Disc of the week

The Death Set
Worldwide (Counter/Outside)
Death Setters Johnny Siera and Beau Velasco (note to latter: I want to buy your name) started this shit in Australia in ’05, but soon relocated to Baltimore. Suits ’em, as they match their pals Dan Deacon for soupy digital sugar buzzing and Girl Talk for unflagging hyperactivity. Their debut album Worldwide is total kid noise, optimized and amplified, kicking off in fact on a Speak & Spell squawk and tearing ahead over 18 pocket-sized pipe bombs of shout-along bubblegum Play-core, an Atari preteen riot, Gameboy oi. There’s a debt to Minor Threat in “Day in the Wife,” “Listen to His Collision” is a tasty tornado, “Peak Oil” is a peak moment. Motherfucking Death Set indeed. 10/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Children of Bodom
Blood Drunk (Spinefarm/Universal)
In Flames
A Sense of Purpose (Koch)
Two heavy hitters on the Gigantour line-up here, a pair that will definitely keep Megadeth on their toes. COB continue to merge hyper thrash with goth keyboards, though the latter thankfully know its place here. Upping the ante this time around, all songs run rampant with clever hairpin turns and breakneck arrangements. Truthfully, though, we could’ve done without the metal version of “Ghost Riders in the Sky.” In Flames aim high on A Sense of Purpose, with catchy pop choruses like on lead-off single “The Mirror’s Truth” and also “Sleepless Again.” This risky record may put off fans of their more aggressive past, but also pick up a slew of new listeners for In Flames, blowing them up on the metal map. Children of Bodom 7, In Flames 7.5/10 (Johnson Cummins) With Megadeth, Job for a Cowboy, High on Fire at The Bell Centre, Tues., April 29, 5:30 p.m., $34.50–$49.50, all ages

Ashes Divide
Keep Telling Myself It’s Alright (Island/Universal)
A Perfect Circle’s dark-hearted guitarist Billy Howerdel takes centre stage with his latest project, singing and playing everything save for drums (by the adaptable Josh Freese also of APC) and cello, care of Devo Keenan (the spawn of Tool/APC’s Maynard Keenan). At times mirroring the Cure (“Too Late”), Ashes Divide is a black chocolate wafer snack to the solid brick of A Perfect Circle. Too many musical clichés mar the choruses, making them sound almost like permutations of each other, but Howerdel handles the vocals well and gives the guitars the crispness he’s known for. 7/10 (Lateef Martin)

Teenage Head with Marky Ramone
self-titled (Sonic Unyon)
One of Canada’s most beloved punk bands join forces with punk rock legend Marky Ramone and revisit half of their 1979 debut as well as six other songs from their somewhat rocky career—a tall order indeed. Even with odds against them, this is a killer slab of greasy rock ’n’ roll, still managing to ring out with inspiration and bare some teeth. Marky adds his trademark nailgun beat, punching the ones and threes while adding a newfound swing to these dusty nuggets. Most young punk bands could only hope to get this intense. 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)

Los Campesinos!
Hold on Now, Youngster… (Arts & Crafts)
Like punk stripped to the bone, like pop high on sugar, like indie rock with something to say, the debut album by Cardiff’s Los Campesinos! (“the farmers”) is youthful exuberance and spite at maximum volume. Produced by David Newfeld of Broken Social Scene, the septet unfurls giddy guitars and keys, seductive violin and glockenspiel ornamentation, bratty/pretty boy/girl vocals and lyrics that vent, ponder and speculate with wit and intelligence. And like the best young bands, they mount a challenge not only to their lackluster peers, but to their elders who “destroyed the hopes and dreams of a generation of faux-romantics.” Go get ’em, kids! 9/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

El Perro del Mar
From the Valley to the Stars
(The Control Group)
Some of the best music is born of bad times, and this makes two for two for Sweden’s Sarah Assbring. Her 2006 debut arrived after a depressive episode fostered new resolve, inspiring her to pursue a music career, to mix refined pop sensibilities with consuming melancholy. This one finds her in mourning, exploring elegiac sadness and meditative wonder, with bursts of acute joy. The featherweight arrangements, glacial pacing and echoes of church music make for a more subdued listen than the Motown-speckled debut, but the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra instills a graceful power that’s hard to beat. 8/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Elbow
The Seldom Seen Kid (Polydor/Universal)
Seldom heard outside of the U.K., Elbow were part of the post-Radiohead wave of deathly serious Brit rock bands fronted by unconventional, muttering vocalists. An extremely dense record with all the cringe-inducing emotion pushed to the front in the form of Guy Garvey’s embarrassingly self-important lyrics and excessive, even downright cheesy arrangements. Audiophiles take note: this record sounds incredible, and even preposterous studio additions like springtime strings on “One Day Like This” and country foot stomping on “Grounds for Divorce” sound really vibrant with headphones. An impressive technical achievement, yet musically it’s little more than mid-tempo mood rock. 6/10 (Erik Leijon)

Femme
Bathtub Clashes EP (Saboteur)
Though the dark mood and calculated raunchiness of this local synth-pop group’s first single lend it a certain pretentious charm by way of lethargic beats, cold vocals and catchy robotic hooks, the remixes leave a lot to be desired. Rawalpindi’s two-minute techno rework, being the most promising, features otherwise fascinating production which is lost to an awkward mishandling of the vocals. The other two are neither here nor there, wound up in ’90s dance nostalgia minus the funky, fun-loving abandon. The most interesting part of the disc is the gritty b-side, “Crimes and Nightcalls,” where the drugged-out disaffection comes off most naturally. 6/10 (Jack Oatmon) With Cosmo, Giselle Numba One, Rawalpindi, A Fly Is on the Wall DJs at la Sala Rossa, Fri., April 25, 10 p.m.

