|
Coldcut Beats and Pieces Remixes (Ninja Tune) Ten years ago, Coldcut created "Beats and Pieces," made only of samples, then said hello to copyright court and, as much as any two men can, propelled pop into something of a new age. Now it's remixed. Some will shout, "Sacrilege!" But it's not. Kid Koala's mix is his first track for Ninja. It tears into pieces something that tore something to bits in the first place. It's done in realtime on turntables, using no samplers. And it's exhilarating because "Honey, I've got rhythms you haven't used yet" remains the calling-card sample, made true once again. 8.5/10 (Mireille Silcott) The Ladybug Transistor Beverley Atonale (Merge) Beverley Atonale finds the Ladybug Transistor cruising through a Galaxy (500) with a "Velvet Underground or Bust" bumper sticker on. In the song "Stuck," the narrator begs, "I wish I could get stuck in the rain with you" and anyone who has ever repaired their eyewear with masking tape or harboured sexual feelings for librarians will understand. Ladybug's brand of dreamy-dream rock guarantees their place in the sensitive indie circle. Myopic! 8/10 (Johnson Cummins) At Isart, 263 St-Antoine W., Friday, Aug. 1 with Starbean & Saturnine. 10pm, $5 Sarah McLachlan Surfacing (Nettwerk) Like hard rock, teen pop and PolyTel summer comps, there'll always be room in popular music for neo-folk wispy chicks. And amid the current glut (Jewel, Indigo Girls, Dayna Manning--hey: Lilith Fair!), Sarah McLachlan remains the best--or worst. How you see it depends on your tolerance for how far a pretty voice and post-Lanois production can stretch lame-o lines like "What ravages of spirit conjured this temptuous rage." Zero tolerance never sounded better. 6/10 (Chris Yurkiw) Fatboy Slim Better Living Through Chemistry (Astralwerks/Skint)
A great example of cheery-day-funky-break from Brighton cheery break label Skint's main player. Slim has a virtuoso hand in mixing guitars that sound like rock radio with funky drummers, without making it sound too rockish. Not afraid to go in for slips of Brit-house piano or unabashedly Cali vibrations, he's got the low rider sub-bass down pat and a handy 303 never far behind. House's answer to phat punk. 8/10 (Mireille Silcott)
|