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 James Blackshaw
The Glass Bead Game (Young God)
With a mastery of fingerpicking arpeggio style and the ability to squeeze out rich harmonic overtones at every turn, solo artist Blackshaw’s skill on a 12-string acoustic guitar is without parallel. It’s when he steps away from the guitar, though, and sits behind the piano for the amazing CD centerpiece “Arc” that his compositional skills really soar. Just amazing. 9/10 Title Track: “Arc” (Johnson Cummins) With Michael Gira, Greg Davis & Chris Weisman at la Sala Rossa tonight, Thurs., June 11, 9 p.m., $15
 Sonic Youth
The Eternal (Matador/Select)
Novelty and freshness are no longer their forte, but Thurston and Kim and co. (now including ex-Pavement bassist Mark Ibold) still excel at being the best Sonic Youth tribute band around. Cherry-picking vibes from their previous 15 albums, the band achieves mixed results on their minor-label debut, from satisfying squalls and punchy melodies to awkward lyrics and rote riffage. 6/10 Trial Track: “Sacred Trickster” (Lorraine Carpenter)
 Rancid
Let the Dominoes Fall (Epitaph/FAB)
A textbook example of how it’s more satisfying artistically to have an unpredictable career with a few clunkers rather than maintain a Ripken-like streak of unspectacular reliability. On the seventh Rancid record, previously commendable traits like passion, grit and resilience work against the veteran sunny Californian punk quartet. By sticking to their revivalist guns, Rancid have punk rocked into an inescapable corner. 5/10 Trial Track: “New
 Viva Voce
Rose City (Barsuk)
From swaggering rockers to swaying ballads, the fifth album by this Portland band, founded by husband and wife Kevin and Anita Robinson, is packed with solid songwriting, melodic riffs and harmonic vocals. Pop/rock is their realm, though their guitars trespass on post-rock, shoegazing, surf and country turf, resulting in an overall ’90s texture minus the dated dead weight (Kurt Cobain). 8/10 Trial Track: “Octavio” (Lorraine Carpenter)
 Kasabian
West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
(Sony BMG)
The formerly hyped-up Brit psychedelic popsters have taken the road less travelled in the quest for relevancy two albums removed from the indie rock gold rush. Where so many of their peers have embraced the streamlined stadium rock motif, Kasabian have devised a free-flowing series of murky, unpolished fragments akin to re-imagining ’90s Britpop as cinematic ambience. 8/10 Trial Track: “Secret Alphabets” (Erik Leijon)
 The Curious Mystery
Rotting Slowly (K)
If you were to cross the slow drawl of Come, the acidic blues moments of Captain Beefheart and the psych side of the Sir Douglas Quintet, you may come close to a starting point for these Seattleites. Like any good psychedelic astronauts worth their salt, the Curious Mystery know how to let it all hang out and stretch it out with nice solo passages and groove chutzpah. 7/10 Trial Track: “Dragon’s Crotch” (Johnson Cummins)
 Street Sweeper Social Club
self-titled (Epic/Sony BMG)
Tom Morello sets his folky Nightwatchman solo effort aside, returning to the formula that worked for Rage Against the Machine—funky riffs, pounding drums and a politically charged MC. Boots Riley from the Coup provides the daggers but rarely reaches Zack de la Rocha’s pinnacle of ferocity. If they want the common man to storm Wall Street, listening on an iPod won’t be exhortative enough. They’ll have to be there, playing it live. 7.5/10 Trial Track: “Fight! Smash! Win!” (Lateef Martin)
 The Aggrolites
IV (Hellcat/FAB)
