The Robots Day of the Robots (Man's Ruin) You would think by their amazing name that this would be Krautrock worked out on a pocket calculator. Well not so fast there, Speedy. It does come out of the gate like a Porsche on the Autobahn, but these young (New Bomb) turks' brand of sleazy, greasy rawk roots stems directly from the Motor City's hey-daze. Tuneage like "Speedway Child" and "Juju Man" are as fast as cheap biker crank and as sleek as George Hamilton, while "It's Not You It's Me" gets dangerously close to (gulp) pop, but played in a glorious, downstroke abandonment. The Robots really put the rawk in rock 'n' roll and are every bit as good as local boys Smash Up Derby and Demolition. 9/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Veruca Salt Resolver (Velveteen/EMI) (Atlantic/WEA)
Apples in Stereo The Discovery of a World Inside the Moone (spinART/Sonic Unyon)
Various Mission: Impossible 2 (Hollywood/Universal) Soundtracks, it seems, have become simply vehicles for the "hottest" acts out there. Limp Bizkit are as consistently redundant and pointless as ever with their shameless cover of the Mission: Impossible theme, Metallica does a bit better with their bluesy "I Disappear" but are still tepid, and Rob Zombie... let's not go there. There are a couple of decent tracks on here, but I'm sure it was by mistake. Buckcherry's "Alone" is worth a second listen, Tori Amos' "Carnival" is yet another feather in her diverse cap, Chris Cornell gets all rock-soulful, screamin' about his "Mission 2000," and composer Hans Zimmer can never do wrong, but in the end M:I 2 leaves you half-hoping for the 30-second self-destruct. 5/10 (Lateef Martin)
Various Hip Hop for Respect (Rawkus/Virgin) In the midst of the Amadou Diallo fiasco and others like it in New York, this EP was put together by Talib Kweli, Mos Def and Q-Tip in an effort to try and address the issue of police brutality, hip hop style. All participants appeared free of charge and rhyme from the heart about the violation of human rights everywhere. Some of the many contributors include Cappadonna, Kool G Rap, Common, Posdnous, Company Flow, What What, John Forte, Mood, J-Live, Tame One and Channel Live. With the sheer magnitude of talent and the topic at hand, it's amazing how everything fits together so well. All the proceeds from the sale of this record will go to the Hip Hop for Respect Fund, a non-profit organization that combats police brutality nationwide. 8.5/10 (Scott C)
DJ SpinnaThe Beat Suite (Urban Theory/Beechwood) Ah, the talented and adept productive creativity of DJ Spinna shines yet again. What I like about Spinna is how he always makes sure he has the Jigmastas somewhere on anything he puts out, as well as all the other "supa emcees" that don't like to stray far from the man who always hooks them up with a dope beat. Nice combo here, with everybody from Eminem to the Domecrackers filling out the bill. Some nice instrumental tracks, too, from both Spinna and his buddy 88 Keys and some tracks with Seven L and Esoteric, Schoolz of Thought and Jabaz. Spinna may keep a low profile, but he's definitely one of the best producers around. 8/10 (Scott C)
Various Cinemaphonic: Electro Soul (Emperor Norton/Outside)
As cosmic coincidence would have it, every time I discover a new gritty '70s Roy Scheider-packin'-a-snubnose-.38 flick (the latest: The Outside Man, with a busty Ann-Margret and some crabby French guy), I likewise land a new comp of studio soundtrack instrumentals from the same timeframe. Although long rampant across the pond, Cinemaphonic is the first such exercise from the States. Pillaging the vaults of the Valentine/Major library label for lightfooted funk, danger-boy disco and analog progshit, DJ/ex-child star Dave "Lil' Earl" Hollander resurrects the likes of Walter Murphy and Milton Nascimbene for 45 minutes of sideburns, cocaine and rooftop chopper landings. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
ElementFuse
(MTLuniversal)
As if out of thin air comes this self-financed, self-produced, self-distributed album from local DJ/producer Element. DIY is the message being conveyed through the medium of electronic music, as well as a Bauhaus-ian "less is more" philosophy. Fuse is a collection of minimalist interpretations and variations of techno with drum & bass tendencies, the result of which produces, loosely, busy-ish experimental electronica. 7/10 (Krista) Launch at Noize on Fri., May 19, 8pm
De-Phazz Godsdog (Mole/Ozone)
Achtung! All mambots report to the dancefloor! Straight outta Deutschland comes an animatronic reconstruction of some post-war/pre-Castro Cuba and environs that probably never existed. De-phazz's Godsdog is nonetheless no novelty disc, closer to the lush Latin fantasies of Japan's Shibuya scene than to the irritating Lou Bega. That's only half the story, though--amid the tropical mock-up are numerous smooth-contoured club numbers and mysterious dub charges to cement the cool factor. 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Johnny FiascoCluster (Afterhours Music/Oasis)
More bumpy, funky house music from the Midwest. This time around it's from Chicago native Johnny Fiasco, one of the Windy City's busiest and hardest-working DJ/producers, who has released tunes on labels like Chicago's reputable Cajual, France's Pamplemousse and his own Viva House. Cluster is a collection of Johnny originals and jazzy, pumping floorshakers mixed together by Fiasco himself. Not life-changing, but definitely a party-in-a-box. 7.5/10 (Krista)
JoeMy Name is Joe (BMG)
Carl Thomas Emotional (BMG)
Both soulmen Joe (Thomas) and Carl Thomas (no relation) have incredible potential, but the ability to come fresh in an over-saturated genre isn't obvious. Whereas '97's brilliant All That I Am boasted musical gems, Joe's latest opts for such memorable lines as "Your body's on my menu/Let me eat it up" ("Table for Two"). Um, what? In comparison, Carl's debut is like the proverbial baby's bottom.
