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 Fever Ray
self-titled (Rabid)
A measured, brooding first solo outing from the Knife’s Karin Dreijer Andersson, Fever Ray showcases the familiar pitch-bent and overdubbed vocals, oscillating between piercing howls and deep growls, but in a far less energetic, whimsical package. The beats are downtempo and grimmer, evoking Sweden’s dark, Northern climate rather than its national propensity for tinny pop, allowing Andersson’s eerie lamenting to be fully explored. 9/10 Trial Track: “Triangle Walks” (Jack Oatmon)
 The Fiery Furnaces
I’m Going Away (Thrill Jockey)
The Friedbergers are back, did you miss them? This is the Brooklyn duo’s eighth album in six years, another dashed off triumph/failure, depending on how you feel about late-’70s light rock. Cheery piano, hammy riffs and Eleanor’s bright and busy vocals, backed by her bro and maestro Matthew, deliver easy pop to bob your head to, only occasionally revealing their manic side. 7/10 Trial Track: “Keep Me in the Dark” (Lorraine Carpenter)
 Various
Record of the Week Club (Head in the Sand/Sonic Unyon)
For 16 consecutive Wednesdays, trios of musicians made a song on the spot in a Winnipeg studio manned by musician/engineer Mike Petkau, raising money for the city’s West End Cultural Centre and creating little genre-fusion gems in the process. One such classy concoction unites a member of the Weakerthans, an electronic artist and an Inuit throat singer—great stuff. 8/10 Trial Track: “Take What You Can” (Lorraine Carpenter)
 Starlight Mints
Change Remains (Barsuk/Outside)
The change on the fourth album from Oklahoma’s “other” weird pop band is a newfound fondness for funk, which fails to translate and falls flat throughout. What remains from earlier efforts are a knack for creepy fun-park chamber pop innovations (the crypto-reggae oddity “Gazeretti”) and, at their best, jaunts way out into WTF territory, like the dope-stunned delight “Snorkel With a Turtle.” 7.5/10 Trial Track: “Power Bleed” (Rupert Bottenberg) With JP Inc., Postcards at Il Motore, Mon., Aug. 10, 9 p.m., $12
 Soul-Junk
1960 (Sounds Familyre/Sonic Unyon)
This being their 11th release, it’s a wonder how something this good could slip through our fingers for this long. Lyrics are re-interpreted from the Book of Psalms, but it’s Soul-Junk’s heavy psych-pop leanings that really earn the points here. Leader Glen Galaxy brings in the discordance of his former band, Truman’s Water, but it’s when he hunkers down with some serious melody, harmony and sharp arrangements, like on “(Daleth) Kitchen Qualify,” that he really scores big. 7.5/10 Trial Track: “(Waw) Screaming Lobster” (Johnson Cummins)
 Kestrels
Primary Colours (Noyes)
This Nova Scotian trio of traditional Maritime discomfort-pop can be overly coy when it comes to pea-soup guitar fuzz, and the shouting-yet-quietly mixed vocals closely mirror some of the better ’90s CanCon output. Still, melodically coherent shoegazing was over a decade late on the train ride from Halifax to the Northeastern U.S., so it still feels timely. 6/10 Trial Track: “Houdini” (Erik Leijon)
 Jess Hart
Incorporated (Pirate Operations)
Montrealer Hart doesn’t stray from a familiar Canadian singer-songwriter template—though she handles the post-grunge acoustic-based rock better than many, with a backing band of pals who lay it on rich but not excessive. While she needs to reach further and experiment musically, lyrically, she’s eschewed the usual lovelorn gunk in favour of sharp but never didactic jabs at corporate culture’s ubiquity. 7/10 Trial Track: “Silence Is Golden” (Rupert Bottenberg) CD launch at Quai des Brumes, Tues., Aug. 11, 8 p.m., $5
 Seventh Rain
The Ghost in Me (Seventh Rain Music)
