Diplo
Fabric Live 24 (Fabric/Fusion III)
Man oh man, is there nothing this cat can’t do? After raising the bar with his Hollertronix DJ duo in Philly a few years back, then becoming the official tour DJ and part-time producer for Sri Lankan/London sensation M.I.A., on this fiery Fabric mix, Diplo proves why he’s one of the most in-demand DJs and remixers in the game. With a mix of Southern hip hop, freestyle, classic Detroit electro, Miami bass, grime, electro pop, favela funk, Chicago booty, ’80s jams and indie rock, Diplo is the perfect ADD DJ, cutting effortlessly between the Cure, OutKast and le Tigre. An essential party mix for anyone who likes to dance to many different drums. 9/10 (Raf Katigbak)

Supergrass
Road to Rouen (Parlophone/ EMI)
Rock bands are often scolded for forging into “mature” territory, for appearing dry, spent, self-important and overly reliant on classic-rock plagiarism. Few bands were less mature than Supergrass when they emerged from Oxford a dozen years ago, but they grew out of “Mansize Rooster” fast, so this fifth LP should come as no surprise. Largely mid-tempo and quietly confident, the album is packed solid, highlighted by the Beatles-esque epic “Roxy” and the funk-fuelled title track. It won’t blow your mind like I Should Coco did but it’s a sound investment all the same, and old fans are sure to dig the goofy Blur parody “Coffee in the Pot.” 7/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Depeche Mode
Playing the Angel (Reprise/Mute)
Ever since music man Alan Wilder left after Songs of Faith and Devotion, Depeche Mode’s sound has varied from great to crap. Marc Bell and Bomb the Bass’s Tim Simenon helped create a few bangers on Ultra and Exciter, respectively, but attempts by Ben Hillier (Blur, the Doves) to capture yesteryear’s feel fall flat, and the album often comes off hollow and gutless. While vocalist Dave Gahan works wonders with “John the Revelator,” the song is hampered by lukewarm production when it could have been a bangin’ dancefloor track. Gahan pens for the first time with “Suffer Well,” “I Want It All” and “Nothing’s Impossible,” proving that he should have written songs earlier on. Depeche Mode still have it, especially with “The Darkest Star” and “Precious,” but might do well to work with a producer full of fire next time. 6.5/10 (Lateef Martin)

Tangiers
The Family Myth (Baudelaire)
Produced by Chris Zane (Les Savy Fav, Calla), and featuring a slimmed down line-up (James Sayce and Josh Reichmann plus session guys), the third album by Toronto’s Tangiers is a welcome move away from Strokes-wannabe purgatory. Retaining their punk-laced indie rock energy, the duo aims for a more atmospheric pop sound recalling bands like the Zombies, Echo and the Bunnymen and the Coral. It’s still a little rough around the edges, and infusions of haughty lyricism feel like over-compensation for mimbo-ism, but this is a solid LP nonetheless. It almost makes up for the last one. Almost. 7.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter) With Deadly Snakes, Demon’s Claw at Main Hall on Fri., Oct. 21, 9 p.m., $12

Night Terrors
Zurfluh! (Terror Trash)
These Wisconsin sludge punks keep it lo-fi and muddy à la Mummies, and even recall Quebec’s own Space Shits, Demolition and Smash Up Derby. Sloppy and punk as fuck, Night Terrors come across like acne-ridden louts drunk on PBR, singing the glorious praises of killing and partying. Songs like “I Have” and “Feel Me” actually work as they get strangled in the muck. Amazingly enough, the drummer seems completely devoid of any sense of rhythm at all, but with snotty vocals full of piss and vinegar, who cares. If you miss the glory days of Crypt Records, you have to check this out. 7/10 (Johnson Cummins) With CPC Gangbangs at Zoobizarre, Fri., Oct. 21, 9 p.m., $6

Explosions in the Sky
How Strange, Innocence (Temporary Residence)
Originally released as a 300-run, limited-edition burned CD in 2000, this first release by one of the best instrumental bands around finally sees widespread availability. This glimpse at the band when they were only seven months old is sure to please fans, but be cautious. Expect less of their trademark quirky arrangements, less overreaching production and fewer aggressive moments. Having also yet to figure out their dramatic dynamics, EITS’s greatest moments were still to come, but these seven songs make up a record that any band would be proud of. 8/10 (Johnson Cummins)

Rasputina
A Radical Recital (Filthy Bonnet Co.)
Recorded live at Mr. Small’s Funhouse in Pittsburgh (in, um, 1804, apparently), this collection of faux-pas fables finds Rasputina in top form. Covering much material, from their despicable yet somehow delectable debut Thanks for the Ether to How We Quit the Forest, Cabin Fever and other tidbits, the two chicks on cello and a dude on drums sound strangely thick. The witchcraft of mastermind Melora Creager must be to blame and this live album captures her between-song wit quite nicely. You’d swear there was a warlock on guitar, especially on the cover of Heart’s “Barracuda,” but it’s all cello, corsets and black cats. 9/10 (Lateef Martin) With guests at la Sala Rossa, Wed., Oct. 26, 9:30 p.m., $16

