Safety Scissors
Tainted Lunch (Scape/Fusion III)
As any musician knows, where you live completely infiltrates the sound of your music. There's something uniquely New York about the Ramones, as much as the Beach Boys are the sound of California. Safety Scissors' new album is like the sonic equivalent of living in Berlin and San Francisco (which he does). On one hand, you've got the quirky style of a cabaret personality, and on the other, an obvious love for intimate pop music. Then you have the forward thinking electronic element matched with a psychedelic approach to lyrics. Mix that in with a sharp wit and a healthy lack of self-consciousness, themes that include French cheese, trench warfare, amnesia, an ode to a drowning fly and enough smart, playful production to keep it fresh, and you've got one heck of an electropop album - did I mention the collabs with Erlend Oye and Françoise Cactus from Stereo Total?! 8.5/10 (Raf Katigbak) With Vincent Lemieux at Salon Daomé on Tues., Aug. 30

Tricky Woo
First Blush (Last Gang)
Many thought that the return of the Woo, with their long-time guitarist Adrian Popovich, would simply yield another Sometimes I Cry, but this fifth release shows that the band is still growing. Gone are the epic interludes of Les Sables Magiques and the garage grittiness of The Enemy Is Real as the band deliver straight-up rock, replete with duelling guitar solos that have more to do with Van Halen and Thin Lizzy than most of the current garage dwellers they helped influence. A couple of songs reach a little too much for the lofty radio dial here, but tunes like "Born In the City" and "Dirty Business" prove they have hit new watermarks with their eyes firmly set on the prize. 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)

Lost Patrol Band
self-titled (Burning Heart/ Epitaph)
From Refused to the (International) Noise Conspiracy to Lost Patrol Band, Sweden's Dennis Lyxzén has dropped a rung on the punk ladder with each project. This will annoy, or even offend some people. If you're a devotee of Refused's hardcore sound, read no further. Those who dug the new wave streak and pinko speak of the INC might feel let down by this band's entirely apolitical, upbeat sound. The guy can sure pen the pop ditties, but despite his skillful songwriting (or hit-writing), this disc begins to grate on the nerves by the halfway point. 6.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Turpentine Brothers
We Don't Care About Your Good Times (Alive)
True, we are getting a bit glutted with garage bands lately, but the R&B psych from this trio is sure to stand out. The organ brings fellow Bostonians DMZ to mind, but in songs like "Why Can't I Do," Turpentine Brothers masterfully push the tempos, and despite the stripped down, bass-less sound, they really work out the dynamics. They prove they can pen a tune here, but on the psych/Link Wray "Wrong Night," the reverb rides in the red, and "Wastin' Time" and "Pow Wow" just go for the throat while providing the ultimate dancefloor fodder. 8/10 (Johnson Cummins) With Mind Controls and DJ Crawdaddy Simon at Zoobizarre on Sat., Aug. 27, 9:30 p.m., $7

New Buffalo
The Last Beautiful Day (Arts & Crafts)
Given the opportunity to work with Björk collaborator Jake Davies, Melbourne's Sally Seltmann chose instead to play the whole of her debut LP herself and record it at home with her husband, the Avalanches' Darren Seltmann. The result is a charming, homespun concoction of analog organs, warped, shimmering orchestration and a slew of tipsy samples, topped by Sally's plain but pretty voice. Tales of domestic bliss and ballads of the everything's-gonna-be-alright variety are pleasantly swoon-worthy, if only in small doses. 7.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Various Future Sound of Montreal 3 (King-A-Groove)
Courtesy of one local Lounge King, this disc features such "eklectric" Montreal acts as Moog-meisters the Unireverse, broken beat producer Dav and low-slung soul artist George Fok. Few of these fine tracks are designed to raise your temperature, let alone the roof - Nationalfred's reggaeton-tinged "Burning Heart" and DJ Mini's characteristically electro-tech "Tchak!" are exceptions. Downtempo but very rarely dull, these selections are perfectly suited for the chillout room or the La-Z-Boy. As the mantra of Tim Rideout and the Rideout's hypnotic "Mister Atari" states, "Just relax. Enjoy the ride." 7.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Various
Microsolutions to Mega Problems (Soul Jazz/Fusion III)
Okay, so I'm a sucker for Soul Jazz, big deal. Who can blame me? For the last few years, the U.K.-based label has dropped some of the best and rarest classic re-releases in funk, soul, jazz and reggae. Meanwhile, with their Microsolutions sub-label, Soul Jazz has stepped up their contemporary electronics game with 12-inches by Kid 606, Hu Vibrational and more. MTMP is an essential compendium of their previous releases, along with exclusives ranging from the shifting-shuffle minimalism of Kit Clayton's "Humbaba" to the pop acid haze of Secondo's "We Got It 303," through the cut-up frenetics of Sutekh's "Mouth Party." Excellent! 8/10 (Raf Katigbak)

