David Kristian
Music From the Mermaid Room Vol. 3 (Wikkid)
Over the last decade, Kristian has carved himself a name as top-notch sound designer, electronic musician, film-score composer and analog junkie. From the weepy, warm electro of "Mohaira" to the Dr. Who outtake that is "Saving Pulses" to the upbeat "American Robot," whose speedy breaks and emotive synths could easily have come off Detroit assembly lines circa '94, this third of the nine-CD retrospective covers a lot of ground. Like an early Aphex Twin, only less distorted, DK's Music From the Mermaid Room series is a must for anyone looking for emotive electro classics and night-blooming soundscapes planted in the darkest corners of your bedroom. 8.5/10 (Raf Katigbak) Kristian performs as Gentle Bakemono, with Lowfish, Blakkar Noir and DJ Mini, at Electric Tractor (6674 Esplanade), Fri., Oct 1, 9 p.m., $6
Green Day
American Idiot (Reprise)
Recently performed with rock-opera trimmings, this concept album hoists Green Day onto the protest-punk bandwagon. Rather than name-checking el Presidente and friends, the band uses a narrative to tackle themes like propaganda, paranoia and apathy. Over a handful of arena-sized dirges, five-part epics and a quasi-Middle-Eastern song (I swear), the band's highly produced sound reflects its newly dramatic lyrics, although their SoCal/Clash songs (such as the title track) mercifully remain the same. It's an admirable move for a mainstream band, but this record will likely be remembered more for its grave subject matter than its great songs. 7/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)
Q and Not U
Power (Dischord)
Why take your meds? With moods swinging, basslines bouncing and vocals reaching into the upper registers, this Washington, D.C., band's third LP kicks off with a deliriously upbeat falsetto funk number ("Wonderful People," no less). Each subsequent track, while never equalling the lead's unhinged joy, matches either its sense of urgency or its perverse sense of humour. Like (early) Talking Heads before them, this quintet can follow an intense song about terrorism with a track full of goofy flutes and childlike choruses, constructing masterful punk songs and chilling topical tunes with the same DIY tools and manic energy. 8/10 (Lorraine Carpenter) With Les Georges Leningrad, Tim Hecker and DJ Satan Bélanger at Theatre Corona, Thurs., Sept. 30, 8 p.m., $12
Apostle of Hustle
Folkloric Feel (Arts & Crafts)
Andrew Whiteman formed this trio before joining Broken Social Scene and after a sojourn in Cuba, eager to employ newfound influences and instruments, particularly the tres (Cuban guitar). What he calls "the Spanish vibe" wafts through his rhythms and fancy fingerwork, but that's only one patch in this homespun quilt of textures and tones. The family tie to BSS is immediately evident in his dense, driving pop songs, with familiar indie rock riffs and semi-ethereal, semi-androgynous vocals, while other tracks recall ballad-mode Beck, minus the airbrush, and modern Radiohead on muscle relaxants. Good news for your hips and head. 8/10 (Lorraine Carpenter) With Pas/Cal and Marlowe at Missy Bar on Sat., Oct. 2, 9 p.m., $10
Peter Elkas
Party of One (Maple/Universal)
While it's hard not to miss the late Local Rabbits, an exceptional Montreal rock band in their time, it's nice to see them hop off to worthwhile solo projects. Elkas proved his mettle as a singer, guitarist, keyboardist and songwriter with the Rabbits, and here shows even greater maturity and sophistication - carefully tweaked details make his brainy blues rock spring to life. The lyric sheet, peppered with question marks, may speak of downers and doubts, but confidence and clarity inform every note of Party of One. 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) With Luke Doucet, Cuff the Duke and Sonny Best Band at Petit Campus, Thurs., Sept. 30, 9 p.m., $10
Jorane
The You and the Now (Aquarius/EMI)
You could call this the English-language debut from Quebec's Jorane, if her previous efforts weren't sung in an abstract, invented tongue. Aiming for a spot near Lhasa, Sarah Brightman and Björk, the cellist employs not only English but able assistance from the likes of Lisa Germano, Daniel Lanois (on the one French tune, "Pour ton sourire") and producer Michael Brook, who brings his ear for richness to this mélange of medieval and classical music, blues, new age and adult pop. From tragic ("Fragile") to magic (a cover of "I Feel Love"), The You and the Now covers much ground and plots a course toward bigger things. 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) CD launch with Lily Frost and Simon Wilcox at la Tulipe, Thurs., Sept. 30, 8 p.m., $25
Norman Nawrocki
Duck Work (les Pages Noirs)
With Rhythm Activism and DaZoque!, Montreal's Nawrocki has made a name for himself both as an anarchist soapbox sentry and as an inventive and engaging musician. Duck Work displays both sides in abundance. Radical politics rarely translate to nuanced poetry, but Nawrocki grasps that they're easier to push with charm than with harm. That said, the most effective tunes use the voices of others - a schoolgirl's U.S.-intervention rundown on "By What Right, America?" or his own dad's phone-message fear on "CNN News." As for the music, that's a hole in one. Nawrocki's pulsating blacklight Gypsy pop harbours the subtlety often absent in his words. 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) CD launch at Casa del Popolo tonight, Thurs., Sept. 23, 5 p.m., free
Wolf Eyes
Burned Mind (Sub Pop)
