Mondo Generation Cocaine Rodeo (Southern Lord)
treble chargerWide Awake Bored (ViK/BMG)(Koch)
The Brian Setzer Orchestra Vavoom! (Interscope/Universal)
Bahamadia B.B. Queen (Atomic Pop/Goodvibe) One of the original MCs who put Philly on the map releases her first on Goodvibe, after a long hiatus spent writing, performing, and continuing her now-legendary radio show "Bahamadia's B-sides." This smooth-tongued "philly" has a voice that is key for any great MC, not to mention the skills to pay the bills. B.B. Queen is too short, opting for the EP format to calm impatient fans, but I'm sure there's more to come from her. She shacks up nicely on a track with labelmates Slum Village, as well as nicely introducing the talents of new-name Dwele. This is just enough to make me want more, simple and plain. 7.5/10 (Scott C)
The Creators The Weight (Bad Magic) All of you people who regularly laugh in the face of U.K. hip hop can shut up for a second because the Creators don't play. These two seasoned British crate-diggers made a name for themselves over the years not by hammering out quality hip hop, but by selling loops and samples to some of New York's finest. As a duo who put the art of digging high on their list of production qualities, most heads will be mighty surprised about this record. Sick interludes after every song! Mad cuts straight up and down! U.S. and U.K. MCs for days! Check out cats like Consequence, Evidence & Babu, Lootpack, Blackstar, Phil Da Agony and El Da Sensei getting open on some quality beats. 8/10 (Scott C)
VariousThe Unbound Project (Realized) Finally, a record that lyrically addresses all the shit that's been hitting the fan in the States as of late. Artists who were asked to participate in this project were simply asked to create a piece on the Criminal Justice System. The result is a deafening call for America to wake up and actually take responsibility for what is going on. In the wake of Amadou Diallo and the plight of Mumia Abu-Jamal, these artists have assembled to say their piece in the best way they know how. Conscious contributions come from Reflection Eternal, Mike Ladd, Medina Green, Aceyalone, J-Rocc, Blackalicious, Chuck D, Afu-Ra, Zack de la Rocha, Saul Williams and many more. Don't even think about sleeping. 8.5/10 (Scott C)
Various Earth Volume 4 Compiled by LTJ Bukem (Good Looking/Fusion III) The fourth volume of his back-to-the-roots, non-drum & bass Earth compilation series sees musical philanthropist LTJ Bukem going on a reconnaissance mission into the great vast forest of dancefloor (loosely defined: house) music. What he brings back for his collection are 11 lush, tropically charged (read: Afro-Latin-Brasiliero-infused) tracks from artists who, until now, were known primarily for their drum & bass and downtempo productions. John Beltran, as well as Good Looking alumni Tayla, Artemis and Makoto, all contribute richly layered "martinis on the beach" house tunes. 8.5/10 (Krista)
A Guy Called Gerald Essence (Studio K7/Fusion III)
Papichulo Crew Mojaito (We Get It Wet) (Popular Records) The Miami hype-beat collides with the Latin groove, and the Papichulo Crew are caught right in the middle. The crash is infectious and entertaining, with the Crew rocking a combination of R&B, rap and pop, blended with Latin flavour. The electronic beats get a little tiresome, but for the most part the Crew keep the party bumpin' with some well-known samples like Shannon's "Let the Music Play" on "We're What You Want" and Afrika Bambaata's "Planet Rock" on "El Monumento." The Papichulos definitely represent for the party people. 7.5/10 (Gerard Dee)
VariousEvolution Radar One (Hybridstructue) Big up the Montreal Massive! Lord of the rave Ray Junior and local label Hybridstructure's Steven Snomed teamed up to produce this gem of a compilation. It highlights the local artists who played at this year's annual Evolution Radar One party, put on by Ray Junior. People say that Montreal is a house music town, but as far as I can tell we've got techno locked down, too. All nine tracks on this collection, from Mad Max Product's shuffling "Chameau" and Yaz & Moodsaver's "Deep Impression" to Synthesthesia's trance-tinged "Page Curl" are solid techno-soul minimal-funk masterpieces. 8.5/10 (Krista)
Artist Unknown Future (Disko B/Fusion III) Systems check complete: circuit-breaker beats, vocoder monotone, infrared melodics, all fully functional. Environmental assessment: a self-contained, supertronic world where that fucked-up robot from Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" video is poppin' and lockin' with Kraftwerk's showroom dummies, while Visage fade to grey and OMD artfully insert forks into sockets. Summary analysis: the organic is obsolete and reality as we perceive it is merely a submolecular binary-code construct. With that in mind: 0011100100110/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Roger MillerOh Boy Classics Presents (Oh Boy) Best known for his classic "King of the Road," this retrospective collection sheds light on some of C&W fogey Miller's lesser-known pop country tunes. Miller's intention to chart is quite obvious in his radio-friendly flirtations with pop music, but his shitkicking hillbilly roots manage to shine through the squeaky-clean production. Miller can coax a perfect melody but what sets him apart is his knack for storytelling and sense of humour. Country staples of being broke ("Dang Me"), getting wasted ("Chug a Lug"), tears in the beer ("The Last Word in Lonesome Is Me") and just plain dementia ("My Uncle Used to Love Me but She Died," "You Can't Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd") are all here. "King of the Road" was just the tip of what songwriting talent lay underneath. 