The Chieftains Water From the Well (RCA/BMG)
Black 47 Trouble in the Land (Shanachie)
Mary Timony Mountains (Matador) Mary Timony takes it upon her lonesome here to follow up Helium's 1997 breakthrough into the previously untrekked realm of dungeons-and-dragons-new-wave-indie-prog, The Magic City. And when things get under way with one of 15 minimalist madrigals called "Dungeon Dance," you know that Boston's Timony is going to take you for that walk again, and why not? Maybe nix the facile "new wave" part this time, since Timony dumps the Korg in favour of piano, Rhodes, and even a little harpsichord--although my favourite instrument here is her whammy bar (chalk up another resurrection). Yeah, whacked, ambient whammy bar, which fits well with the minor-chord moodism of this spacious, subtle work. 7/10 (Chris Yurkiw)
Violent Femmes Freak Magnet (Beyond/BMG)
Peaches Teaches of Peaches (Teenage USA) "Lover Tits"... "Cum Undun"... "Fuck the Pain"... "Suck & Let Go"... Okay, Peaches, you've got my antenna up with your titulars, now whaddya got to lay on me? After riding this tight little sextette of songs, I must say that Miss Peaches cums correct, jacking into an electro-rock coupling with little more than a beaten-up box (a 505), a g-string (stands for "guitar") and enough dirty talk to compensate for her hometown of Toronto the Good. Yeah, Peaches slaps old-school and punk ass with minimal tools, rocking harder than le Tigre and schooling Go-Go grad students Sleater-Kinney in sex positivism. "Peach, er, Teach--can I stay after class?!" 8/10 (Chris Yurkiw)
Suicide Suicide + 23 Minutes Over Brussels (Mute/Fusion III) Suicide Second Album + Demos (Mute/Fusion III) Despite taking cues from '50s and '60s rock 'n' roll, forgotten rebels Suicide eradicated all traces of guitars in their aural hara-kiri. Even supposed "punks" hated the gutter-dwelling duo's Casio-fuelled overdose of wrist-slitting threnodies (as the live disc proves). Despite creating some immortal songs and an utterly original sound (who else was doing electro-doo-wop-a-billy in the '70s?), Suicide's unholy din often verges on unlistenable arthouse confrontationalism. However, there are more than enough shining moments on these four silver biscuits to give you a reason to keep on living. Suicide 8/10, Second 7/10 (Adam Gollner)
Bastard Noise The Analysis of Self Destruction (Alien 8) The gatefold sleeve is rather fetching, but the music within is anything but. Using analog electronic noise, Bastard Noise weave a bleak, dark soundscape with blips and bleeps peaking out from behind droning tones. Although the CD's imagery and song titles ("A Head in the Refrigerator of Apartment 213," "Brotherhood-Execution Style") would lead one to believe that this is an all-out assault on the senses, Bastard Noise get almost barren at times. In "Under Mother Earth's Skin," these musical misanthropes coax a scream out of feedback noise; in "An Obstacle to Murder" they squeeze bird calls out of broken equipment. Not for the faint of heart, slumming Atari Teenage Riot fans or the imagination-challenged. 8/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Various Tektonics (OM/Fusion III) It seems like the whole idea of the merger is being exploited to the point where absolutely no two solitary concepts or institutions are left alone. Here we find the meeting of some of the biggest names in the world of turntablism hooking up with all the big cats running things in electronica. Honestly, it's nothing all that exciting, but there are moments of innovative bliss that you may just miss if you blink. Wagon Christ and Rob Swift? Meat Beat Manifesto and Herbaliser? Propellerheads and DJ Craze? Photek and the Scratch Perverts? An interesting choice of dance partners, but not enough to keep me interested right up to the end. 7/10 (Scott C)
Julius Papp Go Deep With Julius Papp Vol. 2 (Maxi/Razor & Tie) San Francisco smooth-meister Julius Papp returns with a second mix CD of easy, sultry vocal tunes from the Maxi records catalogue. A 13-year veteran of the Bay Area scene, Papp is known for his ability to transform run-of-the-mill tracks into multi-layered house gems through his use of a cappellas and rearrangements. On Deep Vol. 2 Papp plunges in with tunes from Cevin Fisher, Big Muff and the Soul Movement. 8/10 (Krista)
Mr. Oizo Analog Worms Attack (Mute/Fusion III) Believe the hype! The flat beats and the furry Henson puppet that fronted a Levi's ad and took Europe by storm recently arrived on our shores and already they're creating a buzz. Though the music in itself is infectiously good, it's hard to say if I would like it as much were it not for Flat Eric, Mr. Oizo's (pronounced wah-zo) little yellow molt mascott. However, Analog Worms is analog downbeat funk at its best--you'll be bopping your head uncontrollably before you know it. 8.5/10 (Krista)
Youssou N'dour Joko: From Village to Town (Columbia/Sony)
