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Wilco Summerteeth (Reprise/Warner)
Alliance Ethnik Fat Comeback (Virgin/EMI) The guys who brought you "Simple & Funky" are back with basically the same formula. Keep it simple and funky, keep it happy and poppy, throw some big names in there and you have yourself a Fat Comeback, right. Well, we'll see. Names like Biz Markie, Common Sense, De La Soul, Vinia Mojica (from Low End Theory fame) and Youssou N'Dour can only help these guys sell more records outside of France, where they've had their greatest success. K-Mel, DJ Faster Jay and Crazy B have a 50/50 chance of doing as well as their last outing, but who cares, as long as it's simple and funky, right!? 7.5/10 (Scott C) Gazelle Inflight (FDP Music)
By Divine Right Bless This Mess (Nettwerk)
After last year's stellar effort, All Hail Discordia, Toronto's By Divine Right are back up to bat. But instead of being homerun heroes, this time they are content to simply get on base. BDR's main songwriter Jose Contreras still has the naïveté and wide-eyed wonderment which made the first such a great relief to angst-weary ears, but now he seems to be nearing that evil place where only people like Sean Lennon and Richard Simmons should reside. His "hooray for everything" lyrics may be just the thing for terminally ill people and fans of the Bare Naked Ladies, but for people who just want to rock it's cringe city. Bless This Mess is a good record, but Jose may want to leave his pom poms at home if he wants to make a great record--which he is more than capable of doing. 7/10 (Johnson Cummins)
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DJ Kicks Kemistry & Storm (K7/ Fusion)
This is without a doubt the most serious drum & bass mix CD ever. Female DJ duo Kemistry & Storm--former Metalheadz label managers and residents at London's Blue Note sessions--have compiled and mixed together 17 tracks from some of d&b's foremost production talents, including DJ Die, Grooverider, Goldie, J Majik and Dillinja. Like the liner notes say, this mix will make you feel safe, and dangerous. The girls manage to cover almost every little sub-genre of the ever-metamorphosing rhythms, from hard and dark to easy and jazzy to ethereal and vocal--without even skipping a beat. The programming is intense, the sound extreme. Mark my words, you're not ready for this. 9/10 (Krista)
In the past I've found that Wilco's reputation supersedes it, but no longer. As time goes by, leader Jeff Tweedy is encumbered less and less by the mythology of his former Uncle Tupelo and any roots-rock baggage, and here, on the band's third album (and first since late '96's Being There), Tweedy is free as a bird to fly smack into the window of transparent pop. The trajectory (and overriding Beatle bum-rush) lands Wilco in the same place as fellow folk-spurner Elliott Smith, and that's a nice place. 8/10 (Chris Yurkiw) Released Tuesday, March 9
After stirring up the natives by airdropping three-track teaser discs for a few months, the local duo of Cheryl Sim and Peter Soumalias make good on their promise of a full-length CD. Gazelle work within the golden triangle of trip hop, torch jazz and bossa nova (with house and d&b remixes tacked on). No dramatic digressions from the formula going on, but with competently crafted tunes, an elegant vibe and Sim's jazz-honed voice to rely on, none are necessary. An auspicious debut, to say the least. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)