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 VARIOUS
Si, Para Usted:
The Funky Beats of Revolutionary Cuba(Waxing
Deep)
It’s a tough call, breaking the reign of the insanely popular
and pervasive Buena Vista Social Club legacy, but
Waxing Deep’s Dan Zacks has unearthed the new old
sound of Cuba. Si, Para Usted is a 17-track champion
focusing on the ’70s and ’80s Cuban styles of “beats,”
“afros” and “songos,” products of the Cuban revolution
mixing funk with jazz-rock fusion. It features several
artists and songs that have, until now, never been available
outside of Cuba. Big tunes include Los Tainos’
“Amor Mio” and blind group Los 5-U-4’s “Baila, Ven Y
Baila.” Essential. 10/10 (Scott C)
 Teddybears
Soft Machine (Atlantic/Warner)
Some of the deceptively simple ragga-rave-rockers this Stockholm outfit
offer ain’t nothing Stereo MCs and Apollo 440 weren’t doing a dozen
years ago. But when the formula clicks, the results are primo
post-millennial bubblegum—successes include the goofy “Are You Feelin’
It” with Elephant Man, the deep-blue prog-disco of “Magic Kraut” with
its tasty vibraphone loop, and of course “Cobrastyle,” the 2
Tone-tinted bumper with Mad Cobra that you might know from those funny
Heineken ads (“di-dang-di-dang-diggy-diggy…”). And then there’s the
pulsating, defiant “Punkrocker” with Iggy Pop, one of those tunes you
can’t stop rewinding. 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
 Alex
Soria
Next of Kin (MPG)
lthough his band the Nils never hit the heights that they could or
should have, Montreal’s Alex Soria and his brother Carlos continued to
play over the years, most recently on roughly half a dozen songs
written and recorded between 2001 and Alex’s untimely death in 2004.
This disc features studio and live recordings of those songs, alongside
the Nils’ “River of Sadness” and four of the band’s demos. The acoustic
solo material is marked by the same sturdy songcraft that earned the
Nils comparisons to Big Star and the Replacements back in the ’70s and
’80s. A treat for the fans, in remembrance of a gifted musician. 8/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)
White Cowbell Oklahoma
Casa Diablo (Slick
Monkey)
Audio alone can’t hope to match the Hogtown hoedown from hell that is
the live show these faux-klahoman fuckers from T.O. put on. Be that as
it may, Casa Diablo is still a juiced-up juggernaut of Southern-fried
rock excess, a suitable soundtrack to white-knuckle breaks for the
county line—ideally with Dexedrine on the dash, a stripper riding
shotgun and a dead lawyer in the trunk. The ever-escalating chug-a-chug
is abetted by no end of wailing harmonica, twin harmony leads, rumbling
keys and horndog howls. Warning: may induce migraines in latte liberals
and law-abiding churchy folk alike. 7/10 (Rupert
Bottenberg) With the Monarchy at Petit Campus, Fri., Feb. 23, 9 p.m.,
$12.50
The Howling Hex
1-2-3 (Drag
City)
This is the not-so-new joint of Royal Trux’s Neil Haggerty, but it does
mark the first time he has hit the digital domain, compiling his first
three vinyl-only releases. With his ’70s rock ’n’ roll roots tucked
further in the background, Haggerty shows us all how it’s done, delving
more into the family jams of Man Man and Captain Beefheart without ever
directly namechecking either. Haggerty hardly has to prove himself as
one of indie rock’s fiercest guitarists, but he keeps the shredding and
jazz tendencies of the past in check and just hunkers down to deliver
the song. 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)
 Karen Dalton
In My Own Time (Light
in the Attic)
Karen Dalton was a fixture of NYC’s folk scene in the early ’60s, a
half-Cherokee singer who looked like Meg White and sang like Billie
Holiday and Nina Simone. This reissue of her 1971 LP, one of few
surviving documents of her troubled career, includes liner notes by
Lenny Kaye, Nick Cave and, in poem form, Devendra Banhart. Her
versatile voice is beautifully applied to soul standards and, more
interestingly, relatively obscure country, blues and traditional songs,
tastefully backed by acoustic guitars, banjo, piano and drums, with
dabs of horns, strings and woodwinds. It’s a rich sound, and a
fascinating relic. 8/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)
The Kissaway Trail
self-titled (Bella
Union)
Husky Rescue
Ghost Is Not Real (Catskills/Fusion
III)
Two more units from the factory of filigreed, four-eyed superpop that
Scandinavia’s become. While Husky Rescue’s first album was essentially
highly-crafted wallpaper, the Finnish band’s latest finds their songs
more fully formed, comfy yet inventive, and enhanced by singer
Reeta-Leena Korhola’s confident vocals—the triptych “Blueberry Tree” is
particularly engaging. Meanwhile, a CD-jacket artist isn’t all the
Kissaway Trail share with Montreal’s pride ’n’ joy, the Arcade Fire.
Propulsive orch-rock carry hearts-swell-to-bursting choruses as these
Danes ape AF—Flaming Lips and Polyphonic Spree as well—shamelessly, and
quite ably, I might add. Should be neat to see where they take this
when they really find their own sound. Both 7/10
(Rupert Bottenberg)
 Various
Take Action! Volume 6 (Hopeless/Sub City)
It takes a keen sense of humour to begin a charity compilation for a
suicide hotline with a public service announcement, followed by My
Chemical Romance’s “This Is How I Disappear.” On this double CD (and
bonus DVD), featuring the best of the Hopeless and Sub City labels,
only five of the 43 tracks are unreleased, and the rest come from the
bands’ better-known albums, making this a non-essential set for fans of
Senses Fail, Taking Back Sunday, the Bled, Rise Against, Anti-Flag and
others. The first disc closes with metal, but the music is
predominantly emo. 5/10 (Erik Leijon)
The RZA
Afro Samurai: The Soundtrack (Koch)
The Wu-Tang’s RZA was born to make this album, based on the animated
adventures of a black samurai (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson, no less).
