Shogun Iconoclast (Good Fellow/Sonic Unyon) The Dealer (Tee Pee)
Disiz la Peste Le Poisson Rouge (Universal/Barclay) self-titled (Jetset)
ElectroOrganicSoundSystem Roots Wreck Remix (Bliss/Varunee) City Rats & Alleycats (Burning Heart/Sonic Unyon)
Dropkick Murphys Sing Loud, Sing Proud! (Hellcat/Sonic Unyon)Return of the Rock Vol. 2 (Attic/Song) About the only context in which I've ever been able to tolerate bagpipes is the Celt-core of acts like the Real McKenzies and the Dropkick Murphys. The latest from the latter, boots-and-braces boys from Boston, sees bagman Spicy McHaggis inducted as full-fledged member, alongside mandolin-meister/tin-whistle-blower Ryan Foltz. The nods to the Pogues run throughout, but the true inspiration remains the singalong bootstomp anthems of the Business and Sham 69. Lyrically, Sing Loud is lifted directly from the skinhead lawbook: pride, courage, tradition--and Guinness by the gallon. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Jack Dangers Plays With the Records of Tino Corp. (Shadow/Koch) Girlfight Soundtrack (Screen Gems/EMI) Who is Jack Dangers, you ask? The central force behind innovative, old-school electronicists Meat Beat Manifesto--that's who. This time he's gone solo to "play with the records of Tino Corp.," a label the dangerous one co-owns with Ben Stokes, and that brandishes fat, eclectic beats more mixed-up than a manic-depressive watching Reqiuem For a Dream on Prozac. Dangers plays around with his own Meat Beat, as well as Tino, Bo Square, Loop Finder General and DHS, giving us breaks, experimental drum & bass, dub, Latino vibes and a sample of Cypress Hill's Sen Dog on The Simpsons, getting "Toasted, niiiiicely toasted." I suggest you slap this in, do the same and enjoy. 8/10 (Lateef Martin)
Ekova Space Lullabies and Other Fantasmagore (Six Degrees/Outside) Rarewerks (Astralwerks/EMI) Trance. It's everywhere, saturating airwaves and club sound systems at an epidemic rate. So it stands to reason that Canadians should have a trance compilation to call their own. Enter DJ Eric D., veteran of the commercial club circuit, former resident at such landmarks as l'Esprit and Club Mercedes and current ruler of the "dance" room at the Loft. Together with Montreal's Dep Music and Bonzai Records, Eric compiled and mixed a two-CD box set of Bonzai's highs, lows, killer beats, fluffy vocals and drum rolls for you to lose yourself by. This one's for you, Canada. 6/10 (Krista)
Various Bonzai Beats & Beyond (Bonzai/Dep) Nite:life 02: H Foundation (NRK/Fusion III) Winning the 2000 award for "band most dedicated to living in the studio," the Pharm finally walk away from a series of chess-like recording moves and unearths Amnesia, a collection of songs that reflect both growth and change for the Montreal crew. Drawing comparisons that range from Beck to Jamiroquai, their sound is indeed a combination of many, with frantic and funky drums laid alongside Moog and Hammond B3 musings. If anything, this record shows an emerging songwriting and arrangement force that we'll be watching from here on in, as well laying the foundations for an exciting remixable future that you won't soon forget. 8/10 (Scott C)
Jazz Pharmacy Amnesia (Sinistresound/Fusion III) Mixed Live (Moonshine/Koch) Florida's AK1200 travels to San Francisco for this latest edition of Moonshine's Mixed Live series. Joined by Navigator, one of my favourite MCs, he lays down cutting-edge tracks both new (from Digital, Total Science, Bad Company etc.) and classic (remixes of "Lighter" and "Dubplate"). Though Navigator doesn't rock as hard as when he's with London's Freestylers, this remains an excellent example if space aliens ever ask you what a good drum & bass party is like. 8/10 (Chris Hatherill)
