Disc of the week

Oneida
Preteen Weaponry (Jagjaguwar/Sonic Unyon)
With this first installment in their Thank Your Parents trilogy, Oneida confirm themselves the kings of the new psychedelic movement. Combining improvisation with composition, this Brooklyn trio reference their psych forefathers while more than a fair heaping of modern noise elements punch through the mix. Preteen Weaponry’s three sections avoid any hairpin turns, letting the dynamics appear organically, proving that they will absolutely liquefy people when they play this live. Until then, though, clamp on the headphones, pack the bowl and buckle up. 9/10 (Johnson Cummins)

Randy Newman
Harps and Angels (Nonesuch/Warner)
One of America’s greatest storytellers may well be greying at the temples, but Newman has thankfully also been getting better as he’s gotten older. The enclosed lyric sheet hardly does the man justice, as his delivery is what really sends Newman’s signature pearls and barbs on the American dream. Newman can tug at the heartstrings with the best of them, but his dry wit and dark humour about current events comes straight from the heart, reaching far beyond the headlines. 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)

Soulfly
Conquer (Roadrunner)
Reflecting our urgent times, the latest from Max Cavalera’s Soulfly careens into the fray with opener “Blood Fire War Hate.” “Warmaggedon” slows things down from breakneck speed to lurching groove, and back again. But a little more melody would open Conquer up, allowing a deeper dynamic to run through the album. More songs like “Paranoia” and “Fall of the Sycophants” would make things a little less monotonous. As a whole, Conquer keeps the octane high with nods to thrash and grindcore. Kickass artwork reminds you why you should buy that ancient physical manifestation of music known as the CD. 7.5/10 (Lateef Martin)

One Day as a Lion
self-titled (Anti/FAB)
Admittedly, I wasn’t really a fan of ODAAL singer Zack de la Rocha’s other band, Rage Against the Machine. No matter what I think, though, the “machineheads” are going to scoop this up lickety split, and when they hear the “heavy” grooves merged with political diatribes, they’ll surely be doing keg stands with joy. To me, this EP just sounds dated as fuck. The only difference from de la Rocha’s more notable band is that there are even less hooks to hang your hat on here. 6/10 (Johnson Cummins)

Darker My Love
2 (Dangerbird)
“Northern Soul” is the lead track off the sophomore LP by this California band, clearly enamoured with the music of Northern England—the band’s two songwriters recently joined the Fall. But that song is less about the ’60s soul explosion than the likes of Oasis and the Verve, and given the would-be Blue Meanies populating their artwork, it’s clear that this is homage city. The sound veers from weighty acid-laced rock to Madchester stoner grooves to American indie incantations (Pavement meets the Brian Jonestown Massacre). But these boys put their back into it, so if you’re nostalgic for the ’90s (by way of the ’60s), this record is recommended. 7/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Castlemusic
You Can’t Take Anyone
(Blue Fog/Sonic Unyon)
Sidestepping folk’s more strident manoeuvring, and the seductive sass of rock ‘n’ roll balladry, Toronto’s Jennifer Castle ventures into such styles with a delicate but commanding take on the terrain. Her vocals radiate grace and intimacy, laying down lyrics that strike all the universal chords without succumbing to cliché. Sparse electric and acoustic guitars, supplemented by touches of piano and male back-up vocals by members of the Silt, bring Castle’s compositions to fruition in all their quiet glory. 8/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Brazilian Girls
New York City (Verve Forecast/Universal)
Another mess of midnight sunshine from this absurdly cool, cosmopolitan, co-ed outfit who, while not in fact Brazilian, are nonetheless groovy globalistas par excellence. Woozy yet complex downtempo ditties drawing on coke-nail house and batcave electro, prog-funk and tropical hot sauce are their forte, but the Girls’ not-so-secret weapon is their savvy sex-kitten singer Sabina Sciubba, a polyglot powerhouse of poise and playfulness. The punch-drunk, percussive “Internacional” is a standout, but it’s the hook of the centrepiece track, the ever so appropriately titled “Good Time,” that you’ll be whistling for weeks. 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Team RezOfficial
The World (And Everything in It) (Arbour)
I don’t know what people expect to hear from cats like Rezofficial, consisting of five First Nations Canadian dudes who clearly love hip hop. These guys are rocking the swagger, the beats and even the odd reference to the socio-economic state of their people in 2008, but essentially, The World is a club record, slickly produced and full of street stories. Maybe people don’t automatically associate hip hop with life on the reservation, but these guys use their music to get people up, and tell the stories that you may not always get to hear. Rez Official may sound like a Terror Squad knockoff at first listen, but further investigation shows they certainly know how to express themselves. 7/10 (Scott C)

