The Bloodhound Gang Hooray For Boobies (Geffen/Universal)
Steely Dan Two Against Nature (Giant/Warner)
Tremolo Faites l'Amour aux Fleurs (Ozone)
Various Pushing Scandinavian Rock to the Man (Bad Afro Records/Fusion III)
Therapy? Suicide Pact--You First (Ark 21/Universal)
Alex Chilton Set (Bar None/Koch) Alex Chilton used to be unpredictable, going from '60s teen-pop star to proto-punk hero with Big Star. Then he cracked up and made some really great music. And by the time '80s alterna-heads dug into his myth, he was coasting on loosey-goosey covers of R&B pimp tunes, Italian lounge numbers and the odd bluesy original. But Chilton has remained in the latter mode ever since, and while the whimsical pleasures of albums like High Priest or his last, '95's A Man Called Destruction, unveil themselves slowly, there's truly little to get excited about on this Set of 12 cover tunes torn off with a rhythm section one night in NYC last year. "Lipstick Traces" and "April in Paris" deliver little more than the allure of their titles, and only "Oogum Boogum" rises above bar-blandism with a fun falsetto and some Chiltonian raunch. 5/10 (Chris Yurkiw)
The Reverend Horton Heat Spend a Night in the Box (Time Bomb)
Various Plastic Volume 3 (Nettwerk) Just as the junior high kids have Britney, Christina and all those Boy groups, the 16-22 bracket have Moby, the Chemical Brothers and trance. Ergo, Plastic 3, the latest from the series that has successfully managed to fuse the sound of guitar folk-pop and potential rave anthems from the most established artists in either genre, stick it on a CD and sell it. BT creates another brilliant Sarah McLaughlin remix, Hybrid take on Moby and Filter, and Sasha, Moloko and Beth Orton deliver catchy electronic-pop gems. 7/10 (Krista)
Various Funk Spectrum II: Kenny and Keb's Choice (BBE/Fusion III)
Jordana presents 1.8.7. The Cities Collection (Jungle Sky/Fusion III) The golden-boy-turned-golden-girl of NYC's Jungle Sky label has had to deal with a lot more than just gender confusion lately. Jordana (1.8.7) was viciously attacked outside the venue of a Midwest rave she was performing at recently, and left for dead. This has caused her (understandably) to consider ending her career, and so The Cities Collection could be the last we hear from this jungle DJ/producer. Each track on this album attempts to interpret the vibe of a different U.S. city, from Hollywood to Miami to Detroit, in her signature fast, sample-heavy, chopped-up jungle style. 7/10 (Krista)
A.B. Quintanilla y los Kumbia Kings Amor Familia y Respeto (EMI)
Various The Voices of Urban Renewal (Guidance/Fusion III) In this collection of eloquent, articulate and ethereal performances of spoken word and poetry, I was happily surprised to find that the musical counterpart of each artist was not just a backdrop, but an important part of each piece. Bits from Mos Def and Mutabaruka shine like stars while Ursula Rucker earns her keep on the brilliant "Circe." Nice to pick up a whole album of words that doesn't lose momentum somewhere in the middle. 7/10 (Scott C)
Chappaquiddick Skyline Self-titled (Sub Pop) Ever love the sound of a record but not the songs? I started to love the sound of Joe Pernice back in '96 when his Scud Mountain Boys delivered Massachusetts, confirming the value of early Eagles and Bread(!). But I started to worry about the songs with Joe's follow-up in the Pernice Brothers--despite the promise of a (heart)string section. And I worry some more with Chappaquiddick Skyline, which hits all the right orchestral samples and sombre acoustic sublimities, but somehow the wrong chords. Saving grace: an unlikely but striking cover of New Order's "Leave Me Alone." 6/10 (Chris Yurkiw)
Erik Friedlander Skin (Siam)
Friedlander is a much-in-demand jazz cellist, who's been here in Montreal with Joe Lovano on a couple of occasions. On this 11-track outing, he fronts an unusual group of alto sax (Andy Laster), bass and percussion, adding here and there the Atlas Cello Quartet. The exotic and exciting program consists of music by Friedlander himself as well as Julius Hemphill, Mancini, Mingus and Santana. A breath of fresh air! 9.5/10 (Len Dobbin)
