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Stereophonics Performance and Cocktails (V2/BMG) Things are so sad in the U.K. these days that the only thing the music tabloids can cobble together as a "movement" is "the Rebirth of Rock," which is even funnier than my ol' favourite, "the New Wave of the New Wave." And so Wales' Stereophonics--most likely unaware of the irony of their lounge-influenced name and album title--are the current "Biggest Rock Band in Britain" (although that might have changed by the time you read this). Which is even sadder, because at best their second album resembles what Bryan Adams might come up with if he wrote songs as a human being and not some personality-free hit machine. 6.5/10 (Chris Yurkiw)
Madder Rose Hello June Fool (Cooking Vinyl/True North) I reviewed a Madder Rose album earlier this year only to wonder, "Who cares?" and then a week later got stopped by an acquaintance who asked why I'd reviewed a record that was one year old (it had just been issued domestically). So I'm happy to report--to that acquaintance and what must be, I dunno, scores? hundreds? of fans of mellow guitar pop--that this low-key American quartet are back with a real new album and that there's a lot to be said for its subtlety, for Billy Cote's multifarious songwriting skills, for Mary Lorson's unremarkably crystalline voice. But then, you already knew that. 7.5/10 (Chris Yurkiw)
Method Man & Redman Blackout! (Def Jam/Universal)
Inspectah Deck Uncontrolled Substance (Sony/Epic)
Don't misunderstand me, because Inspectah Deck is easily in my top three of Wu-Tang MCs--no problem. Because of this, I enjoyed listening to this record after (yup, you guessed it) a pretty long wait. Deck's confidence on the mic manifests itself in a calmness that isn't completely subdued, but controlled. That's why he always sounds tight and focused. He says the beats on the album are underground, stairwell and block party beats, yet they sound more like the various producers tried to keep up with Deck's lyrical prowess and missed the mark by a bit. I'm still diggin' "Rec Room" and "Show and Prove," though, while the rest of the album grows on me. 7 (Scott C)
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Only in the hip hop game do the words "from the upcoming album" mean an eternity of waiting. Back in '95, when Red and Meth collaborated on the hit single "How High," those very words were there in small print. Now these successful solo artists are finally releasing what most people, myself included, thought just plain wouldn't happen. Production by Redman, DJ Scratch, Erick Sermon, the RZA, Rock Wilder and Mathematics takes well to these two jesters' lyrical romps. I was particularly impressed with the cover of Das EFX's "Mic Checka," one of the few hip hop covers I've been able to get with. The Funk Doctor Spock and the Riddler are all about bump and bounce, and take no lyrical shorts whatsoever. 7.5/10 (Scott C)