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Eleni Mandell Wishbone (Mr. Charles Records) Listening to the title track of this indie debut, I've got the L.A. songstress pegged: PJ Harvey in sensible shoes. It's the voice and the bluesy thing, a little tempered. But then "Sylvia" rocks out pop style (like her friends, Ednaswap?), "Normandie" is slinky and all jazz vox, and then there's a Middle Eastern number not to mention a more vague Middle-Eastern Europe vibe throughout. Cabaret? Variety? Ms Mandell likes to call it Misc-Eleni. 7/10 (Chris Yurkiw) On the terrasse at Foufounes, Saturday, June 19, 4-8pm, free
Cibo Matto Stereo * Type A (Warner)
Various Vue #1 (independent) Here's the first installment of Montreal's folk collective taking their music out of the cafés and kitchens and into the digital domain. First up is the real gem of this collection, Princess Deborah and the Royal Pain. With the sonic restraint of Galaxie 500 and the panorama of Mazzy Star, her highness' lo-fi ditties talk about 3am realizations and whispered secrets. Neville Quinlan's southern accent does seem a bit pre-fab when he's singing "Vancouver," but his heartfelt songwriting more than makes up for it. Norm Dionne Meets the Deadline is the most commercial of the bunch, leaning towards a Gram Parsons-era Flying Burrito Bros. swing feel. This is folk music better washed down with a Boréale Rousse than a café latté. 7/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Greg Amirault Acadian Folk Song (Effendi/SRI) A new jazz label, a long-awaited debut CD by Nova Scotia-born guitarist Amirault, assisted by a stellar crew made up of his brother Steve, Alex Walkington, Dave Laing, Joel Miller and on one item--"Mood Peace," which has lyrics by Steve--vocalist Sienna Dahlen. An excellent program of Greg's strong original material plus Jerome Kern's "Dearly Beloved." 9/10 (Len Dobbin)
Pham Duc Thanh Vietnamese Traditional Music (Oliver Sudden/Festival)
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Hard to remember the shy, reserved sound of Cibo Matto's debut Viva La Woman! Now a quartet (the duo of Yuka and Miho now supplemented by that fat wimp Sean Lennon and some guy named Timo) backed up by some prestigious guests (incl. Marc Ribot and two-thirds of Martin Medeski and Wood), Cibo Matto strut about dispensing trip hop/slip pop for the sci-fi hi-fi with humour, poise, elegance and confidence. The action's comparatively up-tempo, heavy on the shiny brass and cosmophonica, mildly spiced with Braziliana and even a little heavy metal monkey business ("Blue Train"). I guess Guiliani didn't dust all the fun bugs in NYC. 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Examinations of traditional folk and/or classical music--from anywhere in the world--can often feel like being trapped in a classroom on a hot day. That's not how it should be and Pham Duc Thanh knows it. A variety of instruments and styles are touched on in a way that's light, lively and frequently touching (thanks in part to singer Lieu Nguyet Lan). My pick's track four, featuring the surreal sound of the dan bau, a sort of bamboo lap steel. 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)