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 Super Furry Animals
Dark Days/Light Years (Rough Trade/Select)
Wrapped in stunning artwork by Pete Fowler and Keichi Tanaami, this Welsh band’s ninth LP indulges their weirder tendencies without undermining their genius songcraft. Witness the bipolar beat frenzy/proto-metal meltdown of “Crazy Naked Girls,” the funk-pop groove of “Moped Eyes,” the German “rapping” on “Inaugural Trams” (by a member of Franz Ferdinand) and the pure pop beauty of “Where Do You Wanna Go”/“Lliwiau Llachar.” 9/10 Trial Track: “Cardiff in the Sun” (Lorraine Carpenter)
 Kylesa
Static Tensions (Prosthetic)
Fans of Big Business, Melvins and fellow Atlantans Mastodon should drop to their knees and worship this one. A relentless double drum beats down with riffs that bludgeon and pound. Kylesa really impresses by not letting their more psychedelic moments overstay their welcome, and hunkering down with some serious early-Neurosis sludge metal. 9/10 Trial Track: “Unknown Awareness” (Johnson Cummins) With Mastodon, Intronaut at le National, Mon., May 4, 8 p.m., $21, all ages
Dead Messenger
Love Is The Only Weapon
(Independent)
Hopefully this carefree and consciously daft set from four Montreal garage rock rabblerousers is foreshadowing a sun-drenched, unrepentant haze of a summer. Well-timed for the mass exodus from dank, sweaty dungeons to midday imbibing on terraces and front porches, Dead Messenger stretch out mature, blue collar bar punk from its rigidly contrite chains and play as a cohesive, leisurely foursome. 7/10 Trial Track: “Look Out Below” (Erik Leijon) CD launch with Devil Eyes at l’Escogriffe tonight, Thurs., April 30, 10 p.m.
Akron/Family
Set ’em Wile, Set ’em Free (Dead Oceans)
A truly fierce band live, A/F have always had a hard time transferring that free sprit to the studio—until now. As an Akron fan, you have to learn to expect the unexpected and give time to let their records grow on you, but the Steely Dan groove of opener “Everyone Is Guilty” hits immediately. A truly rare and amazing record, which only gets better with repeat listens. 8.5/10 Trial Track: “Everyone Is Guilty” (Johnson Cummins)
 Jean Leloup
Milles Excuses Milady (Grosse Boîte/Select)
No excuses necessary for Jean Leclerc’s return to his lupine persona, ditched in ’06. While his latest lacks the rambunctious zing of his ’90s hits, Leloup makes up for that with the many subtle yet suprising touches he brings to his vaguely retro, rascally rock routine—inflections of dub, blues, folk and Afro-pop, for starters. No worries, Quebec’s jester-king of pop is as delightfully daft and devilish as ever. 7.5/10 Trial Track: “Les Anges” (Rupert Bottenberg)
Camera Obscura
My Maudlin Career (4AD/Select)
Developing the Motown/music-hall pop that they buffed to a near-perfect sheen on 2005’s Let’s Get Out of This Country, these Scots deliver another winner, aided by a Scandinavian secret weapon, producer Jari Haapalainen (the Concretes etc). As hinted by the Morrissey-esque title, the lyrics are downbeat, even depressing, though rousing strings and pop melodies almost always ride to the rescue. 8/10 Trial Track: “Honey in the Sun” (Lorraine Carpenter)
 Empire of the Sun
Walking on a Dream (Virgin/EMI)
Last February, I purchased this record on a whim while in Reading, U.K., simply because this Australian electropop duo received kudos from BBC Radio. I can’t remember the last time I paid money for music without suffocating my own interest to death through excessively analytical blogs, YouTubes, MySpaces and torrents. A shame that the naive joy of discovering and jumping into new music is becoming extinct. 7/10 Trial Track: “Country” (Erik Leijon)
 Tiga
Ciao! (Turbo/PIAS)
