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Queens of the Stone Age Self-titled (Loosegroove) After two EPs on Frank Kozik's Man's Ruin label, ex-Kyuss and current Q.O.T.S.A. frontman Josh Homme has finally hit his stride with his new... er, heavy pop sound. With two other Kyuss members in tow, Homme keeps the bong bubbling along with the extended trance jams ("Walkin on the Sidewalk," "You Would Know") that his previous band excelled at, but songs like "Regular John" and "If Only" show the king of stoner rock far from coming down. 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins) Various Easy Tempo Experience: A New Cinematic Perspective (Easy Tempo/Fusion III) Seems those Beat at Cinecitta comps were just the tip of the iceberg... gelatti-berg? Another label, Easy Tempo, has scrounged up enough Italian retro soundtrack silliness to fill more discs than you could count with your shoes on. Some of these "obscurities" are more familiar than you'd guess--Benny Hill fans will recognize Piero Umiliani's "Mah Na' Mah Na'" even after the Karminsky Experience Inc. are done remixing it. See, Easy Tempo have selected some of their standout tunes, and had a dozen current artists (Kid Loco, High Llamas, Tokyo's Gak Sato) recombobulate them for today's discerning listener. A pleasure from end to end. 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) Stina Nordenstam People Are Strange (EastWest/Warner) It's probably facile to think that dark, stark, Swedish songbird Stina Nordenstam picked this title for her fourth album because she's aware of what an odd duck she is (although there is some swan beauty in her music, too). Then again, this is a record of covers--most of them unrecognizable as treated by her no-fi ambiance and hushed, brittle voice--the Doors song accompanied by others by Leonard Cohen, Tim Hardin, Stephen Foster and Prince ("Purple Rain"). Strange, but true to her stunningly sunless vision. 7/10 (Chris Yurkiw) Various Hempilation 2: Free the Weed (Capricorn/PolyGram) Is this the stoner nation shaking its fist in defiance? More like the Grey Panthers at High Times lining their retirement funds. This is a benefit for legalization activists NORML, but not always a benefit for your ears. It's way too damn country-fried, what with Gov't. Mule, Big Sugar and green-scene grandpappy Willie Nelson all on the blues/C&W axis. Yeah, there's some dub and hip hop thrown in--you know, for the kids--including Spearhead's cover of Steve Miller's "The Joker," but to a large extent this comp gives the impression that marijuana is more an embalming herb than a euphoric. 6.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) Ani DiFranco Up Up Up Up Up Up (Righteous Babe/Festival)
So the little Buffalo gal has released her second album in less than a year, again with mixed results. Some songs, such as "'Tis of Thee" and "Jukebox," are reminiscent of her earlier, stronger works, but when she delves into lounge electronica ("Know Now Then"), it's time to run for the hills. You know hope is fading fast for Ani when she sings, "I'm not angry anymore." 7/10 (Michel Thibodeau)
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