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"You think I could step on toes/with callous blows/I'm not that stupid"--"Broken Rule." You know, the Jam never really broke over
No Limit soldiers take note: this may be the best compilation that Master P has executed yet. P and Bone, Thugs-N-Harmony jump start things with "I Got The Hook-Up," a watt-pushing cruiser for those of you with bass in the trunk. Also check Ice Cube's "Ghetto Vet" and Montell's "Down With You." But the sizzler is "What the Game Made Me" with Jay-Z, Memphis Bleek and my man Sauce Money. This album falls off somewhere around the middle, which is still better than most of Master P's productions, so hook it up! 7.5/10 (Scott C) The Smashing Pumpkins Adore (Virgin/EMI) True, on Adore, there's little of the guitar bombast that made The(!) Smashing Pumpkins half interesting, circa Siamese Dream, as some kind of unknowing repudiation of every musical value of the "alt rock" they rode to fame. But amid the strings and synths and drum machines, there's still enough bathos, bloated songwriting and bad poetry to satisfy any denizen of Billy With Bullet Head's simpering fantasy world. Adore? Abhor--and a bore. 4/10 (Chris Yurkiw) The Figgs Couldn't Get High (Absolute A GoGo)
Last year's Banda Macho didn't pack half the pop punch of this band's incredible debut, Low Fi at Society High. This time, the Figgs more than rise to the occasion by getting back to basics. With all the infectious melody lines of an early Elvis Costello, the Figgs consider themselves the world's poppiest garage band, especially with gems like "If That's What You Want" and "The Noose Was Tight." After two albums of treading major label water, it seems the boys may make waves as one of the biggest fish in the cozy indie pond. 9/10 (Johnson Cummins)
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Duotang The Cons and the Pros (Mint Records)
here because it seems that Yanks can't handle anger served up smart... they need it dumb and blunt. If Winnipeg's post-mod pair Duotang are any indication, Canadians can do better than that. The Cons comes closer than their last disc to their hard-assed bare bones bass-and-drums live set--albeit with splashes of Hammond and horns. The songs are that much better, too. Tough like Townshend, wise like Weller, and every bit the modern sound of today... even if the first riff you hear is a "Paperback Writer" boost. 9/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) At Jailhouse with Plumtree and Weakerthans, Friday, June 5.
Various I Got the Hook-Up! Movie Soundtrack (Priority/No Limit)