Spiced with kung fu samples and slices of scenes from the series, the
soundtrack brings it back to the raw days of the Wu, with plenty of
vocal muscle care of Big Daddy Kane, Q-Tip, GZA, Talib Kweli, Free
Murder, the Reverend William Burk and more. Tacked onto the end of the
album are four Bobby Digital tracks, which kind of kills the overall
vibe the RZA achieves. Still, the hilarious, get-your-freak-on gameshow
goof “So Fly” almost makes the promo tracks worth it. 7.5/10 (Lateef Martin)
 TTC
36 15 TTC (Big
Dada/Outside)
TTC’s continuing insistence on fulfilling the most repugnant of
stereotypes of France’s misogynist elite makes you want to hate this
band, but you can’t. The justifiably smug, impeccable style and flow of
the rappers combine with punchy, bulletproof production to create an
album that commands respect. It only fails in its lack of the sort of
unifying musical theme that made Bâtards sensibles an addictive,
end-to-end listen. The counterpoint would, however, be the aggressive
experimentation this has afforded Paris’s irresistible, back-talking
pretty boys. Get ready to hear this album being played all year. 9/10 (Jack Oatmon)
 Bluebird
RIP USA (the
Birdfleu) (Endemik))
DA punk-rock beatnik bookworm in a tinfoil hat and dirty sneaks,
voluble Montreal MC Bleubird certainly seethes with end-times Jesus
fever and Pax Americana paranoia. But as he wrestles out loud with
hope, hate and heartbreak, his volleys of often vitriolic verbosity
target hip hop, hipsters and his own damn self (note the
self-immolating “I Make Weird”) as much as anything else. This
contrarianism is matched by peculiar productions geared explicitly
against the party-jam groove. Some bore as only backpacker beats can,
though it’s hard to shake “Switchblades,” his “pop song with the word
‘fuck’ in it.” 7/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) CD launch
at Quai des Brumes, Wed., Feb. 28, 9 p.m.
4Hero
Play With the Changes (Raw Canvas)
Walking the fine line between classic arrangements and futuristic
interpretations of contemporary soul is something that U.K. duo 4Hero
has led the way with for years. Their fusion of everything soulful is
once again apparent on their new LP, the first since 2001’s Creating
Patterns. Whether it’s the lush and sweeping strings of “Morning Child”
featuring Carina Andersson, or the Rhodes-laden shuffle of “Sink or
Swim” with Alma Horton, this is some serious production. There’s also
room for hip hop with “Give In” featuring Phonte of Little Brother, and
“Awakening” with longtime collaborator Ursula Rucker. For all their
throwback moments, 4Hero is still miles ahead. 8.5/10
(Scott C)
Ciara
The Evolution(Sony
BMG)
It’s easy to make comparisons between Ciara and the late Aaliyah, since
both successfully mined the musical landscape where R&B, dance and
hip hop intersect. But on her sophomore effort, the “princess of crunk”
is actually reminiscent of older influences, bringing to mind Jody
Watley at her peak. Maybe it’s because Ciara sounds so much like Watley
at certain points here. Or it could be that, like the ’80s dance-funk
queen, Ciara is strongest delivering the kind of assertive grooves that
make tracks like “I Proceed” and “Make It Last Forever” (making
particularly good use of the over-sampled James Brown cut “It Takes
Two”) standouts on this surprisingly solid set.
7.5/10 (Gerard Dee)
Ira Nepus & Steve Moore
Another Time Another Place(Jazzed Media)
Subtitled “the Music of Benny Carter,” this CD should be the first in a
series of many marking a century since the birth of a man who was a
jazz giant, as an instrumentalist, composer and arranger. The contents,
a baker’s dozen originally written for Carter’s own influential big
bands as well as for Lionel Hampton and Count Basie, are played by a
group led by Nepus, a trombonist, and Moore, a guitarist. “When Lights
Are Low,” “Easy Money,” “People Time,” “Doozy” and “I’m in the Mood for
Swing” are among the familiar titles, and Jeff Hamilton, and Jeff and
John Clayton, are among the musicians added to the basic quintet,
making this one a success. 9/10 (Len Dobbin)
Mini CD Reviews
Mary Ann McCall You’re
Mine You: 1939-’50 (Hep) A
compilation of 26 tracks from the Decca, Columbia and Roost labels by
one of the all but forgotten band singers, heard here with the likes of
Woody Herman, Charlie Barnet, Artie Shaw, Ralph Burns and Phil Moore. 9 (LD)
J Sands & J DillaMrs. Sands (CDR) As
one half of Lone Catalysts, J Sands releases his unofficial Dilla
tribute, spitting over his favourite Jay Dee beat-tape cuts and some of
his well-known productions. 7 (SC)
Germans Cape
Fear (Arena Rock/Koch) Lacking the
precision that their name suggests (hey, at least there’s a synth),
these Toronto boys make good with rough-hewn guitars and wonky
Malkmus-isms. 7 (LC) With Magic Weapons, VKNGS at
Friendship Cove, Thurs., March 1.
Jill Cunniff City
Beach (The Militia Group) Former
Luscious Jackson singer’s solo debut begins as a pale imitation of her
old band and ends as a pale imitation of Aimee Mann. 4 (LC)
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