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 Cesaria Evora
Nha Sentimento (Lusafrica)
If it wasn’t enough to conquer poverty and war in her native Cape Verde, at age 68, Cesaria Evora recovered from a stroke to record this gorgeous collection of tracks. Evora’s smoky voice is as wonderful over the strings in “Sentimento” as it is in the danceable “Zinha.” Those familiar with Evora’s often melancholic tones will be surprised by the levity here (Evora’s iterations of her country’s sorrowful morna ballad genre are well known), but it is still a demonstration of one of the world’s great voices, still in her prime. 9/10 Trial Track: “Serpentina” (Erin MacLeod)
Korn
Korn III Remember Who You Are (Roadrunner)
Messy, loud, dirty, raw. Korn take it back to the days of Korn and Life Is Peachy. No keyboards, no studio tricks, no click track, just four guys in a stripped-down studio dropping hard tracks. Former touring drummer and now permanent member Ray Luzier keeps up with the veterans, providing a solid foundation. Their ninth album proves that after dozens of tours, trials and tribulations, Korn can captivate with harshness and honesty. 8/10 Trial Track: “Oildale” (Lateef Martin) With Rob Zombie, Avenged Sevenfold, Lamb of God and more at Heavy MTL (day two) at Parc Jean-Drapeau, Sun., July 25, 1 p.m., $67.50, all ages
Friendly Rich and
the Lollipop People
The Sacred Prune of
Remembrance (The Pumpkin Pie Corporation)
Brampton must be either a macabre wonderland or a barren hellhole, judging from the creeky cabaret of Mr. Rich and his octet. Their new record taps oompah, country, vaudeville and theatrical goth, and indulges preoccupations with prunes, grapefruits, mucous, manufacturing, handicaps, the Cold War and Clue. Part corny kids’ stuff, part spooky Halloween soundtrack, these songs need a show to truly bring them to life. 7/10 Trial Track: “Blue Rosebuds” (Lorraine Carpenter) With Lake of Stew at Il Motore, Sat., July 24, 8:30 p.m., $12
Bob Log III
My Shit Is Perfect (Birdman)
Arizona’s “one man band slide guitar party”—you know, the guy with the motorcycle helmet, jumpsuit and monkey paw who likes his scotch stirred with boobies—keeps it festive with another round of hyperactive lo-fi lap-axe blues. He may be faceless but he’s got soul, fuelled by a level of freaky energy that probably makes Jon Spencer jealous. 7.5/10 Trial Track: “Bump Pow” (Lorraine Carpenter) With the Heavy Hands at Il Motore, Fri., July 23, 8:30 p.m., $15
 Carlton Melton
Pass It On (Agitated)
Finally, a psychedelic band that successfully crosses generations, appealing equally to old school bong-bubblers, kinky krautrockers and the new school of psychedelic stooges. Can-style jams, trance-inducing drones and Ummagumma-era Pink Floyd ambiance may be the foundation here but these improv jams easily break from the tether of their influences and soar righteously through the stratosphere. Freak out! 8.5/10 Trial Track: “Drizzle” (Johnson Cummins)
 Royal Canoe
Co-Op Mode (Head in the Sand)
In video game lingo, a co-op mode is anything involving two or more gamers playing together. Winnipeg pop purveyors Royal Canoe and their ever-shifting line-up feels like a late-night session of buddies in their respective basements, trading catchy electronic beats and favourite MP3s instead of gunfire in Call of Duty. Hopelessly dopey electropop with even sillier lyrics, it’s friendly without a whiff of self-consciousness. 6.5/10 Trial Track: “Soothsayer” (Erik Leijon) At 3 Minots, Fri., July 23, 9 p.m.
