The Gossip That's Not What I Heard (Kill Rock Stars)
Various Snatch Soundtrack (TVT/Universal)
Musa Dieng Kala Return of the Rock Vol. 2 (Attic/Song)
Honeyboy Edwards Live At the Blue Note (DSM/Unidisc) Now this is blues! Recorded in 1979 when he was 61 years old, Honeyboy lays down a simple guitar/vocal accompaniment that is guaranteed to give you goosebumps. For those of you who don't know, Honeyboy learned his repertoire straight from the knee of Charles Patton, Little Walter and his good friend Robert Johnson. What is interesting here is that he spent as much time in the South as in Chicago, so the crossing of the two distinct styles seems almost effortless. The recording is so intimate you can hear his slide slam against his frets as he slashes away at the strings and howls in abandonment. His phrasing is impeccable while his beat never strays from a hypnotic boogie chillin' rhythm. Great stuff! 9.5/10 (Johnson Cummins) John Nugent Have Piano... Will Swing! (Fresh Sound/Fusion III) Nugent, who enlivened the Montreal scene for a time, is now ensconced in Brooklyn. On Sept. 8 last year he took a superb quintet of Randy Brecker, Bruce Barth, Doug Weiss and Billy Hart into NYC's Blue Note and highlights are contained on this release. Joining the group--in music by Monk, Trane, Horace Silver and Dawn Thomson--is one of Montreal's most inventive saxophonists, André Leroux. Exciting! 9.5/10 (Len Dobbin) Leroux and Francois Bourassa open for Patricia Barber at the Spectrum on Sat., Jan. 27, 8pm, $24
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Now that big-beat emperor Fatboy Slim's new clothes are failing to wow the public--a wrong turn at the house section, looks like--U.K. pundits are turning their longing gazes to this DJ Scissorkicks character for rockin', ridiculous party breaks. The pressure's on, but Scissorkicks might just have what it takes. Slaphappy digital disco with an unhealthy Atari fetish--right down to the knock-off Space Invaders packaging--is Scissor's kick, rarely rolling back the caffeinated boomp. Themes for Mr. Do 2: Electric Boogaloo, perhaps? The formula is cut with ragga ("Champagne & Gunshots"), roquiste wank ("I Wanna Rock!") and hyperactive, cartoon house (the hilarious, numerical "Lost Luggage"), plus lots of funny lil' vocal snippets, but the common denominator is fat-pixel funk. Press enter to start game now. 9/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) With T'Cha and Bliss at Blizzarts on Thurs., Feb. 1, 10pm, $7
So you want to go to Café Chaos but you're too bummed out to leave the comforts of home. Well break open a Belle Gueule and slap this on. Yes, this is about as American '70s trash punk rock as you can get. The debut disc by this Arkansas trio--nursed under the wing of three-grrrl Washington act Sleater-Kinney--boasts cheap cover art, cheap production, tough bitch hellcat vocals, punkabilly riffs and song titles like "Hott Date," "Tuff Luv" and "Catfight." And the whole 14-track package clocks in at 24 minutes. You get the idea. 8/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)
Just as Nine Inch Nails took Marilyn Manson under its fetid wing, so does the former protégé with Godhead, MM's first signing to his new label Posthuman. Surprisingly, it's not a bad start. Honing their craft for years in the underground, Godhead come with an album where heavy guitars and techno live in twisted symbiosis. To add a little sparkle to their sound, MM threw in Danny Saber (Sabres of Paradise) as producer. However, when singer Jason Miller says, "Sometimes I find that my delivery is all the same" on the ambiguous "Backstander," he may be referring to Godhead's chorus formula, which doesn't change much from song to song. Their brutal attack more than makes up for it, though, and there's a fairly decent cover of the Beatles' classic "Eleanor Rigby" (?!). 7/10 (Lateef Martin)
These two directors are both earning reps as soundtrack sluts. Let's compare, shall we? While Guy Ritchie's second go was as fun as Lock, Stock..., the collection of tunes to go with doesn't quite match up. Then again, the dialogue snippets are far more judiciously applied, and there are a few gems among the vintage jazz-funk, trip hop, '80s klassix and kitsch. Now, Soderbergh, he knows how to score a flick with excellent, understated taste. A bit of Beethoven, a dash of Eno and a Kruder & Fat-cheeba triple-play close up Traffic's soundtrack, but the best part is in fact the original score by Martinez. Abetted by gui-texture guys Michael Brook and SPLaTTeRCeLL, Martinez tips his hat to Steve Reich and Tangerine Dream, stirring up some dusty desert mesmerism--except on a pair of low-key jams with no less than Flea and Herbie Hancock. Snatch 7.5/10, Traffic 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
If you'll recall, I gave Vol. 1 a dismal review, stating the lack of quality and the hope that Vol. 2 would make up for it. Fortunately there are a half-dozen bright spots in this otherwise despicable assortment of sonic insults. Among them are Deftones' beautifully powerful and edgy acoustic version of "Change (In the House of Flies)." Alice In Chains live on in a band called Fuel, (Hed) Planet Earth are savagely pissed, Soulfly continues that energy with "Back to the Primitive," and Glassjaw blast testosterone into your cerebellum. We are also given a haunting, glossy Marilyn Manson track snatched from a live show and finally, this good cop/bad cop comp is nicely rooted with Type O Negative's "12 Black Rainbows." The other eight bands aren't worth mentioning. 6/10 (Lateef Martin)