Various Music for Dancefloors (KPM/Fusion III)
No Doubt Return of Saturn (Interscope/Universal)
Against All Authority 24 Hour Roadside Resistance (Hopeless/Outside) AAA's main mandate is to bring the system down to its knees through a barrage of punk rock. Do they come close? Well, no. The barbed lyrics in "Dinkas When I Close My Eyes" threatens "to kill you with my rock and roll," but just sleepwalks through Subhumans' footsteps. The occasional ska riff does appear, but when they attempt reggae on "Next Song" they pack as much punch as Musical Youth. AAA may not bring down Babylon, but might just bore it to death. 6/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Lou Reed Ecstasy (Reprise/Warner) Could someone please tell Lou Reed to lose that mullet he's had for the past 15 years? It doesn't reflect well on anyone who's forced to utter the phrase "godfather of punk." As for the new studio album he's called Ecstasy, I guess Lou must be feeling better since taking Laurie Anderson 'round the block on his li'l Honda: he comes close to singing again (since deciding on New York that talking would do), and the ol' guy shows he still has some classic riffs in him--for anyone who still appreciates spare guitar rock. I was going to say "lean" guitar rock, but there's nothing low-fat about the 18-minute, would-be epic "Like a Possum"--possibly an answer song to "Like a Virgin." 7/10 (Chris Yurkiw)
HashimotoApril (Full of Beans)
Big Pun Yeeeah Baby! (Loud/Sony) Christopher Lee Rios has just joined a growing part of the hip hop industry that already includes unit-movers like Big L, Biggie Smalls and Tupac. PMM or post-mortem marketing has been generating dollars for done rappers for a while now, and you can add Pun's latest to the fold. Yeeeah Baby! isn't the best effort by the rotund Puerto Rican formerly known as Big Punisher, but is pretty much all you're going to get, unless there's some vault full of previously recorded material somewhere. RIP, Pun. 7/10 (Scott C)
Drag-On Opposite of H2O (Ruff Ryders/Universal) This kid is the closest thing to a young DMX that you're gonna see, without the gruff delivery. Drag-On is just as "prolific a lyricist" as his big buddy and is even joined by the head dog on a couple of tracks here. He also gets help from the Lox and Swizz Beatz as he puts it down on this, his debut album. Young Drag ain't sayin' nothing you haven't heard on any other Ruff Ryders release, so love 'em or hate 'em, you know what to expect. 6/10 (Scott C)
Audio Active Return of the Red I (Beat Renaissance/Warner)
Audiobing Dots of Colors EP (independent)
Various Glitterball Compilation 1: Mixed by Robert de la... Gauthier (Glitterball/Moxmusic) In our beloved Mr. Gauthier's own words, "After putting out 10 singles we figured it was time for a CD, since vinyl is mostly for DJs." Former Montrealer cum worldwide superstar Bobby de la G presents the first comprehensive collection of tunes from his Glitterball imprint, which he runs out of his European headquarters with the help of fellow producer Etienne Overdijk. This comp is, much like Robert, all about glittery, glamourous, shiny mirrorball house tunes. A veritable party-in-a-box of fun, sample-heavy, millennified disco. Break out the roller skates and glow sticks. 8/10 (Krista)
VariousMontreal House Musique 001 (Districk of Montreal) Whether or not it's PC to admit it, Montreal's electronic music scene is made up of two groups: French and English. Representing the francophone faction are Districk of Montreal, a label spawned from late-night sessions in the afterhours venues of les banlieues. Districk's second release is a comp dedicated to Montreal's famous (if not infamous) house scene and includes tracks from our city's finest producers, like Luc Raymond, Mateo, Scott Free, Fred Everything, Mark Anthony and Alain Vinet. Although I am 100 per cent for the advancement of local talent and therefore somewhat biased, every track on this collection is a keeper. Support the home team. 8/10 (Krista)
Various Caipirissima: Batucada Electronica (Caipirinha Music) This is probably the most genuine and integrated selection of Brazilian digi-beats I've heard, thanks to the wise choices of compiler Béco Dranoff (the name behind Crammed Discs, Red Hot + Rio and David Byrne's Os Mutantes anthology). A balance of homegrown Brazilian producers (Joao Parahyba, Apollo 9, the recently-deceased Suba) and prodigal sons (Arto Lindsay, Amon Tobin, the mighty Soul Slinger), Caipirissima offers a clear view of the future without compromising the riches of the past. 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Amel Larrieux Infinite Possibilities (Sony)
