Disc of the week

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! (Mute/Anti-)
As the devil’s favourite lounge singer greys at the temples, he just gets better and better. An expert balladeer through much of his later years, Cave surprised us all with the sonically heavy Grinderman project, and brings a little bit of both, a disjointed Stooges/Neil Diamond vibe, on this new one. Lyrically, Cave stands shoulder to shoulder with Zimmerman and Cohen, but he slings his pearls with an unmatched urgency and inventiveness. Of course, Cave’s real ace up his sleeve is the Bad Seeds, who get a slinky Isaac Hayes groove going on “Moonland,” one that’s guaranteed to bore through the skin and right into the backbone. 9/10 (Johnson Cummins)

R.E.M.
Accelerate (Warner)
R.E.M. could have gracefully aged into Tom Petty clones years ago, documenting the American landscape and delivering road-weary political messages while foregoing any pretensions about topping charts. Instead, U2/Bloc Party producer Jacknife Lee has given them an uncomfortable makeover designed to recall their jangly days on the I.R.S. label. Accelerate is 35 quick and punchy minutes, the production straightforward and slightly muddy. For anyone who appreciated New Adventures in Hi-Fi’s textures and Up’s electronic flourishes—before things really went downhill—the return-to-form tag is misleading. The time warp feels unnatural and forced. 5.5/10 (Erik Leijon)

The Raconteurs
Consolers of the Lonely (Third Man/Warner)
Jack White III (III?) and Brendan Benson expose their balls on this second Raconteurs record, reviving the classic rock of their childhoods. The rawk is infused with radio metal melodrama and country instrumentation, the latter a relatively au courant touch—that’s the only irony you’ll find within all the serious nostalgia. Somehow, they make the strange cross-section work, squealing solos, manic vocals, roots manoeuvres and all. But fans of the White Stripes’ volatile blues, or Benson’s finely tuned power pop, may be let down by the Raconteurs’ dead weight and uncool stylistic forays. 7/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

The Heavy
Great Vengeance and Furious Fire (Counter/+1/Outside)
Getting back to the classic ’60s soul stompers and dirty dirges by way of the Stooges (dig “Dignity”) and Wu-Tang, this outfit from “the arse end of” Bath, England deals in nasty shit. The core is singer Kelvin Swaby and guitarist Dan Taylor with the beats they’ve built, but expansion to a full band bodes well for the stage—fans of the Bell-Rays, Detroit Cobras and Sharon Jones, watch out. Lead single “That Kind of Man” is a ferocious funk steamroller, “Girl” a lascivious Brit-rap cum Motor City fingerpopper and “In the Morning” the Stax track Lenny Kravitz always wished he could write. 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Supergrass
Diamond Hoo Ha (EMI)
Singer Gaz Coombes has characterized Supergrass’s sixth album, fairly accurately, as sounding like an overview of the band’s 14 years. It’s no greatest hits, however, and the wacky spunk of I Should Coco is hard to locate, but the groovy levity, glam stomp and dadrock muscle of their other records are all there. Melding beauty and balast with exquisite ease, Supergrass have clearly retained their pop panache. But in trying to please all people, it seems as though they crossed an MOR minefield. 7/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Moby
Last Night (EMI)
Moby’s latest is a narrow aggregate of only the safest NYC club sounds, from lounge and diva house to mellow hip hop, that builds gradually and, as you might imagine, never really gets you anywhere you haven’t been before. Objectively, the production is excellent and the arc of the album is essentially palatable, but there is literally not one adventurous or cathartic moment on the entire album, just 14 piano-driven slices of bloated euphoria overlaid with synth strings, complete with a “buy Moby ringtones” flyer in the sleeve and a few almost-racy Warholian images to make you feel glamorous as you cook peanut satay on your stainless-steel kitchen island. There’s even a crooner jazz outro to ease you out of this musical SUV ride. 6/10 (Jack Oatmon)

Woodhands
Heart Attack (Paper Bag)
The Toronto duo of Paul Banwatt and Dan Werb, who initiated Woodhands alone here in Montreal, earned their rep by replicating their basement-brewed electro-rock from scratch in concert, no laptops or the like. That’s surely honed their sense of how a song should stick together, how to make gentle and jarring, dirty and sweet meet. Keytars and vocoders are employed with wit, not wackiness, and the punchy beats connect. “In the Woods” and “I Wasn’t Made for Fighting” impress, but the homespun synth-pop peak is closer “Sailboats,” with Laura Barrett. 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Shape of Broad Minds
Craft of the Lost Art (Lex)
Having become a master at flying under the radar in recent years, Philly MC/producer Jneiro Jarel, aka Dr. Who Dat, aka Shape of Broad Minds, regularly pushes the boundaries of hip hop with lavish and experimental productions. SOBM features likeminded astronauts MF Doom, Count Bass D, Lil Sci and Stacy Epps, but it’s Jneiro’s knack for kicking the ballistics over his own beats that is the main attraction here. Big tunes like the grimy “Beast From da East” and the warm “Viberian Sun” sit beside priceless quickies like the jazz requiem “It Ain’t Dead.” SOBM takes his J Dilla and Pete Rock influences to another galaxy. 8.5/10 (Scott C)