Tittsworth
Twelve Steps (Plant)
Opening on the basement-brewed Chemical Brothers pastiche “Haiku,” the debut album from Washington, D.C.’s Jesse Tittsworth doesn’t wipe the club-jam board clean so much as rearrange the pieces—banging B-more and ersatz baile funk, ghetto-tech and hyphy, Euro-dance and dubious R&B—but does so with wisdom and wit (“Bumpin’,” for instance, is every DJ’s greatest grievance, hilariously articulated, and “Drunk As Fuck” with the Federation is a riot). He’s certainly had help, what with Kid Sister, Paserock, Santogold’s Santi White, DJ Assault, Pitbull and plenty more on the mic. It’s when Tittsworth flies solo, though, as on “4.21,” that his full scope becomes clear. Nothing to shake the earth here, but dancefloors, that’s another question. 7/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Sepalot
Red Handed (Compost/Rooftop)
Sepalot, aka Sebastian Weiss, may be well known in his native Germany as the DJ and producer of the super-successful hip hop group Blumentopf, but Red Handed has allowed him to show another side altogether. With tight-swung drum programming, an impressive synth array and a talented group of collaborators, he’s created an original-sounding project that defies classification. Whether it’s with Detroit’s Frank n Dank, Germany’s Miss Platnum, the subdued voice of Shaunise or the West Coast vibes of rapper Blu, Sepalot has proven that he’s capable of crafting an original sound incorporating both hip hop and electronic influences to come up with something new. Check “From the Get Go” with Frank Nitty for one of the album’s strongest tracks. 7.5/10 (Scott C)

Lloyd
Lessons in Love (Motown/Universal)
Attention, Amazones dancers: Lessons in Love has all the heavy beats, cool synths, R. Kelly-style come-ons and T-Pain auto-tuned refrains to ensure those naive American tourists keep beelining for the ATM. For those looking to strike the right mood at home, this Justin Timberlake sound-alike’s near desperate pleas to impregnate every woman he meets can wear thin, as does the overbearing hip hop/R&B instrumentation that often overwhelms Lloyd’s delicate vocals. Still, Lloyd doesn’t take himself seriously, so his cornball come-hithers on “Treat You Good” and “Love Making 101” should complement your scented candles and edible undergarments nicely. 7/10 (Erik Leijon)

Solomon Burke
Like a Fire (Shout! Factory/Sony BMG)
Through the 40-plus years of his career, blues master Burke has perfected his interpretation of the genre to a fine point. His latest may seem tame by his own standards, but thankfully he’s such a master craftsman that even mediocre material sounds grand in his capable hands. To be clear, this is better than passable, and a few tracks, like “Ain’t That Something” and the Ben Harper-assisted “A Minute to Rest and a Second to Pray,” swing with Burke’s usual panache. Elsewhere, a pair of Eric Clapton-penned songs, the title track and “Thank You,” stoke some needed spark into Burke’s flickering fire. 7.5/10 (Gerard Dee)

Scott Hamilton
Across the Tracks (Concord)
David Sanborn
Here & Gone (Decca)
These two saxophonists’ CDs both have a decidedly blues feel about them. The difference is that Hamilton is an admired jazzman while Sanborn, by his own admission, is not a jazzman at all. Hamilton adds bluesman Duke Lorillard and organist Gene Ludwig on music penned by people like Sonny Stitt, Leo Parker, Buddy Johnson, Lucky Millinder, Fats Waller, Eubie Blake. Duke Ellington, Ray Wetzel (via Gerald Wilson) and the leader himself, while Sanborn does things like “Outskirts of Town,” “I Got News for You” and “St. Louis Blues” with guests like Eric Clapton and a bunch I am not acquainted with—Derek Trucks, Joss Stone and Sam Moore. But like the man says, this is not a jazz record. Most of this material exists in far superior versions elsewhere. Get the Hamilton and skip the Sanborn unless you happen to be a fan. Hamilton 8.5, Sanborn 3.5/10 (Len Dobbin)

Mini CD Reviews

Charlie Parker/Arne Domnerus In Sweden, November 22, 1950 (Oktav) From Bird’s European tour of 1950, four tracks from a concert in Malmo plus three by Swedish alto player Domnerus. 9 (LD)

Teenage Jesus and the Jerks/Beirut Slump Shut Up and Bleed (Atavistic) If you’re digging the current crop of no-wavers, pick up this collection of late ’70s/early ’80s Lydia Lunch efforts—ground zero. 8.5 (JC)

Karl Hector & the Malcouns Sahara Swing (Now Again/Koch) Mind-melting, freak-flavoured Afrobeat abstractions, German division. File next to NOMO and the last Antibalas. 8 (RB)

The Pack A.D. Funeral Mixtape (Mint) Rock ’n’ roll hotness care of a female duo whose raunchy riffs and Janis Joplin coo and howl could lay waste to the White Stripes in seconds. 7 (LC)

Lazy Floyd: A Chillout Experience (Musik2Musik/Select) Following dub reggae and classical guitar, the latest Pink Floyd novelty cover album goes a synth-samba route, with a breathy gamine on vocals. Absurdly, the formula works for “Brain Damage” and “Comfortably Numb.” 6 (RB)

Archive Lights (Dep/Universal) An unfortunate byproduct of the dad-rock/“electronica” fling of the late ’90s. Shoulda been aborted, big time. 3 (LC)

O.A.R. All Sides (Everfine/Atlantic/Warner) If Jerry Garcia had spent the ’60s only consuming Ben & Jerry’s, his jam band would have sounded as mild as this. 3 (EL)

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MIRROR ARCHIVES » Aug 14 Aug 20 2008: INSIDE - COVER | ARCHIVES INDEX | CURRENT ISSUE