Fuck the Facts
Stigmata High Five (Relapse/Koch)
This tech/grind blast coming out of O town is up there with fellow Ontarions the End and Winnipeg’s Malfaction, and Stigmata High Five will definitely help put Canada on the extreme-music map. This is 37 minutes of pure ballast with all of the cut and paste arrangements of Calculating Infinity-era Dillinger Escape Plan and some of the most ferocious crusty-core female vocals you have ever heard. FTF know not to blow their whole wad and pull punches with proggy keyboards on “La Derniere Image” or the quick power metal interlude on “The Wrecking,” but FTF really score points when they just hunker down and pulverize. 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Ed Harcourt
The Beautiful Lie (EMI)
Quality piano pop is hard to come by, so Ed Harcourt’s tossed-off elegance is a treat, a rare find within a style so susceptible to stagnation and pretension. Despite its intriguing title, “Visit From the Dead Dog” is perhaps a little too easy on the ears, while a few tracks could use some restraint in the moping department. Overall, however, Harcourt’s tight, smart arrangements of keys, clipped guitar motifs, strings, percussion and stirring vocals know how to satisfy. “Whirlwind in D Minor,” “Shadowboxing” and “I Am the Drug” are highlights. 7.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)
Adam Green
Jacket Full of Danger (Rough Trade)
Ah, a new album by Adam Green, once half of the passably pleasant Moldy Peaches, lately the bastard son of Bill Murray’s lounge-singer character from the early days of SNL. Anyone who heard Green’s last record, Gemstones, has been desensitized to the miasmic stink of this stuff, like the rancid steam from a New York City sewer colliding with some Broadway disaster. Between the barely discernable tunes, the ill-fitting low vocal register and the painfully awkward lyrics, it’s fitting that his last words here are, “I’m so embarrassed.” My question is, where’s the shame? 4/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)
Tom Petty
Highway Companion (American)
The one thing about Petty, over his 30-year career, is he’s always been a safe bet. Sometimes a little bland and sometimes brilliant but always able to deliver some top-shelf pop. On this one, with the Heartbreakers nowhere to be found, Petty beats all odds and produces his best record of this decade. Despite always railing against the radio dial, Petty clearly owns it with a songwriting prowess that just can’t be dated. Long-time producer Jeff Lynne (one of Petty’s bad moves) actually chucks his toothless sound and lets Petty take a bite on the boogie of “Saving Grace,” the Dylan-esque “Down South” or the nuggets-fuelled “Jack.” Of course, no curveballs are thrown here, but songs like the Neil Young-styled “This Old Town” show him still at the top of his game. 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Seemless
What Have We Become (Equal Vision)
Their label would have you believe that this is equal parts COC and Soundgarden, but the fact is that these guys are caught worshipping at the Kyuss altar. Not a bad thing, but it borders on plagiarism when they chug on de-tuned strings, with ex-Killswitch Engage singer Jesse David paling in John Garcia (Kyuss, Unida)-mode as the band scoop some clichéd riffs before letting things blow up in their face with predictable choruses. Aggressive rock with a bluesy base is not easy, to be sure, but Seemless really don’t bring anything to the table and don’t even come close to the influences they blatantly cite. 6/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Matthew Friedberger
Winter Women /Holy Ghost Language School (859)
If there’s one thing a music critic appreciates, it’s a musician who releases virtually every scrap of material he’s ever produced, no matter how dull, pompous or grating. Fiery Furnaces’ Matthew Friedberger has taken time away from his prolific brother-sister duo to release a two-album solo set, the first a collection of pop songs with piano, strings, flute and drums moulded into pretty but gently warped fairy-tale shapes. So far so alright, but Holy Ghost Language School is like masturbation with steel wool and porcupine gloves by comparison. The unnerving narration and sideshow synthpop operetta sound is foreshadowed on Winter Women, but not enough to prepare you for 45 minutes of head-shaking, eye-rolling and thumb-twiddlingly wrong music. 4.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)
The Narciscyst
Stuck Between Iraq and a Hard Place (independent)
