Various Turbo's Tunes: a Kill Rock Stars Retrospective Sampler (Kill Rock Stars)
Asexuals Greater Than Later (Boss Tuneage) Unlike most of the world, I've always been of the opinion that the Asexuals only truly hit their stride on their last great LP, Fitzjoy, which hardly anybody in the universe gave a fuck about and even fewer humans bought. On this posthumous release, a greatest-hits compilation of sorts (although any Asexuals greatest-hits record without "Contra Rebels" is a little suspect in my book), our West Island heroes remind us why everybody had them poised for greatness all those years ago. Even at their worst, and some of their mid-career stuff is definitely a little questionable, the Asexuals were capable of coming up with some of the sweetest melodies this side of Paul McCartney. Buy this record if only for the heretofore unreleased "Bondage," a classic example of the latter-day Asexuals at their best. 8.5/10 (Roger Argent)
Electric Frankenstein Annie's Grave (Victory)
Tram Frequently Asked Questions (Jetset)
Various Mantra Mix (Narada/Virgin) Passing the hat for Tibetan refugees, this two-disc benefit package includes a comp of familiar tracks from ubiquitous alt-pop figures like Fatboy, the Chemicals, R.E.M., Massive Attack, Moby and Peter Gabriel (No Beasties, oddly, and no Sting, thankfully!), and then a gaggle of meditation mixes and some feelgood vid-snips of the Dalai Lama getting all philosophical. Nothing you couldn't download at work or score a pair of Nikes, but that wouldn't help much, would it? If you're going to do that, why don't you just go and slap the Dalai Lama across the face? Stomp on his lotus flowers and give him a saffron wedgie? You would, wouldn't you. You mean, thoughtless people! 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Various Sona: First Five (Yul/Koch)
Various Webster Hall's New York Dance CD Vol. 4 (Webster Hall Music) Claiming to be "...the most important and longest running nightclub in American history," Webster Hall ("architectural masterpiece") has apparently been "entertaining people through three centuries." All that time amounts to what is almost the worst CD I've ever had the awful pleasure of reviewing--I say almost because it really made me laugh hard around track three. I'm still giggling. Though the Hall has hosted Eugene O'Neil, Al Capone and Sinatra, DJ Ricky Corbo's mix opens with Scooter and goes downhill from there. Drum roll, please (there are plenty in this 74-minute nightmare), you can visit Webster Hall, American institution, via cybertour at www.websterhall.com. 3/10 (Krista)
TY Awkward (Big Dada/Outside) Ninja Tune hip hop sublabel Big Dada hit the jackpot a few years back with the release of Roots Manuva and his Brand New Second Hand record, putting all U.K. MCs in check while hijacking the attention of North American heads in the same breath. TY, another distinctive voice in the import pool, raps lackadaisical over beats that would make any other MC bug. It's this lazy, calm, cool and collected charisma that makes him an instant personality on record, retelling stories with rhythm and style. This is overall a pretty organic record with lots of live and "live-sounding" beats for the haters. Let's hope Ninja Tune has this guy slated for a trip to MTL. 8.5/10 (Scott C)
Tricky Mission Accomplished (Anti-/Epitaph)
Fermin Muguruza FM 99.00 Dub Manifest (Esan Ozenki/Discos Del Toro) The rascally Basque returns with a fresh batch of ska-hop ragga-salsa dub rock, now fortified with supplementary touches of Arabic pop. On that (modal) note, French-Arab hip hop unit Zebda make an appearance, as does Montrealer Shantal Arroyo of Overbass (who runs the Del Toro label). Muguruza's strongly expressed politics are radical in the truest sense, his Basque nationalism point-A for attacks on cultural subjugation and corporate omnipresence. While sung in the Basque tongue, his sharp lyrics are transcribed in four languages--though it's hard to read them when you're hopping up and down like a monkey in electric lederhosen. For all his political snarl, Muguruza serves his tunes sunny side up, full of cheerful energy. 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Jennifer LopezJ-Lo (Sony) Like her '99 debut, Jennifer Lopez's latest is a study in American pop culture. Leaning heavily on the two strongest current musical influences, urban and Latin, J-Lo is ripe with infectious R&B jams like lead single "Love Don't Cost a Thing" and the irresistible "Play." Her attempt at hi-NRG, "Walking on Sunshine," is no "Waiting for Tonight," and her slow jams fall flat. But she excels whenever she lets her roots show, as on the Spanish-flavoured "Ain't That Funny," the Spanglish "Dame" and closing track "Si Ya Se Acabo." Muy caliente. 8/10 (Gerard Dee)
