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The Gadjits At Ease (Hellcat/Sonic Unyon)
Ani DaFolkie's last three studio releases--Dilate, the More Joy, Less Shame remix EP, and the funky tracks she provided for Utah Phillips' words--all saw her placing new importance on loping, if live break beats, and it all made great sense with her très rap vocal delivery. But album No. 10 doesn't follow through, and opts instead for a bit o' brass, some guest players (Jon Hassell, Jerry Marotta) and a keepin'-it-real (folk) feel. Too bad--I would've loved a BIG Plastic Castle. 7/10 (Chris Yurkiw) At Metropolis April 2. Kristin Hersh Strange Angels (Rykodisc/Outside) So Throwing Muses are over (again, but this time it sounds permanent), and cracked actor Kristin Hersh makes the little leap to leading lady. Picking up where her first and excellent solo album, Hips And Makers, left off, Hersh cuts out the accoutrements of strings and piano and Michael Stipe to focus on acoustic guitar and naked voice. Problem is, these too-measured songs need more than dressing up. 6.5/10 (Chris Yurkiw)
Less a history lesson than a free association tribute to the elegant cool of 1950s Paris. Dee Dee Bridgewater gets funky, her daughter China goes torchy, and Les Rita Mitsouko's Catherine Ringer shakes some brass. Meanwhile, Iggy Pop croons to yéyé queen Françoise Hardy, and Blondie's Debby Harry fronts the Jazz Passengers. All this and Jacky Terrasson's take on Gainsbourg's "La Javanaise," for the price of a bottle of red and a pack of Gauloises. 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
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Ladies and gents, the Hanson of ska. The three Phillips brothers (one's even named Zach), along with organist Heidi Blobaum, are hardly out of high school, but they've managed to hammer out one of the best pop/ska albums since the heyday of Madness. Hell, they don't even need horns.
Blobaum's keys bubble up sweetly between the spaces left by Brandon Phillip's meaty but raunch-free guitar, and there's none of the empty, tiresome flash that young turks often feel compelled to display--just punchy tunes that weather repeat listens. From the dead-on opening shot of "Bullet in the Mattress," At Ease is solid, sensible... and ferociously fun. 9/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Ani DiFranco Little Plastic Castle (Righteous Babe/Festival)
Various Jazz a Saint-Germain (Virgin/EMI)