Disc of the week

Jazmine Sullivan
Fearless (J/Sony BMG)
The best thing about 21-year-old Sullivan’s debut is the way she effortlessly oscillates between styles on this entertaining set. The Philly-based singer is just as comfortable exposing her vulnerability over reggae-infused beats, on lead single “Need U Bad,” as she is being ridiculously vengeful on the stripped-down and equally impressive follow-up “Bust Your Windows.” Sullivan has a big voice and emotes with a passion that makes diverse themes like domestic violence (“Call Me Guilty”) and relationship drama (“In Love With Another Man”) thoroughly believable. During “Fear,” she admits to being afraid of being dropped by her label, though after this auspicious debut, there’s not much chance of that. 9/10 Trial Track: “One Night Stand” (Gerard Dee)

Calexico
Carried to Dust (Quarterstick)
Being a Calexico fan, you have to learn to just hitch a ride on their sudden detours down dusty dirt roads, and this one is no exception. If anything, Carried… continues in the tradition of 2006’s Nashville-inspired Garden Ruin and the atmospheric Tex-Mex flavour of their fan-favourite calling card Hot Rail. Chief songwriters Joey Burns and John Convertino hit lyrical highs on the 15 songs here and are still able to surprise, even on their return to Mariachi sounds with “Inspiracion” and “El Gatillo.” As good as this is, though, Calexico has to be experienced live, and thankfully they’re making a Montreal stop next month. Until then, this will definitely tide you over. 9/10 Trial Track: “Man Made Lake” (Johnson Cummins)

TV on the Radio
Dear Science (Touch and Go/Universal)
Third time’s not so charmed. TVOTR’s latest finds them more earthbound, bringing their chimerical tunes into tighter focus and dispensing with much of the gritty guitar washes and reining in the soaring vocal abstractions a bit—though opener “Halfway Home” and closer “Lover’s Day” still hang their hats on unfurling atmospherics, and “Red Dress” revisits their Afrobeat obsession. Lefthanded glam-funk excursions pepper the record, and inspired moments pop up throughout to pay dividends upon repeated listens. The biting “Dancing Choose,” however, grabs one by the troat at first go. 8/10 Trial Track: “Love Dog” (Rupert Bottenberg)

Gojira
The Way of All Flesh (Prosthetic)
France’s heaviest band scores well on this, possessing the skills to please fans of extreme metal and the ability to bust out of claustrophobic circles with angular guitar passages and epic arrangements, all executed with Meshuggah’s precision and Lamb of God’s pummelling aggression. The electronic flavoured “A Sight to Behold” is sure to test most dyed-in-the-wool metalheads’ patience, but adds further dynamic flourish to the sonic punch. This is a challenging listen indeed, but songs like “Yama’s Messengers” and “All the Tears” leave little doubt that this is indeed a heavy fucking metal record. 8/10 Trial Track: “Toxic Garbage Island” (Johnson Cummins)

The New Year
self-titled (Touch and Go)
The latest album by the brothers Kadane, only the third New Year release since their old band Bedhead split in 1999, is an unfurling of controlled intensity, an excavation of embedded tenderness, with guitars. Piano is central in places, but it’s the careful weaving of arpeggiated, melodic and rhythmic riffs, alongside Matt and Bubba’s vocals and lyrics—which travel the emotional spectrum from deadpan mundanity to heart-wrenching longing—that form this record’s potent core. Engineered by Steve Albini, it’s a lo-fi, no-frills production, and with such crafty song structures and simple, emotionally incisive lyrics, the record hardly needs tarting up. 8/10 Trial Track: “The Door Opens” (Lorraine Carpenter) With Angela Desveaux at Divan Orange, Mon., Oct. 14, 10 p.m.

Fujiya & Miyagi
Lightbulbs (Deaf, Dumb and Blind)
Brighton’s F&M, a British quartet rather than a Japanese duo, don’t stray far from the pulse-rock and android funk formula that made 2006’s Transparent Things such a head-turner. Reviving the mesmerizing motorik mode of better krautrock and giving it a post-millennial muscularity, offset by melodic understatement and raspy, whispered vocals. Contoured, cushioned and compressed to the nth degree, Lightbulbs nonetheless shines bright with luminescent licks and the insistent propulsion of its grooves. 7.5/10 Trial Track: “Goosebumps” (Rupert Bottenberg)

Mogwai
The Hawk Is Howling (Matador/Select)
The glacial, graceful strum and chime of guitars and keys and the hefty headbanger riffs, which slowly stomp and roar their way into your cranium, are to be expected from this band, six albums into a prestigious career. The quiet-to-loud journey is tiresome by now, yet they still excel at exploiting the extremes. What’s more exciting, and novel, is their dalliance with points in between, with riffs that catch and hook, recalling the Bowie/Eno/Pop axis of the ’70s. As a bonus, some of their dead-serious instrumentals come with laugh-riotous titles about shame and death. Gotta love the Scots. 7.5/10 Trial Track: “The Sun Smells Too Loud” (Lorraine Carpenter)

Monkey
Journey to the West (XL/Select)
The idea is tantalizing—the Gorillaz guys (composer Damon Albarn and visual artist Jamie Hewlett) team up with Chinese theatre director Chen Shi-Zheng to concoct an elaborate, highly experimental yet playfully cheeky operatic adaptation of the best-known tale of Chinese mythology, one that’s already seen countless more traditional expressions on film, stage and TV. The problem with this audio-only release is that while the score is replete with fascinating moments, without any visuals save a smattering of neat Hewlett doodles, there’s too little to really hold onto. A disappointment as a stand-alone listen, the CD does succeed in whetting one’s appetite for a DVD of the Monkey King’s avant-garde adventures. 6/10 Trial Track: “Heavenly Peach Banquet” (Rupert Bottenberg)