Joe Lovano 52nd Street Themes (Blue Note/EMI)
The musician of the '90s, in the company of people like George Garzone, Gary Smulyan, Tim Hagas, Conrad Herwig, John Hicks, Dennis Irwin and Lewis Nash plus marvelous arrangements by Willie "Face" Smith of music by the likes of Tadd Dameron, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Billy Strayhorn. It all adds up to the best album released up to this point in 2000. Beautiful music, lovingly played by a living giant. Run, don't walk to your favourite store and check this one out! 10/10 (Len Dobbin)
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The guy can do no wrong. Every release of his blows me away, this newest more than any before it. Perhaps his most organic effort and certainly his most confident, Supermodified finds Tobin's sexy, sinister tune-cobbling in top form. A master beat constructor, Tobin tackles the hard touch jazz breaks like a lion tamer, lines 'em up and makes 'em jump through hoops. They're only part of a whole sonic circus, though; noir-ish grind and nebulous tarpit tuneage, sly grins and nervous back glances, a tip of the tiki mug and shards of glitter in the murk. Check out "Precursor," on which the Mirror's own Lateef (code name: Quadraceptor) busts a little beatboxing for the Tobin treatment. A terrifyingly cool joint, the whole thing. 10/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Sonic Youth NYC Ghosts & Flowers (Geffen/Universal)
Sonic Youth haven't slayed with an entire long-player since '88's Daydream Nation--back when they were bringing rock to noise, not the opposite. Now that rock doesn't much exist there's only the noise to bring, meaning that SY have been cut loose into plinky-plunky space, their major label albums making no more concessions to "pop" than their SYR indie ones. No expansive acid washes here (and even the textures are boring--they never did get those stolen guitars back, did they?), NYCG&F is just 42 minutes of flat, arty ditties. Plinky-plunky. Tinkle strum dum dum. "Nevermind (What Was It Anyway)" is of mild interest as an oblique eulogy; the title track manages to muster up some guitorchestral chime; and then it's over. Is it over? 5/10 (Chris Yurkiw)
Shedding the Breeders pastiche and Spandex-rock spectacle of the first two albums (respectively), the new Veruca Salt is an exercise in self-indulgence on the part of singer/songwriter/co-producer Louise Post. Formulaic song structures and obvious, repetitive themes make the whole package a bit laughable: half the lyrics are bitter odes to departed co-Saltine Nina Gordon, while half the songs use the tired device of quiet, whispery bits followed by big rawk wig-outs (co-producer and Nine Inch Nails/Filter alumnus Brian Liesegang may have had a hand in this). All this said, there are actually a few good tunes stashed around the album's mid-section, if you can tolerate Post's sometimes grating Yank drawl. 6/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)
Don't let that extraneous E on "moon" in the title denote too much weirdo pre-war hippiedom here: Denver's Apples in Stereo are the leanest and latest-leaning (influence-wise) of the Elephant 6 crew. Leader and producer Rob Schneider gets uttered in the same breath as Brian Wilson or Phil Spector, but I swear there's more Ray Davies (British invasion) or Joey Levine (bubblegum) in him than those other crazies. Yeah, the Apples occasionally drag out the tuba and piccolo for that meta-retro Sgt. Pepper vibe, but for the most part these are glazed, riff-centric sugar tunes--teetering somehow between the Archies and Big Star. 7.5/10 (Chris Yurkiw)
Lead single "I Wish" follows the storytelling style of great '70s soul records, and if retro cut "Cold, Cold World" sounds like a remake, that's only because it so effectively captures the feel of back in the day. The uptempo "Summer Rain" and very downtempo "Hey Now" showcase the diverse moods that Thomas captures and releases, while the innovative spoken-word piece "Trouble Won't Last" is a refreshing departure. Sorry Joe, the Thomas to remember this time is Carl. Joe 6.5/10, Carl 8/10 (Gerard Dee)