Neko Case
The Tigers Have Spoken (Mint)
Backed by the Sadies and her fellow Corn Sisters (Carolyn Mark and Kelly Hogan), among other ace musicians, Neko Case offers something old, something new and seven borrowed songs by the likes of Loretta Lynn, Buffy Saint Marie and the Shangri-La's, an excellent blend of country noir, driving roots rock, old-time rock 'n' roll and bluegrass hootenannery. Inter-song hollers and applause are the only indicators that this is a live album, recorded over seven nights in Toronto and Chicago. As always, Case can out-belt the best, and her top-notch ensemble elevates this record to no less than a country-rock classic. 9.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Destroyalldreamers
À coeur léger sommeil sanglant (Where Are My Records)
With cascading shoegazing guitars, lithe and languid melodies and a slow-motion tug-of-war between angelic and demonic motifs, this local quartet has concocted a striking debut album, making good on the promise of last year's EP. Just in time for the barren trees, bitter winds and overcast days of November, the record reflects the season of death without being boring about it, without submitting to the dreariness and the climactic clichés of instrumental rock. Instead, the band rolls sonic curveballs into their ethereal soundscapes, uncovers beauty in the darkness and takes the good with the evil. 8/10 (Lorraine Carpenter) CD launch with Below the Sea, Sylvain Chauveau at la Sala Rossa, Fri., Nov. 19, 9 p.m., $8

Red Giant
Devil Child Blues (Small Stone)
Red Giant are card-carrying sludge-slingers who, despite the murky production in parts, provide a riff-o-rama sure to get heads bobbing and bongs bubbling. Nothing really new here, just loud, punishing, pentatonic riffs that are dumber than a bag of hammers. Packing in the Southern-tinged metal of Alabama Thunder Pussy, Black Sabbath groove and some clever Captain Beyond time changes, Red Giant are sure to impress purveyors of heaviosity. The cover of "Funhouse" is a nice namecheck but really not necessary, as the stoner-rock approach to the Stooges classic makes this fall shy of a walloping release. 8/10 (Johnson Cummins)

Shallow North Dakota
Mob Wheel (Independent/Sonic Unyon)
Something this heavy and doom-laden could only come from one place: Hamilton, ON. After playing possum for the past five years, SND make up for lost time by brutally assaulting your cranium for over 70 minutes. Previously a vinyl-only release, they saw fit to join the digital domain and put this out on CD. To merely write SND off as another doomy stoner-rock band would be a gross misjudgement - true, they proudly wear their love for the Melvins and Unsane on their sleeves, but actually manage to almost out-duke the masters on this one. The behind-the-beat punches are slow, deliberate, crushing, constant and guaranteed to leave a trail of dead in their wake. Does it even get any heavier than this? 9.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)

A Perfect Circle
eMOTIVe (Virgin/EMI)
The Circle returns to twisted form, dropping an album of deliciously dark covers with half of Nine Inch Nails (Trent Reznor and guitarist Danny Lohner), ex-Marilyn Manson-ite Jeordie White, bassist Paz Lenchantin back from the tatters of Zwan and Smashing Pumpkin James Iha. More concerned with lyrical content, the supergroup takes an almost experimental approach to Depeche Mode's "People Are People‚" John Lennon's "Imagine‚" Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin' On‚" Joni Mitchell, Black Flag and more. Sprinkling a few haunting originals into the mix of protest, war, love, hate and greed, APC leave their audience in the same state as the rest of the world, post-Nov. 2 - disturbed. 7/10 (Lateef Martin)

Champion
Chill 'Em All (Saboteur)
Montreal's Maxime Morin (aka Madmax, the Max and Champion) ties together his twin passions - electric guitar and electronic beats - on this distinct piece of plastic. His six-string stylings lean toward a spaghetti-western blues thing, hence the Clint Eastwood cool of the title. Like Clint, he rolls tough when need be, laying down a steady, windswept grind and a relentless groove. At other times, Morin plays his cards close to his chest, looping quiet, shady motifs over slow, crackling beats or gathering mesmerizing glitter like flowers on a cactus. Twang-tempo? Click-no for cowboys? He may've been through the desert on a horse with no name, but Champion's pony has a lot more than one trick. 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) CD launch at SAT, Mon., Nov. 15, 5 p.m., free

De La Soul
The Grind Date (Sanctuary Union)
Here we go with album number seven, and De La seem like they're aiming not at the new fans, the kids or the fair-weather heads, but the people who've been with them from the very beginning. Some might call this a DJ record, simply based on the production talents employed, but I think it's much more, as stated on the J Dilla-produced "Much More." They called up Madlib, threw a bone to 9th Wonder and put Supa-Dave West to work, and the result is tight. You'll find 12 songs here that represent some of De La's best work after the lukewarm Art Official Intelligence thing. And yes, there are lyrics for days and days. 8.5/10 (Scott C)