Jesse Somfay
Between Heartbeats (Archipel/Local)
The first proper release on Montreal producer Pheek's label/collective Archipel is a sleek ambient ride by 19-year-old Ontarian Jesse Somfay. While emo bands and post-rock snobs have made me increasingly wary of gratuitously long song titles, "As the Snow Dances Gently Through Her Hair" is an epic drone-y opener that seems to wash over the speakers, enveloping the listener. Somfay can't quite settle on one style as he moves from trance-y ambience to minimal groovers and digital feedback which, depending on your point of view, can be a good or bad thing. Forget the Web site description, which uses terms like "gently swirling in a digital ballet" (gadzooks!) and trust your ears. 6.5/10 (Raf Katigbak)

Monk.e Leurs
mediums/le remedium (independent)
Local graf writer/MC Monk.e has pulled out his black book of rhymes to show us he's as adept with the microphone as he is with a can of paint. He's assembled a host of Montreal talent for this debut LP, and has no problem expressing himself over beats by Loe Pesci, Stack Money, Toast Dawg and Sandhill, but two tracks courtesy of Apokaliptik definitely steal the show. The first, "Dude!?!," features Maybe Watson trading hot bars with Monk.e, while posse cut "Notre Genèse" with Demagen, Atach Tatuq, Pako n Pesh, Butta Beats, Filigrann, Jamal and Narcycist represents French and English angles beautifully. 7.5/10 (Scott C)

K'naan
The Dusty Foot Philosopher (BMG)
Even though K'naan spent the first 13 years of his life growing up on the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia, an experience that permeates every part of his debut LP, this combination of African interludes, spoken word expression and good ol' hip hop seems to be missing something. As far as clearly exploring the struggles and mindset of a significant number of young, new Canadians, The Dusty Foot Philosopher succeeds in bringing us stories that perhaps we haven't heard enough of, but the production choices simply don't add up to repeated listens. Regardless, K'naan is definitely a voice to watch in the future. 7/10 (Scott C)

Vivian Green
Vivian (Sony BMG)
On her sophomore set, Green literally lets her hair down, moving closer to, say, Beyoncé in both look and sound than the jazzy soul that made her more of an Anita Baker disciple on her '02 debut, A Love Story. That's not to say that Green gets all bootylicious here, but with tracks like "Wish We Could Go Back" and "Mad," she infuses a more rhythmic sensibility into her sound. Nevertheless, her strength remains in music that allows her to simmer vocally, so it's no surprise that midtempo tracks like the earnest "Sweet Memory (Beautifully Young)" and the show-stopping "Gotta Go Gotta Leave (Tired)" provide the album's brightest moments. 7/10 (Gerard Dee)

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
Moanin' (Blue Note/EMI)
This is an oddity, a Blue Note issue with a cover photo by someone other than label co-owner Francis Wolff. This release has a picture of Blakey that immediately grabs one's attention: It is probably the best known photo by a great jazz photographer, a man who for many years made Toronto his home. Paul Hoeffler was born in Rochester and died on July 30 in Toronto. This reissue, in a "Rudy Van Gelder Edition," is by one of Art's great quintets, the 1958 edition with Lee Morgan, Benny Golson, Bobby Timmons and Jymie Merritt and it contains items like "Moanin'," "Blues March" and "Along Came Betty," all destined to become jazz standards. A welcome reissue of a classic jazz album. 10/10 (Len Dobbin)

Mini CD Reviews

Billy Strayhorn & Johnny Hodges The Stanley Dance Sessions (Lone Hill Jazz/Trend) Two "mainstream" sessions produced by Dance (the man who coined the term) featuring two major and original jazz talents. A must for lovers of the genre! 10 (LD)

Spank Rock Voila mix CD (Money Studies) What 'chu know about Baltimore? Gutter beats galore from these recent Big Dada signees. Eight-bit bizness all night long baby. 9 (SC)

Bend Sinister Through the Broken City (Storyboard) Definitely proggy but the songs always shine through in the end. Mars Volta meets 10cc? 8.5 (JC)

The Fleshtones Beachhead (Yep Roc) Largely thanks to Jim Diamond's trashy production, it almost seems like no time has passed. 8 (JC)

Okapi Where's the Beef (Inflatabl/Statik) This frighteningly silly Italian turntablist disc combines the abstract absurdism of Monty Python, the musical mischief of classic Saturday morning cartoons and the brainiac science of musique concrète. 8 (RK)

Various Treats (Barsuk) Bands like Death Cab and Nada Surf prove that the new soft rock is far easier to swallow than the old, but the likes of Rilo Kiley may leave you pining for the Cutting Crew. 6.5 (LC)

>> Music Listings