Queens of the Stone Age Rated R (Interscope/Universal) Nash Kato Debutante (Will/Loosegroove/Oasis) It's pretty safe to say I was the only person on the planet who thought that the final album by indie-rock pranksters Urge Overkill, Exit the Dragon, was their finest. Everyone else thought it was Eddie Money ("But don't you see?! They were trying to do Eddie Money! And doing it a damn sight better!"). So it was only in blind, self-righteous hope-against-hope that I cracked Kato's solo Debutante, looking for more refried Bad Company riffs and, this time, meta-ironic witticisms on what it's like to be back on an indie after your Geffen group crashed and burned somewhere between the appropriation of slick-rock and the co-opting of alt. Oh well, at least there are a couple of Bad Company riffs. 5.5/10 (Chris Yurkiw)
Modest Mouse The Moon and Antarctica (Epic/Sony) Modest Mouse is a good name for one of today's only young rock bands to be original enough to win an affirming consensus in the dwindling indie nation. Modest. Mouse. And it doesn't hurt that the trio is from the now-iconic Pacific Northwest. Great grey hopes, sure, but not so modest as to deny the advances of Sony, a company not known for its kindness to such small artistic creatures, for whom they make the leap with their third album. Artistically, there seems to be little suffering so far: the group even delivers a stark song-cycle based on the writings of a depressive fan--sinewy guitars, stoic vocals and strange song structures intact. Stay gold, mousy boys. 8/10 (Chris Yurkiw)
Roger Manning, Jr. & Brian Reitzell Logan's Sanctuary Original Soundtrack (Emperor Norton/Outside)
Eminem The Marshall Mathers EP (Interscopoe)
2 Live Crew Private Personal Parts (Lil' Joe) Just when I thought records like this collection of bass and booty call-and-response tracks couldn't cut it anymore, someone drops "We Want Some Pussy" at the club on Friday night and the crowd goes bananas. It was like no time had passed since 2 Live Crew first came out. Anyways, they're all here--"Doo Doo Brown," "S&M," "Pussy & Dick Thang" and all the dirty songs you love. Or hate. 7/10 (Scott C)
BT Movement in Still Life (Nettwerk) Truth be told, it was almost painful to have to listen to this album. But despite my own disenchantment with this whole progressive-trance-meets-rock thing, it will most certainly sell hundreds of thousands of copies. American trance legend BT's (aka Brian Transeau) debut full-length gives new meaning to the phrase "show me the money," selling out "the underground" in favour of a more modern-rock, radio-friendly sound incorporating lots of guitars, live drums and pop music vocalists, like Soul Coughing frontman M. Doughty. But don't despair, there are two or three swirly trance numbers on there. The album's sole saving grace is the final track, entitled "Love On Haight Street," co-written and produced by BT and SF turntablist/producer Peanut Butter Wolf. 6.5 (but only because of the last track)/10 (Krista)
Sven Vaeth You Can Always Get Contact (Ultra/Koch) I hear the name Sven Vaeth and immediately I think of two things: Berlin's Love Parade and Vaeth's penchant for 16-hour sets of anthemic driving German trance music. So imagine my surprise when I popped in his latest album, Contact, and the subtle bubble of electro-inspired minimal techno a la Kraftwerk begins to caress my tired ears (which are raw and sore after listening to the BT album). For his sixth album, Sven called on, among others, friends Johannes Heil and Anthony Rother, members of Deutschland's esteemed minimal-techno community, to help him create 12 ueber-cool tracks of electro electronica. 7.5/10 (Krista)
Angel Moraes In Stereo Vol. 1 (Bombay/Koch) He helped build a club named Stereo, his album is called Back to Stereo and now he's gone and recorded a mix CD titled In Stereo. Brooklyn native-cum-honorary Montrealer Angel Moraes has got Stereo on the brain--which is probably a good thing. On In Stereo, Moraes blends together 13 tracks of highly emotive house, starting with vocal tunes from Kenny Bobien and Dajae, ending off with Miguel Graca's tropical "Pineapple," and lacing it all together with a few of his own productions. A classic collection of New York-style garage. 8/10 (Krista)
Dwayne Wiggins Eyes Never Lie (Motown/Universal) While all eyes were on brother (and former Tony Toni Tone bandmate) Raphael Saadiq and his new band Lucy Pearl, Dwayne Wiggins sneaked out of left field with this funky, provocative solo debut. His efforts are diverse: lead single "What's Going On (Strange Fruit)" moves elements of the Billie Holiday classic to a contemporary groove while relating Wiggins' experience of wrongful arrest. "Move With Me," co-written by Carlos Santana, encourages motion of mind and body. The instrumental "Tribeca" lets Wiggins flex his guitar style, while the rock-ish "Music Is Power" challenges stereotypes. Brilliant. 8.5/10 (Gerard Dee)
