Les Breastfeeders
Les matins de grands soirs (Blow the Fuse)
Easily one of the best live bands in the city, les Breastfeeders finally extract all the sweat and blood from the stage and punch it onto plastic. Everything they are known for is here, like trashy garage and yéyé, but songs like “Chanson pour destinée,” “Pas sans saveur” and “Da-Di-Dum” show the ability to stretch far beyond just another band armed with a hip record collection. With all of the attention that Franco band Malajube has managed to garner outside of Quebec, one can only hope that the rest of the world will also be ready for les Breastfeeders. One of the best local releases this year. 8/10 (Johnson Cummins) At le National on Mon., Aug. 28, 9 p.m., $11.40
Memphis
A Little Place in the Wilderness (Good Fences)
If opium was the drug Torquil Campbell and Chris Dumont were thinking of when they made I Dreamed We Fell Apart in 2004, a marijuana/guarana cocktail seems to be the current substance of choice. The warmth and gentility remains, but this time the gauzy atmospherics are balanced by clearer ideas, cleaner riffs and one downright jaunty number, namely (ironically) “Incredibly Drunk on Whiskey.” Campbell’s lyrical flamboyance will be familiar to fans of his primary band, Stars, but his vocals are more subdued, sinking smoothly into Dumont’s sighing and fluttering guitars, not to mention the supple rhythm of James Shaw (Metric) and Josh Trager (Sam Roberts Band). 8/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)
The Hidden Cameras
Awoo (Evil Evil/Outside)
Funny that after naming their first two records after an odour (The Smell of Our Own) and a feeling (Mississauga Goddam), Toronto’s Hidden Cameras should choose a sound as the title for their most minimal effort to date. That’s maximal effort, minimal sound, at least in relation to the booming horns, harps, bells and whistles of old. Now there’s breathing room amid the guitars and violins to match Joel Gibb’s breezy pop tunes, which are as lovely as ever, albeit overly reminiscent of their previous work. And without the chamber bombast, a couple of tracks approach the dreaded adult-contemporary abyss. 7.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)
Be Your Own Pet
self-titled (Ecstatic Peace/ Universal)
This highly anticipated debut easily lives up to the oceans of ink already spilled on BYOP, known mainly for their chaotic 15-minute shows. Producer Steve McDonald manages to capture all the rough edges, urgency and pandemonium on tape. Although this is most definitely punk rock served up at its best, BYOP’s best asset is they are never caught flipping through the history books and manage to update the sound with minimal self-indulgence. Opener “Thresher’s Flail” hits like Rat Scabies with a nail-gun while angular pop gems like “Fuuuuun” and “October, First Account” shine out with brilliance. Nice to hear youthful exuberance alive and well in punk again while thumbing its nose at the punk rock revivalists. 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Daughters
Hell Songs (Hydra Head/ Sonic Unyon)
It seems that Providence owns the underground scene lately and this new one from the kings of controlled chaos is definitely going to pour some more gas on the fire. Daughters’ discordant sonic assault hits with precision. The vocals may owe quite a bit to Jesus Lizard’s David Yow or the Birthday Party-era Nick Cave, but they perfectly drape over the chaos and really impress when they ebb with the pulsating waves of noise, as in “Feisty Snakewoman.” Fans of the Locust, An Albatross and the Dillinger Escape Plan are going to wet themselves over this one. 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Dirty Pretty Things
Waterloo to Anywhere (Mercury/ Universal)
When it comes to Libertines spin-off bands, the obvious comparisons must be made. Pete Doherty’s Babyshambles delivered what you’d expect from a man-boy with a fondness for freebasing, but Carl Barat’s Dirty Pretty Things—a less unique but equally apt moniker—comes much closer to the mark, aspiring not only to Libertines standards, but grasping up to the Clash/Ramones plateau. Not that this band has such reach, but they make it easy to latch onto their dirty, pretty, glammy, gritty, pop-up punk. 7/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)
Outkast
Idlewild Original Soundtrack (Laface/Jive)
Considering that Outkast’s Big Boi and Andre 3000 have essentially evolved into two separate entities that function under the umbrella of the old-world understanding of Outkast, it’s amazing that records like this even get completed. The Idlewild movie’s 1930s-era premise lends itself to several tunes here, including Janelle Monae’s upbeat “Call the Law” and Andre’s twangy vocals and guitar on “Idlewild Blue (Don’t Chu Worry Bout Me).” Tracks like “Rats and Roaches,” featuring the duo rapping together like old times, are a rare treat these days, but it’s hard to swallow most of the show tunes found here without having seen the movie. Guests include Snoop, Sleepy Brown and Macy Gray. 7/10 (Scott C)