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Noted feminist Germaine Greer once referred to the male of our species as "idiot savants," and BHG can back her up on this--especially frontman Jimmy Pop, wunderkind wordsmith, trash-culture encyclopedia and occasional contributor to the excellent POPsmear magazine. The band's familiar mélange of heavy metal chugga-chug, hip hop wicky-woo and suburban alterna-mope now benefits from a questionable dose of Eurotrash hi-NRG (check "The Bad Touch"). What separates this from all the limp Bizkits out there is Pop's caustic, brilliant, self-immolating stupidity, displayed in fine form on the lovely tune "A Lap Dance Is So Much Better If the Stripper Is Crying" and a phone call to his mom in search of a word that rhymes with "vagina." The disc bears a sticker that says "Warning: extremely offensive material," and I'll be damned if it doesn't deserve it. 9/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
It would be nice to report that this is the brilliant Steely Dan comeback disc we've all been waiting for. But it has neither the complex coked-out eeriness of Gaucho and Aja, nor the tricky hooks of the earlier stuff. Still, it is Fagen back with Becker, and the latter's buzzing guitar adds life to the swarm of studio musicians. Three great pop songs (about dirty cousins, dirty old men and Fran Drescher), a bunch of jazzier/ moodier ones, only a couple that really drag and miss. Worth playing 500 times, maybe not 1000. 8.5/10 (Al South)
Marlowe Galax-sea (Scratch 'n' Sniff)
What these two young local acts have in common, aside from their upcoming co-bill for the CISM Radiothon, is a knowing, competent approach to pop/rock in a dreamy mode. The difference, aside from tongue, is the dreams that inform their respective début CDs. Marlowe's is the one where you're floating sadly through the deep blue of space in a warm glass egg. Tremolo's is the one where you're a groovy kinda naked on a haystack in your elementary school's sunny parking lot. Keep an eye out for these two bands--and keep on dreaming, all you crazy, magical, wide-eyed dreamers out there. Both 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) With Ja.ne.fon.dorb at Cabaret, March 15, 8:30pm, $8
I don't know what they're putting in their water over there, but this CD is a testament to all things rockin'. The Hellacopters are thankfully back to their noisy, bratty roots on "Misanthropic High" and Stooges cover "I Got a Right." The Royal Beat Conspiracy play some serious U.K. freakbeat on "The Real Thing" and Scandinavia's greatest export Turbonegro (R.I.P.) even resurrect two tracks, including a rippin' version of Bowie's "Suffragette City." Throw in the Tremolo Beer Gut setting the controls for the heart of the reverb and the almighty Nomads showing the younguns just how it's done, and this compilation is essential rock listening. 9/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Not your average metal band, Therapy? do things a little different. The vocals often remind me of a rambling drunk in a trailer park eatin' leftover KD, watchin' People's Court and Cops (funny thing is, they're Irish). "God Kicks" is an interesting little track that'll get you scratchin' yer noggin with said vocals, "Six Mile Water" is a little more on the serious tip, but opener "He's Not That Kind of Girl" makes up for it. Quirky metal in an age of bad rap/rock is a nice change, but it ain't gonna get too much radio play. Somehow I don't think these guys care. 7/10 (Lateef Martin)
After leaving Sub Pop, the Rev. seems to really have set his eyes on the prize this time around. Produced by Butthole Surfer Paul Leary once again, the title track attempts some weak swing but quickly gets thrown into high gear. Heat's able to coax new sounds out of his reverb-drenched Gretsch, but doesn't really offer up any screwball pitches here. The dawn of his Stetson is still tippin' towards rockabilly, surf, punk, country and blues, somehow making his odes to bad women and bad hangovers worth listening to again... and again and again. 8/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Still my favourite label for the hottest and rarest of reissues, Barely Breaking Even Records strikes gold again with the second installment of the funk spectrum formula. Compiled by his highness Kenny Dope Gonzales and pro-digger Keb Darge, this record is a bevy of the greatest songs that you never heard. From the Peacemakers' grimy "Don't Push Your Luck" and Billy Gardener's hilariously funky "I Got Some" to the strangely familiar garage sounds of Joe Coleman's "Get It Off the Ground," this one's chock-full of nuts from beginning to end. 9/10 (Scott C)
Los Kumbia Kings continue the trend towards a more urban-sounding Latin style--most noticeably popularized by acts like Dark Latin Groove--while staying true to the Latin flavour. Led by A.B. Quintanilla (brother of the late Selana), the Kings punctuate their cumbia sound with doses of R&B ("Together") and reggae ("Reggae Kumbia"). Lead single "U Don't Love Me" is one of the album's two English tracks. 7.5/10 (Gerard Dee)