When the dust settles on your garden-variety pop punk record, the only thing that remains is the hooks. Seventh Rain exceed their own hopeless generic-ness and funny hair to produce some credible thigh slappers. The sappy romanticism of “I Don’t Even Know You” is damn infectious, and is a harbinger of memorable, easily repeatable choruses to come. 6/10 Trial Track: “I Don’t Even Know You” (Erik Leijon)
 Black Moor
The Conquering (Dimished Fifth/Sonic Unyon)
Brace your bullet belts because these Nova Scotian thrashers are sure to get some heads bobbing with this debut, revisiting the turn-of-the-’80s new wave of British heavy metal with some good ol’ Bay Area thrash mixed in for good measure. The lyrics are really only tossed off as an afterthought, but when the twin lead guitar assault, galloping metal chug and solid gold riffs are this good, who cares what he’s singing about? 7.5/10 Trial Track: “Warshark” (Johnson Cummins) With Mad Parish at l’Escogriffe, Fri., Aug. 7, 9 p.m., $6
 Amanda Blank
I Love You (Downtown)
With a stack of drops to her credit, Philly’s Ms. Blank, a Spank Rock/Diplo satellite act (both contribute substantially here), ups the ante with a debut album. I Love You opens fiercely with the propulsive “Make It Take It” and “Something Bigger Something Better,” archetypal examples of the naughty-oughts bounce Blank excels at. A leaden Prince cover and the sluggish, hamfisted “DJ,” however, betray the entropy creeping up on Blank. 7.5/10 Trial Track: “Gimme What You Got” (Rupert Bottenberg)
Oxmo Puccino
L’arme de la Paix (Cinq7)
A little short of reaching the level of Opera Puccino, his classic debut, or Bar Lapopette, his Blue Note release, French MC Oxmo still manages to surprise and impress on this latest release. “365” is a thought-provoking ode to the passing of time and “Soleil du Nord” tackles the theme of African roots in an urban Western world in a new way. Those looking for French hip hop with substance will find it here. 8.5/10 Trial Track: “Sur la route d’Amsterdam” (Morgan Steiker) With Jeune Chilly Chill at Metropolis tonight, Thurs., Aug. 6, 9 p.m., $19.50, all ages
 Jordin Sparks
Battlefield (Sony BMG)
Attempting to replicate the success of other former American Idols who’ve broken the mould, Sparks sounds more assured and mature on her sophomore effort. But while she may aspire to Kelly Clarkson, she comes closer to a tamer Rihanna, especially on tracks like “S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)” and “Emergency (911).” The battle has been joined, but still not won. 7.5/10 Trial Track: “It Takes More” (Gerard Dee)
 Bill Frisell
Disfarmer (Nonesuch/Warner)
Guitarist Frisell’s knowledge of the fret board is without measure, but it’s his restraint, letting the notes breathe and leaving elbow room for his amazing compositional talents, that is his true feather in the cap. With Disfarmer’s photos serving as his sole inspiration, Frisell carves out 26 perfect slabs of Americana that have absolutely nothing to do with the current glitzy state of Nashville. 8.5/10 Trial Track: “Little Girl” (Johnson Cummins)
Mini CD Reviews
Finn The Best Low-priced Heartbreakers You Can Own (Erased Tapes/Forced Exposure) Melancholy acoustic guitar, dabs of horns and strings and heavenly vocals shimmer and shine. 8 (LC)
Watermelon Slim Escape From the Chicken Coop (Northern Blues) If you’re questioning the man’s blues credentials, just give the swampy “Skinny Women and Fat Cigars” a spin. 7 (JC)
Cougarettes Milk Fangs EP (Independent) A formidable local live act, the electronic gizmo assault and chopped vocals are dulled on their first recorded effort. 6 (EL)
Brendan Benson My Old, Familiar Friend (MapleMusic/Universal) Syrupy saccharine guitar pop so effortless and pretty you’ll be inclined to strangle the next hippie you encounter. 5 (EL)
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