two-part special feature we look at the nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, class of 2014. Below we assess this year’s candidates, their merits and contributions to rock and roll (or other genres). We offer some persepctive as well, trying to capture both sides of the debate, as we try to handicap the class of 2014.

In a two-part special feature we look at the nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, class of 2014. Below we assess this year’s candidates, their merits and contributions to rock and roll (or other genres). We offer some persepctive as well, trying to capture both sides of the debate, as we try to handicap the class of 2014.

Mutual Benefit plays with the intimacy of a friend whispering in your ear right next you; their debut album Love’s Crushing Diamond is one of the most beautiful, lush albums you’ll hear in all of 2013.