Co-producers like Soulwax, Gonzales, Jesper Dahlback and James Murphy impenetrably hedge against sonic mediocrity, but whoever deserves the credit for this whimsical electro/acid gem, it features a couple genuine hits like silly synthpopper Shoes as well as cathartic moments, notably on the moody sing-along Gentle Giant, though vapid yawners like Luxury and masturbatory headaches like What You Need beg questions of taste. 7.5/10 Trial Track: Shoes (Jack Oatmon)
 Vitaminsforyou
He Closed His Eyes So He Could Dance With You
(Raw Youth)
This verbose Torontonian test-drives several schmaltzy subgenres to catchy effect. The title track is a measured portion of echoed angst howled against a dreamy, stripped-down electropop backdrop, evoking the Junior Boys’ more existential moments; “The End” is a slick, spacey trance cut with a pitch-corrected vocal clearly meant to ape the Knife; “War” and “B4U” are trashy, catchy electroclash toetappers. 8/10 Trial Track: “He Closed His Eyes” (Jack Oatmon) With guests at Green Room, Sat., May 2, 8 p.m., $10
 Pawa Up First
The Outcome (Dare to Care)
The Montreal instrumentalists ambitiously amalgamate Crimson-hued prognostications, spaghetti cinematica, nimble jazz geometry and nebular guitar gushes—often all at once, to both impressive and oppressive effect. They lock into powerful stretches often enough on their drama-drenched third album (“Nowhen” escalates beautifully) but overstep their bounds too. A jarring rap drop is the straw that breaks the back of “Territorio,” for instance. 7/10 Trial Track: “Cold on the Trail” (Rupert Bottenberg) CD launch at la Sala Rossa, Wed., May 6, 5 p.m., free
Rick Ross
Deeper Than Rap (Maybach/Def Jam)
Despite allegations that he’d been a corrections officer (not good for street cred) and his beef with 50 Cent, Rick Ross stayed afloat this year and his third album actually sees him at his finest. Very cinematic, full of stories about “foreign cars and foreign felines,” Deeper Than Rap also includes some of the best production heard this year, courtesy of Tampa trio J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. 8/10 Trial Track: “Usual Suspect” feat. Nas (Morgan Steiker)
 Karl Wolf
Bite the Bullet (EMI)
Wolf’s sophomore effort follows the same path as his 2006 debut, Face Behind the Face, liberally mixing urban, dance and hip hop grooves while maintaining an overall pop flavour. Relationships remains the focus of conversation, whether it be early infatuation (“Professin’ My Love”) or sobering endings (“Over”). His take on Toto’s “Africa” appears in three versions here. 7/10 Trial Track: “Africa” (Gerard Dee)
 Various
The Very Best of Prestige (Prestige/Universal)
This 60th anniversary two-CD set covers material beginning with the label’s initial session featuring Lennie Tristano. There are many more gems among the 25 tracks, including sessions by Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, the MJQ, Red Garland, oltrane, Eric Dolphy and Kenny Dorham. A decidedly great place to begin ajazz collection. 9/10 Trial Track: Sonny Stitt Quartet “I Want to Be Happy” (Len Dobbin)
Mini CD Reviews
Ranee Lee Lives Upstairs (Justin Time/EMI) Ranee’s first live session in years, this one features her longtime associates as well. 8(L D)
Silversun Pickups Swoon (Dangerbird/Universal) Like the burning pavement of Los Angeles, Swoon is blistering alternative rock for a new generation of pumpkin smashers. 8 (EL)
Sister Suvi Now I Am Champion (independent) Superior psilocybin rock stripped to gristle and bone, jammed with hooks and beautiful/beastly vocals. 8 (LC)
Pet Shop Boys Yes (Parlophone/EMI) From plain dull to mediocre filler to PSB-by-numbers to actual career highlights, this LP has the quality spectrum practically covered. 6.5 (LC)
Booker T Potato Hole (Anti-/FAB) The iconic soul organist returns, but brutish bar-rock backing by Drive-by Truckers largely spoils the party. 5 (RB)
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