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The Spaceshits Misbehavin' (Sympathy for the Record Industry)
Andre Williams and the Sadies Red Dirt (Bloodshot)
Buckcherry Self-titled (DreamWorks/Universal)
Blackstar Rising Barbed Wire Soul (Metal Blade/Attic)
There are two very different Blackstars out there. Let us compare them, shall we? The first Blackstar is composed of hip hop artists Kweli and Mos Def. Blackstar Rising is composed of members of two groups, Cathedral and Carcass. The first Blackstar is hailed as responsible for an amazing true school hip hop album. On the other hand, metal fans will use Blackstar Rising as a frisbee for their chiwawas. Compare as you dare! 2/10 (Lateef Martin) (Yeah, but what about that cool Blackstar cartoon from the '80s?--music ed.)
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Underworld Beaucoup Fish (V2/BMG)
You know there's been a whole lot of lager, lager, lager floating through Underworld's veins. Forever on that oh-so-dangerous line between shamelessly overindulgent and just plain slammin', Underworld return triumphant yet again with their third full-length CD. Their sound has always been a creative mix of misplaced spoken word backed by bodyquaking drum riffs, from their first big sellers like "Rez" and "Cowgirl" to the hugely popular "Born Slippy." Beaucoup Fish has that same unmistakable vibe, but tracks like "Shudder," "Skym" and "Something Like a Mama" lend the album a sensitive, introspective tone. That's the sound of the band's souls crying out now that they've reached pop star status. It's lonely at the top... 9/10 (Krista)
A big ol' basket of greasy juvie home singalongs from Montreal's own troublesome troubadours. Their tried and true turn-of-the-'60s sound (think hot rods, hamburgers and horny white trash diner waitresses) remains largely in place, but there are moments--"Won't Bring You Back" in particular--suggest a drift toward the faux-psych garage R&B of the mid-'60s. This of course augurs an eventual descent into muttonchops, Nehru jackets and a VW tour van with eyes and fuckin' flowers painted all over it. For now, however, just dig the mad styles. 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Mr. Rhythm himself takes his big city Cadillac Seville down alt-country dirt roads and winds up with one of his best recordings since Jailbait. Williams gives nods to his previous efforts by including some honky tonkin' soul, like "Weapon of Mass Destruction" and "She's a Bag of Potato Chips," but he also knows when to hand over the wheel, letting the almighty twang of Toronto's Sadies drive this C&W juggernaut. For example, check out the moody "I Can Tell." Despite Andre mistakenly calling the Sadies "the Shades" throughout the entire recording, they leave their fingerprints all over this and prove to be Andre's best back up band thus far. 9/10 (Johnson Cummins)
The fact that they first met at a tattoo parlour tells you something about these guys. The fact that the lead singer has clearly cultivated a Steven Tyler manqué/junkie chic persona tells you more. Buckcherry are clearly on a holy mission to bring the FM Camaro rock of AC/DC and Aerosmith back to the mullet 'n' jersey nation. Thing is, they enlisted ex-Pistol Steve Jones to produce, putting some meat on the bones of their archaic bad-boy shtick (punk isn't dead, it's just filed under metal now). I believe that this is what Guns 'N Roses were gunning for, only Buckcherry spare us the bombast and histrionics. Good on 'em for that. 6.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)