|
Beck Mutations (Geffen/Universal)
Reel Big Fish Why Do They Rock So Hard? (Mojo/Universal) Actually, they don't really rock all that hard. Leaping back and forth between party metal and lame skater ska, these Cali clowns would wither and die if they stood too close to, say, Motörhead. But I'll give them this: they make no bones about being rock first, ska second. It's stupid rock, too, but at least RBF get their own joke (witness "I'm Cool," "We Care," and "Big Star"). Do the Bosstones get that joke? Doubt it. 6/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) With Pluto and Flashlight at the Spectrum, Monday, November 9, 8pm, $14+taxes Refused The Shape of Punk to Come (Epitaph/Sonic Unyon) These kooky bunch of Swedes play some of the most interesting hardcore you're likely to hear. Complex rhythms tangle with rage while dynamics are treated with texture and colour. With songs like "Liberation Frequency" and "New Noise," Refused set out to provoke and irritate while serving up infectious melody. The jazz found in "Summerholidays vs. Punkroutine" is sure to scare most punkers, but this is thinking man's punk that refuses to remain within closeminded confines. 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins) The Cardigans Gran Turismo (Stockholm/PolyGram)
The first thing to tip you off that swingin' Swedish '60s pop-sicles the Cardigans have changed sweaters on their fourth album is the fact that there's no e-z Black Sabbath cover--their standby schtick. The second is the ominous trip-pop ambiance of the opener "Paralyzed." And the third is its first couplet: "This is where your sanity gives in/And love begins." Well, maybe they are still lovefools. 7.5/10 (Chris Yurkiw)
|
Snowboy and the Latin Section Mamborage (Cubop/FusionIII)
As one of the U.K.'s finest producers of Latin and Afro-Cuban jazz, Snowboy has always paid very close attention to creating the authentic rhythms that have helped to keep the genre alive. He writes in the liner notes, "...as the jazz dance scene grows bigger worldwide and gets compromised, misunderstood and watered-down even more, we must keep an eye on the roots." Mamborage is not a collection of novelty mambo tracks, but a spirited, genuine and well-executed take on the Afro-Cuban style of dancefloor mechanics. The Section steps through bold and confident on tracks like "The New Avengers" and "Time, Gentlemen, Please," making this seventh album one of Snowboy's best. 8.5/10 (Scott C)
Yes, it's the low-key, beats-free follow-up to Odelay that you've heard about. But no, it's not a stripped-down, all-acoustic affair like Mr. Hansen's 1994 indie release One Foot in the Grave. With its subdued tone but sumptuous sound (courtesy of OK Computer producer Nigel Goodrich), Mutations is somewhere in the proverbial between. Still, the standout tracks are the less acoustic-y, more Beck-y numbers, like the bossa nova of "Tropicalia" or the wacked rock of "Diamond Bullocks." If Odelay was multi-platinum, Mutations is mellow-gold. 7.5/10 (Chris Yurkiw)