Danity Kane
Welcome to the Dollhouse (Bad Boy/Warner)
Day 26
self-titled (Bad Boy/Warner)
Diddy’s two latest protégés come straight from the MTV reality show Making the Band. Season three winners Danity Kane’s sophomore effort fails miserably at providing the band with any kind of musical persona. This five-woman band doesn’t offer the catchy hooks that at least make the Pussycat Dolls listenable. Generic lead single “Damaged” is a perfect example of the danceable but totally forgettable rhythmic pop that pervades this set. Five-man band Day 26 scores slightly better with their MOR R&B, but like DK, we’ve heard other bands do the same thing better. Tracks like “Got Me Going” are solid, but won’t win the band any fans beyond MTV. Seems reality shows may not be the best place to uncover true musical talent after all. Who knew? Dollhouse 6, Day 26 6.5/10 (Gerard Dee)

Various
In the Name of Love: Africa Celebrates U2 (Shout/Sony BMG)
Bono’s done his share to raise ideas, awareness and hard cash for Africa, so it’s nice to see this fundraiser to fight disease, on which the continent’s stars visit the songbook of the Irish singer’s band. The spread is impressive, with Angelique Kidjo, Vieux Farka Toure and Cheikh Lô on board—though Keziah Jones and les Nubians fall flat. Highlights include a nimble, subtle revision of “Sunday Bloody Sunday” by Guinea’s Ba Cissoko, Afrobeat icon Tony Allen’s sunny take on “Where the Streets Have No Name” and a kickass “Seconds” from Sierra Leone’s Refugee All-Stars. The Soweto Gospel Choir’s “Pride (In the Name of Love),” meanwhile, is simply sublime. 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Chicha Libre
¡Sonido Amazonico! (Barbès)
If you dug Dengue Fever’s throwback blacklight exoti-cool, get a load of these cats. Led by Olivier Conan, owner of NYC’s Barbès club and label, with Combustible Edison’s Nick Cudahy on bass, the quintet revive the chicha sound born in the bars of Peru’s riverfront frontier towns in the 1960s. A groovy jungle mash named after a nasty corn liquor, it knotted together Colombian cumbias, Andean folk and organ-driven gogo rock. Conan and co. build on that base with strong streak of Morricone and, amid the covers of chicha classics and clever originals, riffs on Vivaldi, Satie and Gershon Kingsley’s “Popcorn.” 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Luther Wright
Man of Your Dreams (Snakeye Muzak)
Absent here are his longstanding backing band the Wrongs, and thankfully Kingston, ON’s Luther Wright has also rolled back the hee-haw hayseed caricature that overshadowed the obvious talent that laid behind it. Production does get a bit spotty, with vocals lurching instead of knowing their place in the mix, but the Neil Young sway of “Twin Butte Alberta” is pure bliss while the George Jones-inspired “The Pushing and the Pace” proves Wright is doing just fine out on his own. 7/10 (Johnson Cummins) With Ladies of the Canyon at Divan Orange tonight, Thurs., April 3, 9 p.m.

Tim Hagans
Alone Together (Pirouet)
Pete Malinverni
Invisible Cities (Reservoir)
Both CDs feature the excellent trumpet work of Hagans. The first is a mix of standards and originals, most of the latter by ace pianist Marc Copland, who’s a definite asset to this quartet, as are Drew Gress and Jochen Rückert. The latter is a quintet outing, led by a superb pianist, with a geographical theme. “Paris,” “Istanbul,” “New York” and “New Orleans” are visited musically by this combo, which has some wonderful tenor playing from Rich Perry. Both 9.5/10 (Len Dobbin)

Mini CD Reviews

Brian Lynch 24/7 (Nagel Heyer/Fusion III) A superb quintet outing by this Grammy-winning trumpeter. The great young altoman Miguel Zenon’s playing is an added bonus. Try “West End Blues.” 10/10 (LD)

Daniel Lanois Here Is What Is (Red Floor) Although best known for his production work, Lanois’s new record shows him moving way ahead of his more famous associations. 8 (JC)

Frightened Rabbit The Midnight Organ Fight (Fat Cat/Fusion III) Late to the funny-accented U.K. indie scene, this Glasgow rock quartet featuring a quivering singer is still worth checking out. 8 (EL)

The Dodos Visiter (Frenchkiss) From twee folk to commanding pop to tribal derangement in under an hour. A mythical beast indeed. 7.5 (LC) With Elfin Saddle and Hooray Henry! at Divan Orange on Tues., April 8, 10 p.m.

Thisquietarmy Unconquered (Foreshadow) Light, glitter and gloom come together on this celestial instrumental LP by Montreal’s Eric Quach. 7 (LC)

Theory of a Deadman Scars & Souvenirs (604/Universal) They still sound like Nickelback. 0 (EL)

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