This white-noise assault may be nothing new if you consider Whitehouse, Earth, Merzbow or more recently Kid 606, but none of those can serve up this much racket with teeth-gnashing intensity and speaker-shredding frequencies. "Dead in a Boat" starts off with slight background noise begging you to turn up your stereo before assaulting with a barrage of white noise and feedback. The ante is upped on "Stabbed in the Face," with Nate Young's distorted screaming over a relentless electronic throb. The pounding beats take a back seat to the high frequencies and a sandstorm of noise. Wolf Eyes are really doing their part to kill music and have brutally carved out what could be the ultimate anti-pop record of all time. 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Akumu
Fluxes (Spider)
The latest ambient, zero-BPM effort from Toronto musician and sound designer Deane Hughes, aka Akumu, is gloriously meticulous. Built on recordings from trips to Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, Hughes' music reaches deep to immerse the listener in the dreamlike bustlings of the jungle floor. Instead of insects and lizards, Hughes' microcosm crackles with digital chirps and analog hisses, synthetic sinewaves take the place of tropical winds and samples of Mexican markets and Mayan preachers are transmogrified into ethereal drones and alien textures. Excellent. 8/10 (Raf Katigbak) With naw and DJ Cyan at la Salle D'Attente (5490 St-Laurent), Sat., Sept. 25, 9 p.m., $5
The Goods
4/Four (Camobear/GNM)
The East Coast rap saga continues with Gordski and Kunga219 coming correct. This well-paced, fully realized piece of work feels like it had a lot of attention given to minute details and overall feel, rolling through the 17 tracks with ease. Check "Iota" for the hip hop hypeman lash-out over some smoothness, followed by "What They Need," featuring the vocals of Canadian Idol castoff Kaleb Simmons. These guys clearly love what they do, and with the help of dudes like Skratch Bastid and Josh Martinez, they could be doing this for quite some time. 8/10 (Scott C)
Lady Saw
Strip Tease (VP)
When Marion "Lady Saw" Hall spits out "I just wan' be free to express my sexuality" on "Just Being Me," she's pretty much describing the raison d'être for her entire career. For the past decade, Ms. Saw's been the only chick to consistently challenge the dancehall old boys' club on their terms. Chock full of hot tunes ("Man Is the Least" and "Good Love" featuring Sizzla are standouts), Strip Tease is the kind of smart sass that makes Lil' Kim look all the more pathetic. I've never been one for female empowerment through sexuality, but "Pretty Pussy" and "Best Pum Pum" might make a believer of me yet. 8.5/10 (Erin MacLeod)
Mavis Staples
Have a Little Faith (Alligator Records/ Fusion III)
Her first album since 1993's The Voice finds the veteran performer, one of the most recognizable voices in gospel music, sounding older, wiser, but no less committed to her art. Succinctly straddling the line between gospel's high ideals and the earthier realities of blues and soul, Staples sings convincingly about life as it should be and as it is. While she deftly balances these two approaches - "Step Into the Light" an example of the former, "A Dying Man's Plea" an illustration of the latter - it's her singular gift for imbuing even the loftiest beliefs with a grounded realism that consistently brings her music to life. 8/10 (Gerard Dee)
Clark Terry
Porgy & Bess (A440)
George Gershwin was born in Brooklyn on Sept. 26, 1898 and, just in time for the anniversary of that event, comes this superb CD of music from his folk opera of 1935. Clark Terry is out front soloing on trumpet and flugelhorn with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Jeff Lindberg, in arrangements crafted by Gil Evans for Miles Davis - who was himself influenced by Terry. Daniel Anderson is an asset on tuba, while Art Hoyle joins Clark on flugelhorn on Evans' composition "Gone." A jazz giant playing some of my favourite Gershwin in Evans' wonderful settings adds up to a very desirable CD. 9.5/10 (Len Dobbin)
Mini CD Reviews
Al Henderson Fathers and Sons (Cornerstone) The bassist leader, one of Canada's foremost composers, with Alex Dean, Pat LaBarbera, Richard Whiteman and Barry Romberg. An exciting live session! 9 (LD)
Fam-Lay "Git Busy" 12" (Star Trak/Universal) Play this Virginia grit when your landlord comes for the rent. He won't be back. 9 (SC)
I Can Put My Arm Back On You Can't Je Peux Reattacher Mon Bras Toi Non (independent) Twenty minutes of cornered-rat rock from T.O., furious yet fine-tuned, somewhere between Drive Like Jehu and Rocket From the Crypt minus horns. 8 (RB) With Raising the Fawn and more at Barfly, Fri., Oct. 1, 8 p.m., $6
Blood Meridian We Almost Made It Home (Teenage USA) Ex-Black Halo Matthew Camirand easily makes the transition from young, loud and snotty to the sweetheart of the rodeo. 7.5 (JC)
Various The Sound of Young New York II (Plant/Fusion III) Like the city itself, this comp is alternately funky, rancid, party-licious and pretentious. And full of foreigners (Stills, Elefant etc.). 7 (LC)
Perfect Once, Twice, Three Times a Maybe (Ryko) Ex-Replacement and current GNRer Tommy Stinson's shelved late-'90s pop experiment gets a second life. They really should have let this sleeping dog lie. 6 (JC)
Various Two Culture Clash (V2) Kid 606 with Ward 21? Roni Size with Spragga Benz? Who thought this was a brilliant idea? 6 (EM)
Paul Oakenfold Creamfields (Thrive/Fusion III) In 1994 Mad Mike Banks headed Detroit's Underground Resistance, 10 years later Paul Oakenfold answers back with "Overground Compliance". Fear the future. 2 (RK)
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