Ruben Gonzalez Indestructible (Egrem/Oasis)
Hank Snow I've Been Everywhere: the Hank Snow Story (BMG/RCA)
Christine Jensen Collage (Effendi/SRI)
A long-overdue debut showcasing the talents, as both a saxophonist and composer, of yet another excellent musician from the Canadian west. In a program of six of her originals plus music by Harry Warren, Tom Harrell and Joel Miller, Christine is joined by a stellar cast of sister Ingrid, a killer trumpet player, and Miller, Fraser Hollins, Karl Jannuska and Brad Turner (another trumpeter from the West, heard here on piano). A winning combination of music written and improvised. 9/10 (Len Dobbin)
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An auspicious first licensing for del Toro, the label of local band Overbass. Muguruza's a known name in the politicized punk/reggae/DJ continuum of Europe and Latin America--even if his lyrics are delivered largely in the Euskara tongue of Spain's Basque community, his revolutionary message is pretty damn clear. Besides, trilingual translations fill up the booklet. Reconciling identity politics with internationalism (simplification and wishful thinking help, kids), Muguruza's disc is a globetrotting scrapbook of cool collabs on the multi-culti soundclash tip: P18, Mad Professor, Manu Chao, and more. He's covering Toots with Argentina's Todos Tus Muertos one minute, uplifting the Kurds with Fishbone's Angelo the next. A heavy-handed read at times, this release, but as a listen, it's a blast. 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
In the opener, "Feel Good Hit of the Summer," Josh Homme and co. chant, "Nicotine, valium, vicadan, marijuana, alcohol," before launching into the chorus "C-C-C-Cocaine." Funny, because cocaine and a QOTSA record are kind of the same thing, and both are like Kentucky Fried Chicken. You get really excited about digging into it, it looks really good in the package, but it never ends up being what you wanted it to be. When Stooges moments pop up, like in the above ode to dope and in "Quick and to the Pointless," QOTSA can't be beat with a stick, but when they attempt psychedelia it just sounds like bad Soundgarden out-takes. Not bad, but cut with too much grunge to get a good buzz. 6.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Hey, I wasn't the only one suckered when this label pulled their Soul Ecstasy stunt (passing DJ Me DJ You off as composers of a lost blaxploitation score). They're not pretending with this one; their theoretical follow-up to the '70s camp SF flick Logan's Run is an honest fraud, "existing" only as far as a silly synopsis, some staged photos and a neato score from a couple of Cali prog-poppers known to fans of Jellyfish and Redd Kross. With action-packed sci-funk, Casio concourse-cruisers, laser phase-ins and enough galloping astral whoosh to keep Floyd fans comfortably numb, the pair and their friends have forged a pretty convincing argument for a green light on the real thing. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
So here we are, one album later, with several hit singles chalked up, millions sold worldwide and a court date pending--and Eminem is still a clever little rhyming bastard. The ever-so-eloquent, cynical smartass scores points for releasing a second album that's just as hilarious as the first. Dre's production is starting to wear thin on me though, getting too wonky and circus-like to earn full marks, but Marshall delivers lyrics to your door. This guy should do stand-up. 8/10 (Scott C)
Everyone loves those saucy codgers from Buena Vista Social Club--Compay, Ibrahim, Eliades, Omara. Best part is, they've all got back catalogues worth digging up, and that's what the folks at Egrem have done. The first eight releases are now out, but I chose ol' Ruben to hype because I can't get enough of his stuff. On this fossil from '75, his casual virtuosity at the piano and the sly, dry humour that seems to slide from his fingertips are in prime shape. He's backed by an unintrusive bassist and percussion trio, doing his thing, and it's magic. Which is representative of the whole batch--collect 'em all. 9/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
This two-CD set is released just after twangster Snow's death last December and collects over 44 songs of tears-in-your-beer classics. Culled from his catalogue of 800 songs, I've Been Everywhere is all killer and no filler. Snow may never have earned the country fame of a certain other Hank, but his songs still stand the test of time. The western swing of "Hula Rock" breaks ground for rockabilly while "Tangled Mind" provides the perfect soundtrack to a nervous breakdown. Snow's silky-smooth voice is punctuated with just the right amount of twang as he croons about the true staples of any good country song: death, getting drunk, misery and an aching heart that just won't mend. 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)