Pan Sonic Aaltopiiri (Mute/Blast First/Fusion III) I'm all into minimalism, but this is just a little too non-committal for my ass. It is so sparse that the actual disc has nothing written on it. If you're a fan of Pan Sonic, formerly Panasonic, you'll probably be like my friend, who jumped up and down like crazy and tried to convince me to pull an elaborate journalism scam to obtain a second copy. If you're not, you'll probably be like me: scratching your head, staring at track titles like "Ulottuvuus" and "Hallapyydys," and wondering where all the flavour went. 7.5/10 (Chris Hatherill) Fletcher HendersonKen Burns Jazz (Columbia/Sony) This is one of the most intriguing of the 22 single CDs in this series. Henderson, along with Don Redman, was responsible for the transference of jazz to the big band idiom. The 25 cuts here are a great cross-section and include the better-known items "King Porter Stomp" and "Stealin' Apples," along with "Queer Notions," an avant-garde item from 1933 with great solos from its composer, Coleman Hawkins, and Henry "Red" Allen. Louis is here as are Rex Stewart, Roy Eldridge, Chu Berry and Clarence Holiday, Billie's father. A keeper! 10/10 (Len Dobbin)
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The Donnas may have completely shed the Ramones influence on their last album Get Skintight, but one thing they didn't lose is a Ramones-like knack for writing infectious bubblegum rock. Shades of Sweet, Kiss, Redd Kross and the Runaways all shine through, but megablasts like "40 Boys In 40 Nights" are instant classics that could sit easily next to any of the aforementioned on an FM playlist. The Donnas realize that the secret to good bubblegum is by keeping it D-U-M-B and "Drivin' Through My Heart" hits the nail on the head when singer Donna A. laments, "You ditched me at the mini-mart." In fact, the lyrical matter doesn't really steer away from the insatiable search for all things young, dumb and full of cum. Goes great with a sixer of Lucky Lager. 9/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Serving as both a look back at some of Kill Rock Stars' best releases from 2000 and a hint of things to come, this annual compilation proves once again that famous musicians should be murdered. And some of these acts should be famous, notably Sleater-Kinney and melodic, country-rock band the Breakdowns. Featuring good doses of both gritty and delicate grrrl rock--only three male voices out of 19 tracks!--this is basically as good as alterna-rock gets these days. Obvious exceptions include an odious, faux-R&B number by Har Mar Superstar (what the?) and a nine-minute, goth screech-fest courtesy of Two-ton Boa. Thanks, girls. 8/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)
What sets these Jersey lunkheads from the current wave of underground rock is vocalist Steve Miller (no, not that one) and his glorious howl. Kind of a cross between Rose Tattoo's Angry Anderson, AC/DC's Bon Scott and Black Flag's Dez Cadena, and you can't ask for better company than that. E.F. are a little less punk on this outing, with more emphasis on head-nodding (and -numbing) rock. The cover of Dead Boys' "Third Generation Nation" comes dangerously close to surpassing the original, while songs like "Hate Machine," "Fistful of Rock" and "My Father's Son" show E.F. pulsating with new energy. Great rock 'n' roll--but what's up with that cover art? Looks like something yanked from an Iron Maiden fan's junior-high duotang. 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)
The American model of "lo-fi," as in the sub-genre of the beast that is "alternative," usually incorporates downbeat vocals, lazy melodies and lots of guitar fuzz. Tram is almost there. The self-produced second effort by this British duo has the tuneless, tortured, slow, sensitive ditties. Musically, acoustic guitars, muted trumpet, the occasional oboe and a touch of organ create a sparse yet lush soundscape. Yes, there's no question these guys were beaten in high school. Fitting comparisons to Nick Drake and Low are both positive (indicating quality) and negative (indicating the impossibility of listening to this album in one sitting). 7/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)
Finally! Now you can truly hold the dream in the palm of your hand, put it in your pocket, take it with you everywhere: the legacy of the magnificent Sona, Montreal's infamous and renowned bar and after-hours has been immortalized on CD. Painstakingly mixed by little-known DJ Pro Tools (hint: it's not a person), First Five seeks to (and does) capture the essence of the "crazy ride" that the gang at Sona has taken us on since the club's inception in 1996. Though the liner notes are brimming with encomia, thereby throwing any shred of humility out the window, the track selection is quite dope, and very Sona. Featuring classics from C-Dock, Sneak, François K and more. 9/10 (Krista)
How many times can one record fall in and out of favour? After one look at the Epitaph return-address, this one was headed for the no-thanks pile. On the way there, curiosity won and, after double checking it wasn't some So-Cal teenagers flirting with a lawsuit, the disc was on its way back to the player. Cue annoying lead-off rock track and Tricky was once again on the blacklist. Forward to track two with skittery drums and subtle bass and once more, there was light. Enter lame rap, and Mission Accomplished ends up, in the end, gathering dust propping up a computer monitor. 6/10 (Chris Hatherill)