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 The Brian Jonestown Massacre
Who Killed Sgt. Pepper? (A Records)
Infamous band leader Anton Newcombe, estranged collaborator Matt Hollywood and onetime Spacemen 3 bassist Will Carruthers have torn down BJM and built up a vibrant and eclectic new identity with their 10th album. Under the influence of Eastern, Eastern European and electronic music—alternative percussion, strings, rhythms, drones and beats abound, and “Detka Detka Detka” features Ukrainian-language lyrics—the band wield their neo-psychedelic skills like rock ’n’ roll samurai. Stunning! 9/10 Trial Track: “Super Fucked” (Lorraine Carpenter)
 Rob Zombie
Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls and the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool (Roadrunner)
Sticking with his touring band, including ex-Marilyn Manson axeman John 5, to write and record, Zombie continues down his bloody path of danceable schlock-rock, albeit with a slightly more varied sound than the one song he’s cloned enough to make his three previous albums. A companion to ’98’s Hellbilly Deluxe, it’s got the same themes of murder, lust, monsters and sex, all accompanied by killer artwork. 6.5/10 Trial Track: “Werewolf Women of the SS” (Lateef Martin)
The Action
Complete Punk Recordings 1977-1978 (Sudden Death)
The Action crawled out of the sleepy burg of Ottawa in 1977 with all of the Sex Pistols’ snottiness, Vibrators’ tunefulness and Stones’ swagger in place. These scowling punks took inspiration from across the pond with a fast and tight delivery, but vocalist Ted Axe’s odd combination of John Lydon and Mick Jagger really sends this. Their flirtation with pub rock towards the end of ’78 gets a bit ho-hum but the first two EPs make up for their eventual missteps. 8.5/10 Trial Track: “Do the Strangle” (Johnson Cummins) With the Walnut Kids, Drunk Dial at Casa Del Popolo, Fri., Feb. 19, 8:30 p.m., $12
 Tindersticks
Falling Down a Mountain (Constellation)
If ’70s-era Scott Walker had shaken off his baritone drawl and got together with the Bad Seeds… it still wouldn’t sound like Tindersticks, but that could be a good place to start. The title track turns things loose right out of the gate, but it’s on “Peanuts,” with a rare appearance by Mary Margaret O’Hara providing a perfect Mo Tucker foil to singer Staples’ warp and warble, that things take a delightful turn. If you dig the dense and laidback orch-pop coming out of L.A. studios in the ’70s, this is the real deal. 7.5/10 Trial Track: “Piano Music” (Johnson Cummins)
 Courtney Wing
Bouquet of Might and Fury (Proxnett)
Love ’n’ loss, happy/sad, tiny to titanic. Contrast and balance are the themes that inform all aspects of the affable yet ambitious chamber pop—excuse me, “symphonic folk”—of Montrealer Wing’s third album. Wing’s got quite the toolbox for the task, deploying a celestial choir here, string-and-horn help from Torngat, Bell Orchestre etc. there. At the centre are Wing’s vocals, palatable if lacking in punch. 7/10 Trial Track: “Tragic Blonde” (Rupert Bottenberg)
 Zeus
Say Us (Arts & Crafts)
Carefully pleasant, everything-in-its right-place ’60s Britpop emanating from Toronto (specifically, two members of Jason Collett’s backing band). So transparent any astute listener could easily dissect every wink and nod to the obvious greats—especially George Harrison and the Kinks—as they happen, but the occasional surprise distorted guitar fuzz and overstuffed, punchy conclusions do keep one guessing amid the mirth. 6/10 Trial Track: “Kindergarten” (Erik Leijon)
Fan Death
A Coin for the Well (Last Gang)
Wondering whatever became of synth-rock wild child Dandi Wind? Well, Ms. Dandilion Wind Opaine returned to Vancouver, teamed up with Marta Jaciubek-McKeever (ex-Girl Nobody) and made a mid-Atlantic splash with glamorous disco pop singles and videos. A few months ahead of their debut LP, Womb of Dreams, this four-track EP combines orchestral sophistication with simple melodies and trashy synths, deceptively superficial dancefloor fun. 7.5/10 Trial Track: “Reunited” (Lorraine Carpenter)
 Dan Black
((UN)) (Polydor/Universal)
Dan Black is a young gossamer-voiced singer who gained a second wind post-band break-up by mashing up Rihanna and Notorious B.I.G. to the delight of easily impressed British club-goers. If the idea of a feeble, nasally U.K. hipster vanishing into the drum beat to “Umbrella” sounds appealing, you might even survive his skin deep, non-sampling pop dance cuts. 3/10 Trial Track: “Alone” (Erik Leijon) At Foufounes Électriques, Fri., Feb. 19, 8 p.m.