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Arnett Cobb ...and His Mob in Concert (HighNote/FusionIII) Houston-born Cobb, one of the great "Texas" tenors, was 32 when his little band was captured for posterity during a 1952 stay at the original Birdland, around the same time he made an appearance at the Seville Theatre here. A concert here at the Spectrum was another memorable event, before his death in 1989. On this CD he's heard on a mixture of standards and his own exciting originals including "Smooth Sailing." As a bonus, Dinah Washington and Cootie Williams guest on this memento of a great night at a renowned Broadway club. 9/10 (Len Dobbin)
|
You'd think it could never be the same. With the departure of Alex Desert for the lucrative world of TV (he's the blind guy on Becker, there, with Ted Danson), singer Greg Lee's left without the Yank-soul Sam to his Jamaican Dave. But check it out: Lee carries the load responsibly. Of course, he's got one of the finest bands in third-wave ska behind him, dishing out numbers that simmer with an easy summer groove, cut with deft touches of Latin, jazz and American R&B--dig the sweet cover of Brenton Wood's "Gimme Little Sign". Those Motown soul stylings were always Desert's department, and I'm happy to say he does drop in for a pair of tracks that are highlights on an already first-rate disc. Get hep to it, cats. 9/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Ex-Dwarves, ex-Kyuss and current Queens of the Stone Age member Nick Oliveri (aka Rex Everything) has released his first solo record and easily wipes the floor with the last outings from QOTSA and the Dwarves. The Queens' "Lightning Song" appears here under the original moniker "13th Floor," but with twice as much ballast and blast. This is a flat-out punk rock record majestically delivered with Oliveri's banshee screaming. Kyuss fans should note that with ex-Kyuss members Josh Homme and Brant Bjork (Fu Manchu) all appearing, this will be the closest you get to a reunion. I hope Oliveri can find time to do another one soon. 9/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Yeah, I still care enough to spell this Canajun band's name in their preferred lower case, but this might be the last time. It's just another sad story of an indie group that came in with a rare, unique take on melody-meets-abrasion (their '94 debut nc17 is a Canadi-indie classic) only to piss it away by taking major-label "suggestion" after major-label "suggestion." Here's what I would have suggested: forget California and go to Canajun Bob Rock's studio in Hawaii, à la Veruca Salt with Eight Arms to Hold Me, and blow it up motherfucking big if you're going to slick it up. 6.5/10 (Chris Yurkiw) At Summersault this Sat., Aug. 12 at Parc Jean-Drapeau
Well, the swing wave came and the swing wave went, and ol' Brian's just been sitting there on the deck of his beach house, Mai-Tai in hand, giggling at the ebb and flow. He's a survivor, but then he was a Stray Cat once, and they got street smarts. Not that his latest is all that street--the production's awful slick, meaning that a lot of his swing-o-billy big band's raw muscle has atrophied. A flat and unnecessary cover of "Mack the Knife" illustrates my point, but it's followed by a rippin' take on Duke Ellington's "Caravan." Moreover, among the balance of originals, there's enough hellbound hot rod anthems here to make any Brylcreemed teddy boy blow a gasket. The clincher: sweet jacket graphics from retro art pimp Shag. 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Ol' Gerald Simpson has been A Guy Called Gerald since back in the Brit glory day of self-referentiality that also bore We've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Going to Use It and, Pop Will Eat Itself. And that's a long time ago. It's also been a while since Gerald's last album ('95), but with dances with major labels behind him and petrifying dance props still in hand (acid house, techno), the black Mancunian returns on Berlin's properly respected K7 imprint with a vocal breakbeat album that sounds almost as good in 2000 as it would have in '97. The vocals belong largely to ladies like Lamb's Louise Rhodes, Wendy Page and Deee-Lite's Lady Miss Kier, but the boss speedy breaks (and occasional old-schoolisms) are all Gerry's. And it's all good. 7.5/10 (Chris Yurkiw)