As one of Montreal’s standout MCs, Narcy puts an amazing amount of focus into saying the things that need to be said. On this 20-track mixtape, the Euphrates frontman incorporates his frustration and cynicism with the American-led debacle in Iraq into songs like “Where I’m From,” “Straight Outta Basrah” and “Ten Iraq Commandments,” easily flowing over well-known beats, peppered with Arabic slang. My pick is “One Love (Wahid),” the heartfelt recitation paying homage to Narcy’s dearly departed friend and musical collaborator, Nofy Fannan, over the original and remix instrumental of Nas’s classic “One Love.” Narcy even drops some lyrics on his own production on “Khanjar Battle Steps,” a dissection of Iraqi religious and ethnic groups that begs for further investigation. Listen close. 9/10 (Scott C)
Lekan Babalola
Songs of Icon (Mr. Bongo)
Nigerian-born percussionist Lekan Babalola has lived a charmed musical life, having recorded classic tracks and studio sessions with legends like Roy Ayers, Pharaoh Sanders, Miles Davis and Fela Kuti. Here, not only are we blessed with eight monster original tracks from Lekan, including “Kabioye,” “Iya Mase” and “Oya,” but also a second disc that includes remixes from Afronaught, Phil Asher, Bob Sinclair, Mark de Clive-Lowe and IG Culture. While the bulk of the remixes are tight and worthy of a dancefloor rinse, it’s safe to say that the genius of Lekan Babalola can be found intact in the originals. These are songs built to stand up to infinite plays, never diminishing in power, presence or pressure. 8/10 (Scott C)
Dudley Perkins
Expressions 2012 aU (Stones Throw)
I’m well aware that Dudley Perkins is an acquired taste, and that his makeshift crooning does not appeal to everyone, but I will say that with apocalyptic ramblings, weed-induced meditations, appeals to God and all, I still find his music genuinely endearing. Teamed up with the endless originality of Madlib’s production, these two make the perfect match, playing off each other’s strengths and weaknesses, with the stream-of-consciousness hip hop head in mind. The alter ego of Oxnard, CA MC Declaime, Dudley Perkins subscribes to the simple adage that when you’ve got something to say, you say it, and with tracks like “Funky Dudley,” “Separate Ways” and “Me,” in which Madlib samples ’70s Quebec rock band Beau Dommage, he says it all. 7.5/10 (Scott C)
Ann Nesby
In the Spirit (Shanachie/It’s Time Child)
Before she became known as the grandmother of fifth-season American Idol finalist Paris Bennett, Nesby was already respected in music circles for her vocal dexterity. As lead singer of contemporary gospel group Sounds of Blackness, she drove high-energy tracks like “The Pressure” straight to the dancefloor. Her three preceding solo albums have mainly been secular projects, but she returns to her gospel roots on this one. Nesby’s powerful voice nearly overwhelms tracks like “Jesus Paid It All,” but works to brilliant effect on covers of Stevie Wonder’s “Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away” and Bill Withers’ “Grandma’s Hands.” It’s a solid if uneven effort from this remarkable vocalist. 7.5/10 (Gerard Dee)
Paul Motian
On Broadway Vol. 4 (Winter & Winter)
Phil Woods
American Songbook (Kind of Blue/Fusion III)
The common focus: the American Popular Songbook. Drummer Motian is joined by Chris Potter and Larry Grenadier with pianist Masabumi Kikuchi and vocalist Rebecca Martin alternating from track to track. Woods’s quintet is made up of Brian Lynch, Bill Charlap, Steve Gilmore and Bill Goodwin. The former includes some offbeat choices like “A Shanty in Old Shanty Town” and “Brother Can You Spare A Dime,” plus a superb “I Loves You Porgy.” The latter sticks more to classic pieces like “All the Things You Are,” “Let’s Fall In Love” and a beauty of a version of “Summertime” with some wonderful piano from Charlap and Woods switching from alto sax to clarinet. 10/10 (Len Dobbin)
Mini CD Reviews
Alex Bellegarde Quartet Caminando (Justin Time/Fusion III) This is a memorable outing from this bassist’s GM Award-winning group, one that includes Erik Hove and Yoël Diaz. Try “A Blues or Not!” 8 (LD)
Broadcast The Future Crayon (Warp) Everyone’s favourite unearthed late ’60s androids offer a B-sides comp to tide us over till the next LP. 8 (LC)
Various Osunlade Presents the Yoruba Records—Five Years On (Soul Jazz) The man with the bone through his nose knows what he’s doing, and this comp seals it with track after track of soulful, afro-latin house bizness from the last five years. 8 (SC)
The Delgados The Complete BBC Peel Sessions (Chemikal Underground) Two discs trace these Scots from their amateur alt-rock infancy to today’s posh indie pop-dom, feat. an unexpected Dead Kennedys cover. 7 (LC)
G-Love Lemonade (Brush Fire) Yep, it’s the same dude with the funky guitar/harmonica/drum songs, and the hip hop swagger that you remember from the mid-’90s, only now he has Ben Harper, Blackalicious and Jack Johnson ruining his records. 7 (SC)
Derek Miller The Dirty Looks (Curve) Wow, Miller manages to challenge the listener even less than your garden variety Def Leppard or Bon Jovi record. What a nut! 4 (JC)
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