 Various
Secondhand Sureshots DVD/CD (Stones Throw)
From L.A.’s inventive Dublab collective comes this half-hour doc with DJs Daedelus, Nobody, J Rocc and Ras G. It’s both a paean to foraging for thrift-store vinyl kitsch and curios (Streisand, stacked high!), and an Iron Chef-style challenge to the quartet (each one’s mission: five bucks, five records, make something happen). Lively, loving and loaded with cool extras, two hours of content in all, Secondhand Sureshots tacks on a bonus CD of resultant audio. Good vibes, great tunes! 8/10 Trial Track: Nobody, “Nobody” (Rupert Bottenberg) Daedelus with Nosaj Thing, Jogger, Hovatron, Seb Diamond at le Belmont, Fri., Feb. 19, 10 p.m., $15
Freemasons
Shakedown 2 (Loaded)
The sophomore effort by U.K. DJ duo Freemasons is another smooth-as-silk remix project. As on their 2006 debut, today’s divas (Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland etc.) are represented. But a refreshing blend of classics, like New Order’s “Blue Monday,” Eurythmics’ “Here Comes the Rain Again” and a ridiculously infectious mix of Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” also make the cut. 8/10 Trial Track: “Disco’s Revenge” (Gerard Dee)
Étienne de CrÉcy
“Welcome” (Pixadelic)
A shockingly formulaic, typical, obnoxious and late offering from the genius behind Super Discount. The single features five versions of the stinker, each its own sad, grating rehash of the mid-decade testosterone electro sound, complete with siren noises and stupid robot voices, just like every other shitty, belated blog house track. Heartbreaking. 1.5/10 Trial Track: “Welcome (Global Warming remix)” (Jack Oatmon)
 Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone
Thin Air (Thirsty Ear)
Gut-wrenching songs, sung in a way that grabs your ear and twists. Pavone and Halvorson reach in and touch the brain, activating dreams and aggravations with their spare and insidious tunes. The music challenges what is comfortable, with enough restraint to beckon the imagination, sometimes lifting and carrying along, sometimes dragging us toward what we cannot see. 8/10 Trial Track “For You or Them” (Gordon Allen) With Land of Marigold at l’Envers, Sat., Feb. 20, 9 p.m., $7
Razia Said
Zebu Nation (Cumbancha Discovery)
Mixing her native language, Malagasy, with English, and working with local musicians, the results of Razia Said’s musical effort to comment on and draw attention to environmental issues in her home country is a varied, danceable tribute to Mozambique. The driving beat of a song like “Salama Aby” is tempered by Said’s soulful vocals and accompanying soft guitar in songs like “Ny Alantsika” and “Tsy Tara,” providing a subtle accompaniment to the clear message in “Slash and Burn.” 8/10 Trial Track: “Yoyoyo” (Erin MacLeod)
MINI CD REVIEWS
Zu The Way of the Animal Powers (Public Guilt) As soon as these no-wave jazzbos proclaim, “Tom Araya is our Elvis,” you know you’re in for a seriously demented listen. 8 (JC)
The Beige El Ángel Exterminador (The Beige) Somewhere, David Lynch is plotting a new film set entirely in a run-down Death Valley chapel ordained by circus freaks. 7.5 (EL)
Four Tet There Is Love in You (Domino) The glitchy bits get on one’s tits but when Kieran Hebden goes Glass/Reich serial, it’s killer. 7.5(RB)
Line Spectra Maps & Directions (independent) A refined debut by a trio of local ladies, produced by Joseph Donovan, in the key of Britpop, Can-pop and, in its French finale saluting our city, a touch of Queb. 7 (LC)
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