Richie Hawtin
DE 9: Transitions (Novamute)
Hawtin has always been about progress. As Plastikman, he pushed us further into the dark recesses of our minds with acid-drenched, minimalist releases. For each DE9 mix, (1999’s Decks Efx & 909 and 2001’s Closer to the Edit), Hawtin has stretched the concept of the mix CD beyond the conventional crossfade to include micro-loops, samples and dense layers of multi-track blends. On Transitions, he once again blurs the boundaries between DJ and producer, using new software to essentially combine parts of up to eight tracks at a time. The final results go so far beyond their original source tracks that Hawtin even renames each cut. 8/10 (Raf Katigbak) With Marc Houle and Ernesto at Station C, Sat., Oct. 22, 11 p.m., $25

One Self
Children of Possibility (Ninja Tune/Outside)
Take the eccentric, leftfield productions of Russian-born DJ Vadim, the raspy ponderings of American MC Blu Rum 13 and the fresh voice of Swedish/Chilean/Brazilian MC Yarah Bravo, and you have the experimental hip hop cocktail that is One Self. Children of Possibility finds the confident flows of Blu Rum running parallel to the savory tones of newcomer Bravo, who steals the spotlight more than once. If he wasn’t arranging strange and ambiguous samples before, the work Vadim has done here may have you scratching your head, but you will definitely be listening. Children of Possibility is an earnest hip hop project that sidesteps the usual conventions of the genre, with bracing results. 7.5/10 (Scott C)

John Arnold
Style and Pattern (Ubiquity)
Some of the fine lines involved in creating music in a broken-beat style combine the best parts of samba, disco, house, dancehall and Afro-beat. With these things in mind, Style and Pattern dives head first into a completely “broken” project from back to front. Syncopated drums, sub-bass and Arnold’s command of the keys and guitar provide the foundation for featured artists like Ty, Paul Randolph, Jeremy Ellis and Malik Alston. Although a continuation of the vibe created on Arnold’s first LP, Neighborhood Science, this album feels like an unrealized EP that begs for a second volume. The Mr. Scruff remix of “Inside,” included here, unfortunately shows up the brunt of this release. 7/10 (Scott C)

Ray Charles
Genius & Friends (Warner)
Unlike ’04s Genius Loves Company, this set only includes two duets that Charles actually recorded when he was alive—“Big Bad Love” with Diana Ross and the live “Busted,” recorded with Willie Nelson. The rest are posthumous studio constructs which mainly fail to recreate the energy that duets often carry. In fact, while the artist roster is impressive—Angie Stone, Chris Isaak and John Legend, to name a few—only two tracks really stand out: Leela James belting it out with Charles on “Compared to What” and Patti Labelle, along with the Andrae Crouch Singers, taking brother Ray to church on “Shout.” The rest is pleasant, but forgettable. 6.5/10 (Gerard Dee)

Alex Cattaneo/Ganesh Anandan
Asa Nisi Masa (independent)
The intention was to evoke an unreal elsewhere, an imaginary place both freaky and familiar. To that end, the complex South Indian frame-drumming and elliptical guitar work of this project’s composers, Montrealers Anandan and Cattaneo, is interwoven with the diatonic harmonica work of Pascal Veillette and some baritone belching from Jean Sabourin’s sousaphone. The sum of these parts is a bizarro-world, future-primitive blues jam, ornate and esoteric. Fans of Bela Fleck will dig Veillette’s mouth-harp acrobatics, though they tend to eclipse the other instruments. 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) CD launch at le Va-et-Vient tonight, Thurs., Oct. 20, 9 p.m., $12 (students $10)

Cannonball Adderley
Fiddler on the Roof (Capitol/EMI)
This 1964 edition, a quintet with the brothers Adderley on alto and cornet, Charles Lloyd on tenor and flute and a rhythm team of Joe Zawinul, Sam Jones and Louis Hayes, was one of the last bands to play the Jazz Hot Room of the Casa Loma here in Montreal. Besides some thoughtfully arranged music from Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick’s (then new) Broadway show, this 12-track reissue has brother Nat’s “The Little Boy With the Sad Eyes” and Lloyd’s “Island Blues,” and his illumination of “Sweet Georgia Brown” (“Brown” is “Bright” here) from an earlier session. 9/10 (Len Dobbin)

Mini CD Reviews

Collage “6’19” 12” (Wool) Estonian jazz, anyone? A hot double A-side with a rolling bossa called “Kodukingu Kuusik.” Who knew? 9 (SC)

Min Rager Bright Road (Effendi/SRI) Some Seoul music played and composed by one of the larger talents presently on the Montreal jazz scene. An impressive debut. 8.5 (LD)

…And the Saga Continues Ferocious (Fuck the Bullshit) Twenty pulverizing thrashers, squeezed onto a seven-inch! Take that, DRI! 8 (JC)

Freakwater Thinking of You (Thrill Jockey) Back from a six-year hiatus, backed and produced by Califone, Freakwater’s soulful harmonies and sorrowful laments make for some fine country. 8 (LC) With Angela Desveaux and Christopher Rees at la Sala Rossa, Sun., Oct. 23, 9 p.m., $12

The Clientele Strange Geometry (Merge) Affable ’60s pop feeling its way through hazy folk and soft psychedelia. 7.5 (LC) With Annie Hayden and Jim Yoshii Pile Up at la Sala Rossa, Mon., Oct. 24, 9 p.m., $12

Early Man Closing In (Matador/Select) Slayer-esque metal from the label that brought you—Pavement and Chavez?! 7.5 (JC)

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