Sekou Sundiata Longstoryshort (Righteous Babe) The god of spoken word has been good to us over the last little while, blessing us with the freshest of introspective ponderings and fiery commentary. Sekou Sundiata wastes no time in making sure he speaks clear and true, dredging up the soul of a revolutionary spirit in order to sound a new wake-up call. With jazzy flows and funky tales, this wordsmith weaves a web that connects musically and poetically to rise above. This one-time teacher to righteous babe Ani DiFranco has struck a chord with this release that focuses on the full power of the spoken word. 8.5/10 (Scott C)
Jimmy Reed Blues Masters: The Very Best of... (Rhino/Warner)
Rob Lutes Gravity (independent) What the hell is it about this disc that makes me think of wooden rafts, straw hats and really tall grass? Maybe it's local urban bluesman Lutes working his guitar like some good ol' country boy who doesn't give a damn. Could be the fact that he sings about some real shit: jobs, money, relationships, drinking. Or maybe it's because tracks like "Uptight" and "Eighteen Years" slow everything down and makes you want to prop your feet up and obey thelaw of gravity. 8/10 (Gerard Dee)
Chris Mitchell Spectrum (Justin Time/Fusion III)
This quintet, with the leader on a multitude of saxes and Kirk MacDonald, Steve McDade and the ever-swingin' rhythm duo of Neil Swanson and Jerry Fuller, is joined on half of the action here by guitarist Lorne Lofsky. The group enlivened the Ottawa Jazz Festival and was the deserving winner of last year's DuMaurier Grand Prix du Jazz at our own Jazz Fest. Catch this Andre White-engineered session and don't miss the group at this year's Fest. 9/10 (Len Dobbin)
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Oozing with Irishness, this all-trad album by the pared-down Chieftains (the core quintet is there but with surprisingly few guests) is made up of rural pub folk songs found by ringleader Paddy Moloney. The live songs on the album, rife with glasses clinking and the foot-stompin' of the Ballyfin Set Dancers in the background are the most fun, finding this 30-year-old band doing what they do best. Water offers up all the Chieftains' specialties, from top-o'-the-mooornin' ballads (like the a cappella "May Morning") to seven-pints-later jigs like "The Dingle Set," featuring Ashley MacIsaac. Elbowing for room from Irish pansy-popsters like Boyzone, this swelling listen is a reminder of just how great ol' Irish tunes can sound. 8.5/10 (Siobhàn O'Connor)
Aye, lads and lasses, 'tis the pluck of the Irish I'm talkin' aboot. Black 47 is a grassroots Celtic band based in NYC, with influences and inspiration rangin' from the Clash to reggae to political activist Michael Collins to ska and even rap. With fans ranging from crusty Bronx types and Liam Neeson to Brooke Shields and Irish pub hoppers, Black 47's gotta bit of a followin'. Workin' class lyrics tackle everything from racism ("Trouble in the Land") to luv--or rather, hot sex ("I Got Laid on James Joyce's Grave")--to Irish pride ("Bobby Kennedy"). Trouble in the Land has got it all, so pour yerself a pint and sing along! 8/10 (Lateef "O'Grady" Martin)
There's no greater freak magnet than the patch of asphalt that constitutes any city's main drag, and that seems to be home for the Femmes these days--a far cry from the rural desolation that informed their early work. Having purged the pigfuck acoustic bent right good on their very recent live one, Viva Wisconsin, Gordon Gano and gang plug in for a batch of largely electrified, neon-soaked urban raunch (their roots show on a couple of tracks, though). Problem is, this leaves one of the best bands of the '80s college rock uprising to wander facelessly along an overcrowded, impersonal boulevard. Back to the farm, boys--that's where you belong. 6.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Senegal's preeminent contribution to world pop returns with a bundle of good intentions, gorgeously produced if rather uneven. See, N'dour's goal of creating a mature, uplifting pop music that reaches beyond simple multiculti fusion is a commendable one. It's a hit-and-miss affair, though, as illustrated by the lively "Please Wait" and snappy Wyclef collab "How Come?" on one hand, listless jams with Sting and Peter Gabriel, and a mediocre Temptations cover, on the other. Either way, there's no getting past what a treasure the velvety rasp of his boyish voice is. 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
From the greatest reissue label of all time, Rhino, comes yet another great collection, this time from the immortal Jimmy Reed. Reed is probably best known for his blues hits "I Ain't Got You" and "Bright Lights Big City," but some of these lesser-known tracks, like "Take Out Some Insurance" and "Oh John," are thick with the deadly venom running through Reed's bad blood. The man serves up the blues the way it was supposed to be, with a thick swampy sound eminating out of his broken amplifier, his harmonica begging for mercy as he spills tales of cheating women, murder and dead ends. 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)