L.A.’s standard bearers for what they call “dirty reggae” offer few surprises over the 21 tracks on their fourth album, but who’d need ’em? Still in place is the perfect balance of harsh and honey in their chunky, ambling revision of rock steady and gritty soul (note the direct debt to Toots & the Maytals on “What a Complex”), exemplified by Jesse Wagner’s charmingly goonish vocal delivery versus Roger Rivas’s bubbling organ work. 7.5/10 Trial Track: “Wild Time” (Rupert Bottenberg)
 Mos Def
The Ecstatic (Downtown)
Good news for hip hop. Mos Def is rapping again and he’s getting beats he deserves, with knockers from the likes of Oh No, who opens the album with “Supermagic,” and Madlib, on the single “Casa Bey.” Ed Banger’s Mr. Flash comes as a surprise on “Life in Marvelous Times” and Dilla brings it back full circle with “History,” featuring Talib Kweli. 8/10 Trial Track: “Casa Bey” (Morgan Steiker)
 J Dilla
Jay Stay Paid (Nature Sounds)
The source material that Dilla left behind since his passing is amazingly fruitful. From his Ummah-era production to harder boom-bap on tracks like “Blood Sport” with Lil Fame and the final-hour gems like “Kings,” reminiscent of Donuts, this album, all mixed by Jay’s idol Pete Rock, feels like an honest bio and leaves you wanting so much more. Guest verses from the likes of Raekwon and Black Thought make it even more special. 9/10 Trial Track: “Milk Money” (Morgan Steiker)
Harmonic 313
When Machines Exceed Human Intelligence (Warp)
An indulgent, geeky, carefully crafted concept album, the liner notes outline possible scenarios for the titular inquiry, explaining that the music is a prototype sonic AI. The beats are sub-shuddering, lethargic and heavy, the percussion is jittery and the synthesizer hooks are wacky, warbling and awkward. Analog machines, soft synths and chip sounds collide in a wide variety of styles from hip hop to dub to acid. 8/10 Trial Track: “Cyclotron” (Jack Oatmon)
 Various
Defected Clubland Adventures: 10 Years in the House Vol. 1 (Defected)
This high-energy retrospective from one of the premier U.K. dance labels captures the width and breadth of their plentiful offerings. Defected mainstays like Bob Sinclar, Copyright, Dennis Ferrer and ATFC are only part of the story on this expansive five-disc set’s 70 tracks, 20 of which are exclusive to this comprehensive compilation. Proof positive that Defected = house music. 9/10 Trial Track: Johnny Corporate, “Sunday Shoutin’ (Daniel Bovie & Roy Rox Mix)” (Gerard Dee)
 André Leroux
Corpus Callosum (Effendi/Select)
Long looked upon as one of Canada’s top reedmen, Leroux is in rare form on his latest for this important Montreal label. The ensemble here is made up of Normand Deveault, Frederic Alarie and Christian Lajoie, with Alain Labrosse guesting on a pair of tracks. Compositions are by band members plus Joe Sullivan, Jean-François Groulx and François Bourassa. 9.5/10 Trial Track: “Speed Machine” (Len Dobbin)
Mini CD Reviews
Michel Berthiaume Quintet Departure (XXI/Universal) The leader, an excellent drummer and composer, is heard in a successful first release, aided by a quartet of Montreal’s finest musicians. 9 (LD)
Rock Plaza Central At the Moment of Our Most Needing, or If Only They Could Turn Around (Paper Bag) Another impressive LP by Toronto’s Chris Eaton and co., inflating banjo-based folk with orchestral pop grandeur. 7.5 (LC)
Spinal Tap Back From the Dead (The Label Industry/Sonic Unyon) Shit sandwich (sorry, couldn’t resist). 7 (JC)
Green Go Borders (Pheromone/Universal) “Cash Money Gremlins” is worth downloading if a void for multi-vocalist indie dance exists in your bosom. 6 (EL) With Ruby Jean & the Thoughtful Bees, Saccidananda at Green Room, Sat., June 13, 8:30 p.m., $8
Paul Wall Fast Life (Swishablast/Warner) The king of ostentatious grills chomps on some more Dirty South beats with an impossibly long list of cameos. 5 (EL)
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