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Placebo Without You I'm Nothing (Virgin) The second album from the U.K.'s Placebo is a massive creep forward from their Brad Wood-produced debut. Guitars gush taut 'n' noisy to airy 'n' ambient (Sonic Youth vs. Radiohead?) under leader Brian Molko's striking, nasal warble (Feargal Sharkey vs. Neil Tennant?)--all the more compelling when it wheezes out lines like "Your smile would make me sneeze/When we were Siamese." Bonus: killer "hidden" feedback fest. 8.5/10 (Chris Yurkiw) Various Super Bad @ 65: A Tribute to James Brown (Zero Hour/FusionIII)
Strawberry Brokeheart Audio (No) Strawberry are a subdued indie outfit outta PEI who have been poised to come to greater attention ever since they signed with the demised Cargo's Janken Pon label in '96. They moved to Montreal just in time to mothball their debut album, but now come out with Brokeheart Audio, an impressive tour through the serene side of guit-bass-drums that's lifted up by organ and even the odd drum loop. Delicate, intricate, and sometimes trippy, Strawberry can sound like Low on a high or a Big Star ballad. 8/10 (Chris Yurkiw) Launch at le Petit Campus (with Modern Stories) Sat. Nov. 21, 9pm, $5 The Offspring Americana (Columbia/Sony)
Various Plastic Compilation Volume 02 (Nettwerk)
It's tempting to see Plastic as yet another 'electronica for dummies' (and Sarah McLachlan fans) comp, but Nettwerk did come back in the early-mid '80s with electro acts like Moev and Chris & Cosey, and McLachlan has been so rooted in the decade that she's always commissioned remixes (Roni Size radicalizes "Sweet Surrender" here). Watch out on 02 for mixes by both Fatboy Slim and alter-ego Norman Cook (Wildchild's "Renegade Master" is the gem here), a dusty William Orbit/Beth Orton track, the ubiquitous and obsequious Crystal Method, and a "Brimful" that causes our tolerance for the Cornershop track to spill over. Still... 7/10 (Chris Yurkiw)
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Kittens The Night Danger Album (Sonic Unyon)
After last year's incredible Bazooka and the Hustler album, it seemed like Winnipeg's Kittens could not get any higher. While this six-song EP does not disappoint, it does not surpass their previous work, either. But songs like the dub-styled "Silent Night" suggest that, believe it or not, better things could be happening in the future. Being one of the best live bands going, the Kittens' Melvins-meet-Morricone sound is finally getting somewhere in the studio. Like a loose tooth, Kittens set out to provoke and annoy with undiscernible lyrics put to a violent backdrop of the most intense music that has ever come out of a Canadian band. Set your phasers on kill. Kittens are here and they hate you. 9.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)
When you're celebrating someone of the Godfather's status, you can't afford a door policy this lax. Sure, there's a good count of success stories, here. The title take is a shout-out from the peanut gallery, some kid named Little Sammy D. who's like, nine or something. Then there's James Taylor Quartet tearing through "In the Middle," garage goons the Swingin' Neckbreakers, and Mike Watt's Broke Dick Dog--fucked up, but in that okay way. On the other hand, who the hell invited Frank Black, Don Fleming and Doublespeak on board? Ouch. Not bad meaning good, just bad meaning bad. 7/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
The Offspring make it hard not to like them. At the same time, though, they play it so safe that it's equally hard to love them. The hardcore spirit of '86 is in full effect here. Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) has all the elements for the soundtrack to your perfect kegger, and sounds surprisingly like their last smash hit, "Keep 'em Separated." The Frank Kozik artwork is a nice attempt at indie cred, but musically they just sound like the REO Speedwagon of post-punk. 6/10 (Johnson Cummins)