The Dillinger Escape Plan
Miss Machine (Relapse)
Miss Machine shows DEP galvanizing the extreme technical noise they helped pioneer way back on Calculating Infinity and still packing more intensity into mere moments than most bands do over whole careers. This time around, though, they actually dummy down the technical hoo-ha in favour of the big picture. The cut-and-paste arrangements now let movements within songs actually groove, like in the epic coda on "Sunshine the Werewolf" or the (gasp) somewhat straight-ahead "Highway Robbery" and "Phone Home," the latter sounding suspiciously like NIN. Let the sell-out fingers wag, the Dillinger Escape Plan can still provide the ruler against which all extreme music will be measured. 9/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Hot Water Music
The New What Next (Epitaph)
With most punk rock bands double-dipping in vapid pop and hollow angst or borrowing too much from the glory years of CBGBs, Hot Water Music have always avoided those pitfalls. This new one shows them still holding their cards close to their hearts, sounding like a true punk band the whole way. Singer Chuck Ragan's raspy wail helps them stand out from the emo kids. Not all is hunky-dory here, though, with duds like "There Are Already Roses" and "The Ebb and Flow," but HWM redeem themselves with songs like "Keep It Together" and "This Early Grave." 7/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Trashcan Sinatras
Weightlifting (spinART)
After a six-year absence, this Scottish band is back on the radar with their fourth album, a dozen dreamy lounge ballads and Britpop tunes to sway to. Bookended by the propulsive energy of the aptly titled lead track "Welcome Back" and the title track's shimmering pop meltdown, the album peaks with middle-ground songs like "It's a Miracle," where jangly guitars court syrupy choruses. Delicate production and ultra-refined songcraft occasionally risk erasing all definition, but radiant slivers of featherweight pop outweigh any AOR lapses. 7.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter) With Roddy Hart at Cabaret, Wed., Sept. 22, 9 p.m., $15
Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains
The Big Eyeball in the Sky (Prawn Song)
The madman bassist behind Primus is back with his usual bag of shenanigans, musical and especially lyrical. With original Primus drummer Brain, psycho guitarist Buckethead (ever in an expressionless mask, long hair and KFC bucket on his head) and keyboardist Bernie Worrell peppering this journey into the Wilds of Quirky with a little funk. Swinging from schizophrenic jams to dub safaris to all-out foolishness, these boys cover a lot of ground no one else even knows about. Oh, and by the way - album cover of the year. 8/10 (Lateef Martin)
Frog Eyes
The Folded Palm (Absolutely Kosher)
Listening to this record, the murky end of a loosely defined trilogy, it's easy to imagine Victoria, B.C.'s Frog Eyes travelling the countryside with a sideshow caravan a century ago. Singer Carey Mercer's manic melodrama and the band's kaleidoscopic backwoods cabaret would have made a fine soundtrack for freaksploitation. The characters in these gnarled fables aren't as physically mangled as the Elephant Man, but their minds are chaotic - dukes, ladies, Cossacks, shepherds, British children and French boarders fight, fuck, eat poison berries, talk to animals and "sing death songs into the night." Good times. 8/10 (Lorraine Carpenter) With Tegan and Sara and the No No Spots at la Sala Rossa, Wed., Sept. 29, 8 p.m., $16
Har Mar Superstar
The Handler (Record Collection/Warner)
I guess HMS's third album is competently executed, produced by Andrew WK's John Fields and all. A couple of tunes actually work - the digital sleaze of "Cut Me Up" with Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, an earnest cover of Gilbert O'Sullivan's excruciating "Alone Again (Naturally)." But the whole point of his steez is the spectacle of a sweaty, tubby, balding, potty-mouth whiteboy shlub aping the absolute amorous confidence present in the quarter-century of funk his mediocre mimicry evokes, from Stevie Wonder and Jackson 5 ("DUI") through Prince, Eminem and Missy Elliot ("Back the Camel Up"). If you want that stuff, you've probably got the real thing, and the joke here only truly connects at the live show. 6/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
LL Cool J
The Definition (Def Jam/Universal)
Arguably the first MC to make the leap from multimillion-selling artist to sex symbol, movie and eventually sitcom star, LL's reach has become a hallmark in the world of commercial hip hop triple threats. Here he repeatedly clowns his contemporaries, citing his 20 platinum albums in a row and the fact that he's been balling since '86. The Definition, however, is by no means a masterpiece. "Feel the Beat" has a familiar roll to it, but LL's success is his ability to embrace the club sound of whatever year it happens to be. He's a talented chameleon with a diverse portfolio, devout female fans and money in the bank. 7.5/10 (Scott C)
Young Buck
Straight Outta Cashville (G-Unit/Universal)