Cadence Weapon
Afterparty Babies (Upper Class)
Rollie Pemberton’s recent rise to blip-hop notoriety has left some curious onlookers refreshingly exhilarated while others continue to scratch their heads. Cadence Weapon has effectively demolished and reconstructed hip hop in his own image, hugging the corners with his clever commentary and witty indifference. Like the album title denotes, C.W. was conceived in an afterparty dalliance, so rapping over house tracks like “Unsuccessful Club Nights” and “We Move Away” isn’t surprising, but Rollie’s penchant for undiluted scorn still continues to amaze me. He’s well on his way though, having caught the attention of the dirty-disco and 8-bit hipsters in the room, eager to hear anything but your average boom-bap. 7/10 (Scott C)

Radio Radio
Cliché Hot (Bonsound/Fusion III)
Can’t hurt to contrast these cats with electro-rap acts from the region, as they fall not far between Omnikrom’s dayglo buffoonery and Gatineau’s home-turf heroics with a sardonic twist. But it ain’t Quebec getting checked. The Moncton quartet’s French is the Acadian strain, a shiac attack, hence the anglophone inflections and endless nutty neology on their debut full-length. The tunes are less tangled than the tongue-wagging, a reiterative mimicry of TTC’s klutzy e-funk that distinguishes itself in the details. The strongest material’s stacked at the ass-end of Cliché Hot, but a freewheeling funtime vibe permeates the whole thing. 7/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) CD launch at Café Campus, Wed., April 30, 8 p.m., $10

Inverse Cinematics
Passin’ Through (Pulver/Groove Attack)
The panoramic sounds of 22-year-old Stuttgart native Danillo Plessow reflect a love for soulful music that has no bounds. Along with his partner Joachim Tobias, Plessow passes through shades of hip hop, house, broken tech and Brazilian, while keeping things deep, rhythmic and percussive. From the now classic 2002 12-inch single “Detroit Jazzin” to the emotional shifts of the epic “Interplanetary Motivations,” these sample-based compositions have risen above their humble beginnings and successfully morphed into new forms. 8/10 (Scott C)

Lionel Loueke
Karibu (Blue Note/EMI)
Benin-born jazz guitarist Loueke breaks away from his usual gig as part of Herbie Hancock’s quartet to go it solo. His Blue Note debut, Karibu (Swahili for “welcome”), doesn’t forget Hancock however—he and the equally renowned saxophonist Wayne Shorter make guest appearances on a couple of tracks, even appearing together on the playful “Light Dark.” But mainly this is about Loueke’s superior guitar skills, and the West African rhythmic influences he brings to bear on tracks like “Agbannon Blues” and the title track. Although mainly instrumental, Loueke peppers his distinctive tongue-clicks and jazz scats throughout this set, adding another cheerful note to his already inviting welcome. 7.5/10 (Gerard Dee)

Toumast
Ishumar (Realworld/Ryko)
Etran Finatawa
Desert Crossroads (Riverboat)
A boost from Robert Plant made the raw, hypnotic Saharan blues-rock of rebel Tuareg tribesmen Tinariwen a global concern, which opened the door for the likes of these two caravans of cool. Toumast’s leader Moussa Ag Keyna is a fan of Tinariwen since his teens and, like them, a vet of guerrilla fighting. He follows their template to a degree, sanding smooth the rougher edges musically—note Dan Levy’s posh Parisian production—if not lyrically. Exile’s tolls also preoccupy Niger-based Etran Finatawa, a sextet split between Tuareg and Wodaabe musicians. The latter, who call the Sahel grasslands home, bring a sweet, light sub-Saharan lilt to matters, offsetting the air of melancholy. Both 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Mini CD Reviews

Soilent Green Inevitable Collapse in the Presence of Conviction (Metal Blade) Despite their recent uprooting from Relapse, these Crescent City metal lords are no less fierce. 8 (JC)

The Apples in Stereo Electronic Projects for Musicians (Yep Roc) There’s gold amid this decade’s worth of rarities, most of it predating the Elephant 6 band’s recent turn to AM pop. 7 (LC)

Thee Oh Sees The Master’s Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In (Tomlab) A lively blues-punk and garage pop racket, magnified by cavernous production c/o TVOTR’s Dave Sitek. 6.5 (RB)

Beni Snassen Spleen et Idéal (EMI) Typically languorous and overripe French hip hop, but jacking Jean Michel Jarre from “Oxygène” is an inspired stunt. 5 (RB)

James Hey Ma (Mercury/Universal) Does it count as a reunion if nobody noticed this footnote of the ’90s Britpop scene was ever gone? 4.5 (EL)

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