Various
The Future Sound of Montreal 2 (King-A-Groove)
That should be sounds, plural. Assembled by the Lounge King and Agent 69, two radio hosts who sweeten your Sunday nights on Mix 96, FSM2 outdoes its predecessor both in variety and in quality. Reflecting the musical mosaic of the sank-ern-cat, the material wanders gracefully from classy, school-of-Sade soul pop to jazz-flavoured trip hop to soft-touch, crystalline funk and house to conscious raps. The Lounge King himself is responsible for a few tracks, such as "Not Just Rap..." with guest MC Wize, and everything here is strictly made in Montreal. The lounge feel is palpable - you can almost see the last rays of sunlight dancing on your martini glass. 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Various
What Is Hip? (Warner)
What's hip? Not this. Picture it - mediocre remixes, suited not to the dancefloor but to the morning commute or the hair-accessories store in a suburban mall, of tunes you would largely rather not hear ever again. Culled from the Warner vaults, numbers like "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" by Rod Stewart and the Doobie Brothers' "Listen to the Music" are given dull, conservative disco makeovers that only serve to aggravate the nuisance. Even Nightmares on Wax and Mocean Worker, tackling George Benson and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band respectively, can't begin to salvage this dud. 3/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Ciara
Goodies (BMG)
Ever since Aaliyah's untimely death, a slew of photogenic young vocalists have stepped up to the plate, trying to fill her shoes. Add the Lil Jon-crowned "princess of crunk & B" Ciara to the list. Thing is, Aaliyah eventually proved to be much more than just an alluring, R. Kelly-fuelled project. But on this debut, Ciara is very much a product of her producers and writers, most notably Missy Elliott on "1, 2 Step" and - surprise, surprise - R. Kelly on the suggestive "Next to You." Ciara's voice is pretty but forgettable, which is exactly what she'll be if she doesn't find a way to truly follow in Aaliyah's footsteps. 6.5/10 (Gerard Dee)

Aubrey Dale
My ID (AJKE)
Multi-instrumentalist Aubrey Dale delves into his own personal experience as a Jamaican-born immigrant to Canada on My ID. Through an ambitious melding of progressive jazz-fusion and avant-garde superimposition, the complexities involved in starting a new life as a young black child, and growing up with a million questions, are pondered and even answered with songs like "Jane-Finch," "Big Sistas" and "The Wrong Move." Dale is joined by Living Color guitarist Vernon Reid on "Janice," and also features the talents of guitarist Ron Jackson throughout the record. 7/10 (Scott C) CD launch with special guest James Blood Ulmer at la Sala Rossa, Sat., Nov. 13, 9 p.m., $20

Andrew Hill
Dance With Death (Blue Note/EMI)
Sam Rivers
Contours (Blue Note/EMI)
Jack Wilson
Easterly Winds (Blue Note/EMI)
Three new releases in the Connoisseur reissue series. The largely unsung pianist and composer Hill is joined on seven of his memorable compositions by Joe Farrell, Charles Tolliver and Billy Higgins, while reedman Rivers, who recently turned 81, has Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Joe Chambers on board. Another underappreciated pianist, Wilson is joined by Lee Morgan, Garnett Brown, Jackie McLean, Bob Cranshaw and Higgins in another set of mostly originals by the leader. All three are worthy of attention from listeners, from both the writing and solo standpoint. Dance, Contours 10/10, Winds 9/10 (Len Dobbin)

Ulrich Krieger
Early American Minimalism: Walls of Sound II (Sub Rosa/Forced Exposure)
Tackling early 1960s compositions by Philip Glass, Terry Riley and Steve Reich, avant-garde sax-for-hire Krieger (who's worked with Lou Reed, LaMonte Young and Lee Ranaldo) aims to illustrate the term "static music." What that means is works that avoid melodic drama and any narrative sense, instead building on drawn-out repetition and evolution in almost indiscernible increments. Reich's "Pendulum Music" and Glass's "1+1," thankfully the disc's shortest tracks, truly grate on the ears, but each composer also has another, quite engaging piece here. The centrepiece is Riley's hypnotic, half-hour "Dorian Reeds." 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Mini CD Reviews

Jamie Baum Moving Forward, Standing Still (Omnitone/Fusion III) Great playing and writing for a septet by the flute-playing leader. At Flynn Space in Burlington, VT, Nov. 20. 9 (LD)

Various Grandaddy: Below the Radio (Ultra) Enter indie world with a mixtape by Grandaddy's Jason Lytle, feat. Beck, Pavement, Fruit Bats, etc. 8 (LC)

Al Franken The O'Franken Factor Factor: The Very Best of the O'Franken Factor (Artemis) Laugh the pain away with dark, daring and dumbass comedy from Franken's Air America Radio show, with musical interludes by the GOP Party Monsters. 7.5 (LC)

Dave Ali Tribute to Marvin Gaye (Easy Breezy) Normally I would say don't mess with the best, but Ali gets some points here. 7 (SC)

Woven Hand Consider the Birds (Sounds Familyre/Sonic Unyon) Main man from 16 Horsepower, David Eugene Edwards provides the ultimate musical companion to a Cormac McCarthy book. 7 (JC)

Yowie Cryptooology (Skin Graft) Fans of Truman's Water and Polvo will wet themselves over this one. 6.5 (JC)

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