"Don't make me fuck you up/leave yo head bust/I'm a head-busta/man I don't give a fuck/I'm a soldier/I done told ya..." In true G-Unit fashion, Buck doesn't mess with the formalities, getting straight to the point on opener "I'm a Soldier." This Nashville roughneck cut his teeth with New Orleans Cash Money Millionaires, but has been playing backup for 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks up until now. Buck is able to stick to the G-Unit mandate without sacrificing his Southern roots, even if he hasn't got much to say. Only 50 knows what the future holds for this Southern-fried G. 7/10 (Scott C)
Knifehandchop
How I Left You (Tigerbeat6)
Where his previous albums have basically been single compilations, here 23-year-old Billy Pollard, aka Knifehandchop, has taken a shot at his first cohesive full-length. The result is classic Knifehandchop - sped-up breaks, hip hop vocal samples, distorted kicks, ragga breakcore anthems, computerized melodies and plenty of gut-rumbling sub-bass. Initially conceived as a post-breakup album, How I Left You is not so much a tender emo "Why'd she leave me" weep-fest as it is a fist-pumping "Goodbye and good riddance" album chock-a-block with hyperactive energy that can barely be contained on a compact disc. 7.5/10 (Raf Katigbak)
Donna Regina
A Collection of Little Secrets (Tricatel/Fusion III)
With wispy vocal melodies reminiscent of French chanteuses past, and a warmth that defies its minimalist approach to production, Cologne couple Donna Regina (Donna and Gunther Janssen) may just have provided the perfect pre-emptive fall soundtrack, suitable for snuggling under a woolen blanket with a cup of cocoa. Made up almost entirely of tracks previously released on Karaoke Kalk, the music is simple, beautiful and completely entrancing. Donna Regina couldn't have chosen a better title for this compilation (think Françoise Hardy vs. Kompakt). 8.5/10 (Raf Katigbak)
Gnawa Diffusion
Souk System (D'Jamaz/Warner France)
Like the open-air market the title suggests, Franco-Maghrebi outfit Gnawa Diffusion lay out a sprawling jumble of wares to pick at. Band leader Amazigh Kateb snarls and growls his trilingual, politically charged poetry over echoes of Africa (Saharan and points south), the Mediterranean basin and, to no small degree, Jamaica. What distinguishes the band, now a dozen years old, from so many checklist world-pop acts is the fluid ease and intricacy with which these global sounds are woven together. They never seem jarring or forced, and moreover the priority is always a good, solid melody. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) With Loco Locass at le Medley, Sat., Sept. 18, 8 p.m., $25
Kevin Little
self-titled (Warner)
St. Vincent native Kevin Little had one of the biggest hits of the summer with the soca-driven "Turn Me On," an ode to living large and loose. Likewise, his self-titled debut is full of feel-good party shakers. He succeeds in getting it started to varying degrees, with cuts like "Call Me," and "I Got It" with Spragga Benz (also featured on the "Turn Me On" remix) providing the most heat. Little's sound is actually a blend of soca, dance hall and R&B. In essence, he's the soca equivalent to Shaggy, creating watered-down island rhythms for mass consumption. Time will tell if he's as successful as his Jamaican counterpart. 7/10 (Gerard Dee)
Mike Allen
Fearless (Almus)
Joel Miller
Mandela (Effendi/SRI)
Two of Canada's finest saxophonists - Allen began life in Toronto and Miller in Sackville, N.B., both spent time here at McGill. Allen's "trio" is actually a quartet with pianist George McFetridge, Paul Rushka or Adam Thomas on bass and Julian MacDonough on drums. Seven compositions here by the leader and one by Sonny Greenwich. Miller is joined by Bruno Lamarche, Bill Mahar, Fraser Hollins and Thom Gossage, with a guest appearance by guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, for another musically interesting CD of original compositions from the pen of the leader. Two very different but equally rewarding sessions. Both 9/10 (Len Dobbin)
Mini CD Reviews
Brad Mehldau Live In Tokyo (Nonesuch/Warner) A solo piano recital from 2003 with music by the Gershwins, Nick Drake, Cole Porter and Mehldau himself. Best taken in small doses. 9 (LD)
Manifest & 7D The Black Star Remix LP (Metropolis) Wooo-weeee! Local heat as these two MTL heads tackle Mos Def & Kweli with impressive results. More! 8.5 (SC)
Jay Geils/Duke Robillard/Gerry Beaudoin New Guitar Summit (Stony Plain) Western swing, jazz and blues all played by the modern masters. 7.5 (JC)
The George W. Bush Singers Songs in the Key of W (True Believer/Oglio) Laughs reign with embarrassing Bush quotes echoed by an enthusiastic chorus and backed by a versatile band. Nucular! 7.5 (LC)
Will Johnson Vultures Await (Misra) Centro-matic's Will Johnson strips everything way down to somewhere between Randy Newman and Cormac McCarthy. 7.5 (JC)
Various Kung Fu Fighting (Echo Beach/Fusion III) Sixteen different remixes (Kid Loco, Pole, Don Letts, On-U Sound etc.) of Carl Douglas's disco chopsocky anthem. Of particular interest to "funky Chinamen from funky Chinatown." 7 (RB)
Various Red: A Walnut + Locust Compilation (Walnut +Locust) The Canadian entries (Alexandre St. Onge, Earskin, Maggot Breeder) bring a much-needed sinister subtlety to this otherwise overly distorted comp of industrial, experimental and ambient music. 6.5 (RK)
Lisa Loeb The Way It Really Is (Zoe) Really? I'm depressed. 6 (LC)
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