pat JORDACHE
FUTURE songs (Independent)
The oddly capitalized artist is in actuality Montreal mainstay Patrick Grégoire (ex-Islands, Sister Suvi), who has created a dark, lo-fi puzzle best described as a haunting, deep musical cave with unexpected nuggets lining the jagged walls. Grégoire’s Ian Curtis-on-valium vocals, the many unidentifiable loops and layered percussion further dehumanize the self-produced record to frightening effect. It’s only available at patjordache.com 8.5/10 Trial Track: “get IT” (Erik Leijon)
 Le Castle Vania
Nobody Gets Out Alive (Remixes) (Always Never)
This idiotic, confusingly late, poorly executed rip-off of MSTRKRFT when they were poorly executing rip-offs of Soulwax will make you want to throw your iPod in the toilet, as will the unimaginative, half-baked edits from Noisia and Rrrump. The Rynecologist remix is the only thing that didn’t make me scared someone would walk into the room while I was checking this out. 2/10 Trial Track: none (Jack Oatmon)
Open Mike Eagle
Unapologetic Art Rap (Mush)
The Project Blowed protégé spits bust-downs at the pot-luck hip hop intelligentsia, turning their penchants for obscurity and eclecticism in beat and rhyme against them, with points lost for heavy-handed irony. Mainstay hippie-hop topics are roasted gleefully, but as with any obvious joke, the punchline is always a little anti-climactic. The rapper and his guests can take the piss out, though, and some inventive production gels to make this a decent piece of leftfield satire that makes “nerd” the new “N” word. 7/10 Trial Track: “I Rock” (Darcy MacDonald)
 Rakaa
Crown of Thorns (Decon)
After three years of relative silence and a decade’s worth of mixed results at making good on the early promise of Dilated Peoples, Rakaa Iriscience picks up the mic again for, remarkably, his first solo LP. The record starts strong, and heavyweight collaborators including Mad Lion, KRS-One, Exile and Oh No help the skilled emcee land on his own, but a less-is-more approach (Chali2na over El-P?) could have resulted in a much less uneven listen. 7/10 Trial Track: “Aces High” feat. Fashawn, Evidence, Defari and the Alchemist (Darcy MacDonald)
 Rox
Memoirs (Rough Trade/Select)
Yet another exquisite soul export from the U.K., the debut from 21-year-old Roxanne Tataei lives up to the hype. Like lead single “My Baby Left Me” and the equally compelling follow-up “I Don’t Believe,” the album shimmers with chunky retro-soul vibes, but doesn’t sound dated. Rox is a sure-footed vocalist who effuses sincerity in every one of these hardy tracks. 8.5/10 Trial Track: “No Going Back” (Gerard Dee)
 Gabor Szabo
Jazz Raga (Light in the Attic/ Universal)
This forgotten gem was originally released in 1966 and like a lot of records of the era, played heavily on the gimmick factor, in this case fusing Indian sitar with Western music. Szabo’s sitar is of course a major fail on this record, squawking and grating and pulling you away from the hidden treasures here. When Szabo isn’t ham-fistedly attempting to play the sitar (which thankfully isn’t that often), his record easily holds up over the decades and transcends mere novelty. 7/10 Trial Track: “Caravan” (Johnson Cummins)
MINI CD REVIEWS
Perfume Genius Learning (Matador) Seattle’s Mike Hadreas specializes in sad piano and string ballads steeped in elegiac grace. 8 (LC)
Richard Laviolette and the Oil Spills All of Your Raw Materials (Independent) From Guelph, Laviolette & co. play old-time country/folk about love and death and distance and being one of the good guys. 7 (LC) With Jessy Bell Smith, Partytime at Casa del Popolo, Tues., July 27, 8:30 p.m.
The Books The Way Out (Temporary Residence) An amazing collage of vocal and musical samples, which you’ll enjoy the one or two times you can actually get through the whole thing. 6.5 (EL)
Jaill That’s How We Burn (Sub Pop) Most of Sub Pop’s more recent signings make me feel like I’m trapped in a cell phone commercial but there are too many glimmering Buzzcocks/Undertones/Soft Boys pop moments here to deny. 6.5 (JC)
Paul Wall Heart of a Champion (SwishaHouse/Asylum) For those about to rock down to the strip club, the People’s Champ salutes you, recognizing in dancers and patrons alike the desire for a fresh set of summer bangers to keep the air electric neon. 6 (DM)
Kylie Minogue Aphrodite (Parlophone/EMI) There’s nothing here as good as “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head,” so feel free to go back to pretending you hate pop music. 5 (EL)
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