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Various Café Del Mar Volumen Seis (Manifesto/Mercury)
Breakbeat Era Ultra Obscene (XL/Beggar'S Banquet) Drum & bass with live guitar, bass and a vocalist? How punk rock. And with track names like "Rancid," "Anti-Everything" and "Our Disease" sung by a chick who sounds like PJ Harvey (only less bitter), it is kind of punk rock. Breakbeat Era is the creation of V Recording's DJ Die and Roni Size with vocalist Leonie Laws, and the combination is surprisingly likeable. Die and Size manage to build a house of unshakable beats that compliment Laws' gritty vocal styling. Killer. 9/10 (Krista)
Los Van Van Llego... Van Van (Havana Caliente/Warner)
Lenny Breau Boy Wonder (Guitarchives/Universal) Breau, who spent a good part of his musical life in Canada, was murdered 45 years ago, at age 43. Renowned among his peers and discerning listeners, Breau did things with his instrument that opened up all manner of possibilities for the guitar. On many of the solo cuts here you'd swear that you were hearing two people. The former, his very first recording, shows off a musically precocious 15-year-old. The latter--a moving solo guitar outing--is a look at the private world of a great, if unsung, player. Wonder 7.5/10, Fever 10/10 (Len Dobbin)
James Hall & Worship & Praise Live in New York (PolyGram/Universal)
The sounds of contemporary gospel are joyfully captured by these two choir-driven ensembles. New York-based James Hall is a local favourite who has thrilled Montreal audiences on several occasions. Live in New York effectively captures the spirit of these shows, with Hall leading this 40-voice choir through songs that are as precise as they are powerful. Toronto native Sharon Riley puts the Americans on notice that quality gospel is not only confined to the red, white and blue. The 25-strong Faith Choral infuse a healthy dose of R&B into a mix tailor-made for the Y2K generation. Gospel evolved to move heaven and earth--these two releases will at least move body and soul. Both discs 7.5/10 (Gerard Dee) At Gospelfête, Sat. & Sun., Sept. 1819,
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Who cares if you've never been to Ibiza. You can be on the beach watching the sunrise anytime you want--as long as you have one of the Café Del Mar compilations. However, Volumen Seis is to be the last mix that Ibiza chill-out master José Padilla will put out, and so the Café resident DJ has compiled a collection of the latest dreamy, ethereal and uplifting classics for your relaxation pleasure, including artists like Rae & Christian, Nitin Sawney, Talvin Singh and even Dusty Springfield. 8/10 (Krista)
30 years ago, Los Van Van shook up the Cuban music scene by fusing salsas, claves and cumbias with imported rock and soul power. That mix is still in place, and if not as groundbreaking as it once was, at least the energy level here would be remarkable for men half their age--good thing P18 are up to that challenge. Taking the torch across the Atlantic to Paris, this latest Mano Negra offshoot steal all of Los Van Van's tricks and then push things into techno, house, drum & bass and dub reggae territory. While Llego... seems rather neat and polite next to P18's rambunctious frenzy, both discs have their moments of inspired strangeness. Llego... 7/10, Urban Cuban 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) Los Van Van play at the Spectrum, Wed., Sept. 29