Various
In Memory Of… (J Dilla Foundation/Dummy)
Common’s touring partner DJ Dummy put together this two-CD compilation of classic Dilla productions, spanning from early Slum Village, Tribe, the Roots, De La, Kweli and Jaylib all the way up to Dilla’s solo works. Songs are punctuated by heartfelt phone messages from musical collaborators and dear friends left shortly after Dilla’s February 2006 passing. People like Pete Rock, Erykah Badu, Pharcyde’s Slim Kid Tre, Posdunos, Dwele and James Poyser share personal accounts of Dilla’s genius. A must-have for any Jay Dee head. 8.5/10 (Scott C)
Loes The Fuck
Loes Mixtape (Crippled Masseuse Music)
Loes is no stranger to Montreal cipher circles, and this 24-track mix puts his skills on the mic at centre stage. Tracks like “The Epidemik” and “This Is Us” show exactly where his rapid-fire flow is coming from, while he’s quick to include tracks from good friends like Narcy, Lord Pako, Rugged Intellect and more. I’m loving the hotness of “Bits and Pesh,” where Loes states, “I doubt lots of mouthwash could fix the foul of my speech/I got heart, you’re less soulful like old Alchemist beats…” I’ve been a fan of Loes for years, and it’s good to see that he still has room to flex, tightening up his rhyme style as time moves on. 8/10 (Scott C)
Norrisman
Home & Away (Greensleeves)
One-sheets and promo material claim that there’s been some kind of roots/one-drop revival—hell, I just may have been guilty of the same. Thing is, when you look at a fellow like Norrisman, who’s been chatting and singing since age 11, has released over four albums, and now this nice collection—chock-full of reality tunes—you have to recognize that the roots vibe has not and will never die. Those who are doing it just keep soldiering on until a tune like “Home & Away” (on the Flames riddim) busts platinum style. Here’s hoping that Norrisman will keep up the charge with conscious tunes like the intense “Move Hard,” the fantastic “This Day” and the pitch-perfect “They Don't Know.” 9/10 (Erin MacLeod)
Christina Aguilera
Back to Basics (Sony BMG)
What’s always bugged me about Christina is her preoccupation with out-skanking pop tarts like Britney and Jessica, instead of focusing on what she does best: singing. With this album, Aguilera finally gets it right. The ballad-heavy second disc on this double-disc opus gives her the chance to let her bombastic vocals soar, though there’s nothing here approaching her most accomplished ballad, “Beautiful.” The more enjoyable first disc involves a lot of sampling and shout-outs to soul greats like Gladys and Aretha, which works on tracks like “Back in the Day” and “Slow Down Baby,” though it doesn’t put Aguilera in their class. Still, at least now she’s headed in the right direction. 7.5/10 (Gerard Dee)
John Coltrane
First Giant Steps (RLR)
Charlie Parker
At Jirayr Zorthian’s Ranch, July 14th, 1952 (RLR)
The RLR stands for “rare live recordings,” as indeed these are. The Trane is made up of two dates, one on tenor with a Johnny Hodges group done in L.A. in 1954, the other, on alto, is from a date in Hawaii in 1946, when John was 19, a rare item done with relatively unknown figures like Dexter Culbertson. The Parker consists of music recorded at a party where he was joined by the likes of Frank Morgan, Don Wilkerson and Chet Baker. If you can get by the noise of the party-goers (a mass striptease takes place at one point), there is some wonderful music here. The sound quality is a factor on both CDs—the best is the Hodges material, and the ratings are strictly for the music herein. Both 9/10 (Len Dobbin)
Mini CD Reviews
The Gershwins Porgy & Bess (Decca/Universal) This is an exciting two-CD set—at well over two hours, we hear the original 1935 version of this renowned folk opera. 10 (LD)
Amon Duul II Lemmingmania (Revisted/Fusion III) With lines like, “I live inside of a rainbow,” this is definitely for the die-hard prog-heads only. 7 (JC)
Various DJ Spooky Presents - In Fine Style: 50,000 Volts of Trojan Records (Trojan) Yet another collection culled from Trojan’s back catalogue, from which the self-declared “only DJ on the scene with degrees in French Literature and philosophy” takes his pick. 7 (EM)
Electrelane Singles, B-sides & Live (Too Pure/Beggars) More minor-key cool from this U.K. act, though the live content is weak—even Bill Murray does a better “More Than This.” 6.5 (LC)
Various Snakes on a Plane—The Album (New Line/Warner) Overblown camp on film can be fine, but I’ve had it with these motherfuckin’ overproduced rock bands. 4 (LC)
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