Okkervil River
The Stand-Ins (Jagjaguwar)
Under most circumstances, a successful band devoting an album (in this case, two albums) to the humdrum and hopelessness of continuously being on the road comes across as petulant artiste whining. In the case of Austin-based folkish rockers Okkervil River, the gloomy setting is offset by cathartic explosions of musical creativity. The guitars still recall good ’80s American college rock, but adding horns on “Blue Tulip” and chimes on “Calling and Not Calling My Ex” moves the dour mood into near-groovy territories. “Lost Coastlines” shines as an indie rock take on the famous Funk Brothers’ “You Can’t Hurry Love” bassline. 7/10 Trial Track: “Bruce Wayne Campbell Interviewed on the Roof of the Chelsea Hotel, 1979” (Erik Leijon) With Crooked Fingers at les Saints, Sat., Oct. 11, 9 p.m., $17

Everlast
Love, War and the Ghost of Whitey Ford (Martyr/Fontana)
It’s the half-decent mash-up no one ever asked for—raspy vocalist Everlast covering Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” to the beat of Cypress Hill’s “Insane in the Brain.” Everlast doesn’t get enough credit for refining his trademark blend of bluesy hip hop, but as this record and his outstanding work composing the soundtrack for TV show Saving Grace demonstrate, he’s become keenly adept at setting mood with loads of textures. Once again, his lyrics describe marginalized folks in a coarse, matter-of-fact kind of way, and the melody vocal lines are nearly identical on each song. 7/10 Trial Track: “Saving Grace” (Erik Leijon)

Soulphiction
Do You Overstand?! (Rooftop/
Sonar Kollektiv)
While well established with his two record labels, Philpot and Phil E, Soulphiction (aka Jackmate, aka Michel Baumann) continues to release relatively unrelated material on Sonar Kollektiv, taking his influences largely from hip hop, jazz and house, with deep tech keys heard throughout. I wouldn’t say that all of these songs are minimalist, but there is definitely space and repetition in many tracks, like “Dark Berry.” The cinematic warm-up of “Soul Print” feels like a quiet J Dilla tribute with its solid chops and internal groove, while “Chevy Estate,” featuring Suzana Rozkosny, is sublime with its ethereal vocals and moody underpinning. Do You Overstand?! is not a question that will be lost on astute listeners. 7.5/10 Trial Track: “Chevy Estate” (Scott C)

Stacy Epps
The Awakenking (JapaNUBIA)
When Atlanta-based singer/MC Epps first dropped her debut LP Ruff Draft in 2007, she was immediately swarmed with attention, much of it due to collaborations with Madlib, Jneiro Jarel and J Dilla. Awakening feels like a much more realized and cohesive effort, complete with some meaty writing and production contributions from Flying Lotus on “Cosmic Dust.” She also trades bars with Detroit MC Finale on “00:00,” and crooner Bilal Salaam on “Heaven.” Songs range between the spacey echoplex of “OM” with Muhsinah and the pensive sadness of “Addicted,” but Epps’s honesty can be found throughout the 11 tracks collected here. 7/10 Trial Track: “Cosmic Dust” (Scott C)

John LaPorta
Complete Debut Recordings (Lonehill Jazz)
Various
The Continental Label (Storyville)
The late LaPorta was a clarinetist and alto saxophonist, best remembered for his work with Woody Herman and Lennie Tristano, and as a very popular teacher at Berklee. His two-CD set combines a very rare session, a quintet date with a fellow Tristano-ite, pianist Wally Cirillo—formerly available only as a 10-inch LP, here presented with a number of previously unreleased items. The Continental Label contains 28 mostly rare items from material recorded for that label between ’44 and ’46 by artists like J.C. Heard with Budd Johnson, a pair of Leonard Feather sessions including Coleman Hawkins, some Sarah Vaughan with Bird and Dizzy, violinist Eddie South and Mary Lou Williams with Mary Osborne and Margie Hyams. Nice to have this back in circulation. Both 9.5/10 Trial Tracks: LaPorta “The Old Man’s Touch,” Continental “Interlude” (Len Dobbin)

Mini CD Reviews

Joan Baez Day After Tomorrow (Razor and Tie) Baez is brilliant here, but it’s producer/co-songwriter Steve Earle and his collection of top-drawer sidemen that make this a mandatory listen. 8.5 (JC)

Opolopo ft. Amalia “All Systems Down” 12” (Deeper Soul) Swedish production king Opolopo unleashes two versions of this tough groove featuring Vancouver diva Amalia, with a smokin’ 4/4 remix by Izmabad (Karizma & Simbad). 8 (SC)

Antony and the Johnsons Another World EP (Secretly Canadian) Though this isn’t a concept record about my late granny’s favourite soap opera (damn!), Antony’s mournful ballads and surreal cabaret will do just fine. 7.5 (LC)

Various Sesame Street Playground (Putumayo/Koch) Tunes and video clips from China, Russia, Israel, Brazil, Tanzania… like death and taxes, Big Bird and the bunch are now universal. 7 (RB)

Rise Against Appeal to Reason (Interscope/Universal) This latest America-is-doomed catchy-punk record is a competent running mate to Bad Religion’s No Control. 6 (EL)

Mobile Tales From the City (Universal) Montreal/Toronto culture vultures at it again, recreating Logic-era Stills like some indie-aping April Wine. 1 (EL)

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