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 JAMES BROWN
Gold (Universal)
Brown’s passing last December left a musical gap that simply won’t be filled, but thankfully he left a robust catalogue to remember him by. Although Brown-hits packages abound, this double-disc set is noteworthy because of its remastered sound, and because it’s so damn comprehensive. Covering Brown’s most potent years, 1958 through 1979, all the hits are here and some, like “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag,” “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud” and “Cold Sweat,” are featured in full-length versions. It’s fitting that this set is released during June, designated as Black Music Month south of the border, because no one represented the genre better than the Godfather. 9/10 (Gerard Dee)
 IMMACULATE MACHINE
Fables (Mint/Outside)
If Canada had indie rock royalty, the court would surely include at least half of the people who worked on this record. It’s not just that singer/fair maiden Kathryn Calder toured with the New Pornographers (and is A.C. Newman’s niece), but Immaculate Machine’s maxed-out pop vignettes were recorded by that band’s in-house production team, JC/DC, as well as Colin Stewart (Black Mountain, Destroyer), royal medics of sorts. Add to that string arrangements by Owen Pallett (Earl of Ontario?) and backup vocals by visiting Scottish monarch Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand, and you’ve got a fine team for tea-time entertainment. Everyone’s a wee bit inbred, of course. 7/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)
 PORTER WAGONER
Wagonmaster (Anti/FAB)
Wagoner is one of the last bastions standing of the Grand Ole Opry, and given that the Opry ain’t so grand these days, it’s nice to finally hear a real Nashville record again. The dirge/spoken-word intro to “Albert Erving” and the Johnny Cash-penned “Committed to Parkview” are chilling, but when Wagoner’s Ozark roots shine through the Nashville glitz on songs like “Eleven Cent Cotton” and the utterly heart-wrenching “The Agony of Waiting,” it becomes crystal clear just how bad the current state of country is—and how good it could be. 8/10 (Johnson Cummins)
VON SÜDENFED
Tromatic Reflexxions (Domino/Outside)
Add the incomparable rantings and ravings of the Fall’s Mark E. Smith to the techno chemistry of Mouse on Mars’s Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner, and you have Von Südenfed, presenting their first full-length collaboration. Why they chose a moniker and a title that evoke cold medication and B-movies, I can’t tell you, but over-the-counter chemicals and trash cinema would make a fine accompaniment to these bottom-heavy bangers and quirky cuts, the kind of crude, would-be club music I’d love to hear roaring off a car stereo. 8/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)
LES AMIS AU PAKISTAN
Espace libidinal (Tir Groupé/Fusion III)
Just as les Georges Leningrad complete their orbital decay, les Amis (composers Simon Tremblay and Joël Chevalier, with rotating female vocalists) seem to step in to fill their freaky, tweaked-out shoes on the local scene. Same manic, multilingual art-punk activity in an electro-à-gogo vernacular, but les Amis favour a sci-fi sensibility and pop finesse (and a heap of neat samples) over brut force and regression therapy as they unpack their fractured, attention-deficit fairytales about food, housework and general domestic dementia. “Mon soldat de plomb” and “Pomme Segara” stand out as hooky gems (no less quirky than the rest, though). 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
 TOMAHAWK
Anonymous (Ipecac)
Haunting and immersive, Tomahawk’s third release Anonymous takes you deep into the desert beyond the reservation. Under a night sky salted with stars, the bone-dry vocals of Mike Patton (Fantômas, Faith No More, Mr. Bungle) peace-pipe you into the shadows of yesteryear. Anonymous is full of rain sticks and quirky time signatures drenched in percussion. The homage to Native American traditions is paid with care, thanks to the extensive ethnomusicological research by guitarist/bassist Duane Denison (once of Jesus Lizard). 8/10 (Lateef Martin)
 PIG DESTROYER
Phantom Limb (Relapse/Koch)
Three years in the making, this bassless band shuttle grindcore past the clichéd blast beats and screeches, and deliver the most brutal album of the year. Okay, there are blast beats and nihilistic screaming all over the place here, but nobody in extreme metal, including their labelmates Agoraphobic Nosebleed, can even hold a candle. This record is just seething with hatred, the whole mandate being to crush you like the puny insect you really are. Devastating. 9/10 (Johnson Cummins)
 DJ FOOD & DK
Now, Listen Again! (Ninja Tune/Outside)