Lee Konitz Sound of Surprise (RCA/BMG) The 72-year-old leader, one of the living giants of the alto saxophone, began studies with Lennie Tristano in Chicago while still in his teens. Lennie's influence is still felt in the music of Konitz and tenorman Ted Brown, his able frontline partner here. The accompanying trio of guitarist John Abercrombie, bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joey Baron is first rate as well. Try the reworking of Jerome Kern's, "Thingin'" or Lee's own "Hi Beck" and "Subconscious-Lee." 9.5/10 (Len Dobbin)
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Also suitable for cruise liner decks, airport lounges, pachinko parlours, Olympic villages, tropical ex-pat bars, canine hair salons, nude car washes and dentists' offices. I'd all but had it with these "sexy kitsch from the vaults"-type comps when this li'l horn o' plenty popped up. This early-'70s made-for-TV tuneage, churned out by faceless studio hack/geniuses, was scrounged off the dusty shelves at England's KPM library label and is bound to trigger flashbacks in limey couch potatoes of the day. Opulent disco, stylish jazz-funk, headless-chicken Latin jams and more cool stuff, often uncategorizable. Don't touch that dial! 9/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Oh, my stars! What a delightful surprise! Taking home No Doubt's first one in five years, I was assuming disappointment would result, and here they sound fresher and sharper than Tragic Kingdom ever did. The ska thing's long forgotten as Cali-punk crunch and Valley-girl balladry duke it out at the nuevo-wavo cabaret. Singer Gwen Stefani still pulls off the Mae West/Cyndi Lauper bit as she tears out her heart and deposits it on your dinner plate (the big three-oh and attendant romantic desperation being the theme here). 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Hashimoto is an indie geek's wet dream: the catchiest pop hooks carry some of the quirkiest lyrics since Van Dyke Parks and Black Francis. In reality, Hashimoto is probably just a guy badly in need of getting laid and plays the part of everybody's little brother perfectly. The George Harrison-esque choppy chords in "Slow Gear" are sure to win over any Mojo-reading anglophile, while "Personal Clown" and "The Dirtmovers" recall Robyn Hitchcock. Well-crafted oddness that manages to stay a million miles away from becoming Weird Al Yankovic. With pop gems like this, I hope Hashimoto never gets laid again. 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Asian Dub Foundation Community Music (London/Warner)
With Community Music, ADF reboot their ragga-rocka-rap sheet peppered with Bollywood bits and activist bytes (but, uh, precious little dub). The energy level's up a good two notches from their first disc, and teeny teen MC Deeder's dancehall diatribes ring more solid than ever, even when he's guesting on "Psycho Buds" by ADF sidekicks Audio Active. This Japanese trio limit their politics--yea, verily, their entire raison d'etre--to weed worship, hence Red I's nebular, future-tense dubrock distortions. Ebb to ADF's fist-in-the-air flow, AA complement their associates well. ADF 9/10, AA 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Late last year a little CD single slid my way and pricked up my ears, "Hearts For Motors," a house-y synth-pop shuffle that had me running for old Heaven 17 records, and mixing it with the latter-day electrobeats of les Rythmes Digitales. Now, the Montreal duo of Phillipe Malard and Adam Cavaluzi follow-up with another self-release: three songs that sound the early-'80s bell even louder. "Dots of Colors" confirms the H-17 nod with its "Fascist" funk thing; "Erase" jumps grooves between disko motorik and Chic punch; and "Dollar Store" is a taut electro-funk breakdown with Prince synths and live drums. Audiobing: the next big (old) thing. 8/10 (Chris Yurkiw)
The female half of jazzy-funky duo Groove Theory (responsible for the infectious "Tell Me") steps into a musical landscape full of possibilities. She wisely lays her path close to her lounge-soul roots, but strays enough to make the trip interesting, tackling several subjects off the beaten track, including "i n i," which questions beauty standards, "Shine," all about people who aren't what they seem, and the title track, about a young brother on the edge. Captivating. 7.5/10 (Gerard Dee)