These two old Ninja hands—Darren “DK” Knott and DJ Food’s Strictly Kev—inaugurated the Solid Steel mix series in 2001 (an offshoot of the radio show and club night), and revisit it with this sequel. The mix follows a familiar Ninja template, with the goofy speechbites, the clips of classic soul and hip hop (balanced by a fair bit of new-school nuttiness), plenty of the label’s own material and enough quirky left turns to keep listeners on their toes. The key here is that each spin unearths new bits of fun, funk and food for thought from this remarkably dense yet palatable jumble, and damn if it isn’t danceable. 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) With guests at le National, Sat., June 16, 9 p.m., $20, all ages
FABOLOUS
From Nothin’ to Somethin’ (Def Jam/Universal)
The NYC-based rapper’s first full-length in three years is a potentially great comeback album marred by a horrible track order. The uninspired R&B tracks are pushed to the top (including the obligatory Akon cameo, yuck) and only when pulsating beeps on “Diamonds” kick into high gear does Fabolous emerge from the uninspired first half. His wordplay- heavy lyrics deserve so much more than such an uncreative guest list, including Junior Reid rehashing his performance on the Game’s last album and a forgettable Timbalandproduced track. For a rapper known for killer singles, this album is shockingly average. 6/10 (Erik Leijon)
 NSM
The Hype EP (Jazzy Sport)
IG Culture delivers yet another batch of leftfield soul, letting up on his usual polyrhythmic madness to address the state of radio on the upbeat “DJ Power (Use It).” The EP boasts two mixes of the title track—one a pared-down, minimal head-nod featuring the haunting vocals of Asa from Lagos, the other a thick, bassy plodder resembling something out of George Clinton’s closet. Finally, “Mumbo Jum” is an airy bounce that reminds me that the follow-up to this release is on the way. 8/10 (Scott C)
 BASEMENT SOUL
Sounds From the Floor Vol. 1 (Unique Uncut)
Brighton-based club night Basement Soul hits the mark with this concise collection of exclusives, underground soul, hip hop and broken-beat fare often featured at the organizers’ weekly Friday-night party. For a first release, this compilation is all that a breaking label could ask for, featuring songs like the previously unreleased “Cos You’re Here” from Vaceo, Domu’s rework of Maddslinky’s “Somethin Extra” and Bopstar’s “Chiaroscuro.” This is independent electronic soul music at its best, and definitely worth a listen. 8.5/10 (Scott C)
FRASER MACPHERSON
Our Blues (Just A Memory/Fusion III)
VARIOUS
C’est Magnifique (Just A Memory/Fusion III)
Two valuable releases of vintage Canadian material—the first contains two CBC broadcasts from ’62 and ’63, on which the late tenorman MacPherson leads a quintet with Carse Sneddon, Stan Johnson, Jimmy Wightman and, most importantly, the influential pianist Chris Gage, who took his own life at the end of 1964. The scarcity of material by Gage makes this one even more valuable. The second CD is another gem put together by Heidi Fleming. Twentythree tracks of singers heard around Montreal, recorded between ’53–’68. Claire Roberts (with husband Art on piano), Joan Eden, Arlene Smith, Joyce Hahn, Yolanda Lisi, Dino Vale, Guido Pucci and Johnny LaSalle are here along with lesser-known singers like Cathy Casper, Barry Graham and Anita Ortiz. Johnny Holmes, Steve Garrick, Rob Adams and Gordie Fleming are among those providing the backing. Both are important (and rare!) documents of the Canadian Jazz scene. Both 10/10 (Len Dobbin)
 RAGLEELA
Jai Ma (Omkar)
Montreal’s Uwe Neumann and his ensemble made a mark with their debut Caravan a couple years back, and outdo themselves on this follow-up. Neumann’s sitar is the tentpole here, but this isn’t about revisiting hallowed ragas. Rather, the group gropes around in the space between jazz, folk and Indian classical music, hinging their explorations on memorable melodic hooks not at all out of place in a Western pop context. It’s a patient, peaceable session, but hardly a sleepy one, with subtle nuances that slowly but surely invigorate the listener. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Mini CD Reviews
MICHAEL BRECKER Pilgrimage (Heads Up/Universal) Joined by Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, Brad Mehldau, John Patitucci and Jack DeJohnette, these nine originals are the late tenorman’s swan song. A must! 10 (LD)
BERGRAVEN Dodsvisioner (Hydra Head/Sonic Unyon) Swedish black metal that is as bleak, foreboding and assaulting as it gets. 8.5 (JC)
CODE PIE The Most Trusted Name in Yous (independent) A dubious title, perhaps, but this local band’s pop programming is nothing if not painstaking researched and impeccably made up and manicured. 7 (LC) CD launch on Sat. June 16, 9 p.m., $5 (see codepie.com for details)
DMX The Definition of X: Pick of the Litter (Def Jam/Universal) Big dog DMX gets the greatest-hits treatment with a DVD and woofers like “Get at Me Dog” and “What These Bitches Want.” No bones about it, he had his moments. 7/10 (Scott C)
THE SILT Cat’s Peak (Fig) From thick country sludge to slack Western lounge, this trio has the skills to pay for their return trip to Toronto. 6 (LC) With Wyrd Visions, Castlemusic, Apothecary Hymns at Casa del Popolo, 9 p.m., $10
T-PAIN Epiphany (Zomba/Sony BMG) “Tipsy” sounds like Akon with that stupid Cher voice-fuckupamajig. 3 (EL)
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