L'Infonie Volume 3 (Mucho Gusto/Fusion III) Dub Infu-sions 1989-1999 (Best Seven/Fusion III) Despite the title, this 1969 release was in fact the first album from Quebec's answer to Sun Ra and krautrock (volumes 33, 333 and 3333 followed). Walter Boudreau, who last year staged the massive "Symphonie du Mille#233;naire" at St. Joseph's Oratory (with 333 musicians), helmed this proto-actuelle operation, which can best be described as an electric Pepsi acid test. Free-jazz cacophonics rub shoulders with left-handed neo-classicism, spoken wordplay with sci-fi go-go numbers recalling Pierre Henry and J.J. Perrey. Following up their first reissue, the Maledictus Sound, Mucho Gusto prove that a little digging and dusting off can put Quebec firmly on the map, as far as avant-garde musical archaeology goes. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Aaron Neville Devotion (EMI)Quadraplex E.P. (Ninja Tune/Outside) Aaron Neville's voice is an acquired taste. You either like it or you don't. Similarly, some people approach inspirational music with hesitation if it's too overt, others have no problem with Jesus being front and centre. So if you don't like Neville's voice or gospel music, this ain't for you. But if you don't mind Neville's wavering falsetto, he does a decent job of delivering standards like "Mary Don't You Weep," and new material like his duet with brother Ivan, "Sing You a Prayer." 6.5/10 (Gerard Dee)
The Immortal Lee County Killers The Essential Fucked-Up Blues (Estrus)Gotta Tell You (Universal) When blues is twisted and dragged down dark alleys we can end up with some great stuff. Just look at the Gun Club's swampy take, or the Birthday Party's noisefest, bursting at the seams. This cornfed duo from Alabama don't just mutate the standard 12-bar blues, they attack it with a rusty rake. On "Let's Get Killed," the bar slide gouges away as an overloaded amp begs for mercy. These good ol' boys also show some serious cast-iron balls with a 10-minute version of Muddy Waters' "Rollin' Stone." Albert King may have coined the term "blues power" and Jon Spencer may have plagiarized it, but the Immortal Lee County Killers live and breathe it. Being fucked up never felt so good. 9/10 (Johnson Cummins)
George Russell Sextet at the Five Spot (Decca/Universal)Fuck Shit Up (Les Disques Victo)
Russell, a composer, educator and pianist, was glaringly missing from the Ken Burns series. After contributing charts to sessions by Dizzy Gillespie, Buddy DeFranco and Lee Konitz, Russell led an exciting sextet and this (despite the title) is a 1960 studio session. It features music by Russell, David Baker and two by then-newcomer Carla Bley, plus Russell's charts on pieces by Miles and Trane. All played with vigour and imagination by a sextet of Baker, Al Kiger, tenorman Dave Young, Chuck Israels and Joe Hunt. 10/10 (Len Dobbin)
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This album works best in a snowy climate. Maybe it's the occasional bursts of authoritative Bulgarian, maybe it's the chilly, ueber-retro '80s electronics. In any case, this British-based international quartet are well schooled in the art of cold pop, featuring deadpan female vocals over a sea of synths and solid rhythm. Human League and Kraftwerk are obligatory mentions here--the debut single "He Took Her to a Movie" may ring some bells for fans of "The Model." Packed solid with danceable ditties, including all four tracks from their debut EP, this is nothing short of classic robot rock. 9.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)
Colorado's Shogun are part of the new breed of hardcore, providing a brutal, crushing metal assault while remaining as technically proficient as a Swiss clock. What Shogun excel at, though, is melody and great composition work. On "Cacozielical Irony," the boys perform some serious progressive time-change bits that even Meshugga would have a hard time with. "All Signs Point to the End" has an unlikely pop angle, while "Perth Epic" simmers down to a recorder and Gregorian chanting before launching back into pummelling hardcore/metal. If you're into hardcore and metal and are getting bored with the same old chord changes, this could be your next step. As far as what the lyrics are about, who knows--but I bet you it's something heavy! 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)
With a name like Disiz la Peste, I must admit that was expecting this French guy to be rhyming from the "clown" point of view, some funny guy who always loses with the ladies type of thing. Not so. Disiz, who tries to rap with a decided hard-edged intensity, comes across in his flows much like someone with both mic skills and a sense of humour. The beats are tight and clean, courtesy of JMDEE, the musical brain behind a rush of varied but consistent tracks brought to life by Disiz and friends. Names like Toy, Eloquence and Akhenaton round out an album where the guests come a close second to the antics of Disiz la Peste. 7/10 (Scott C)
A very listenable mix of chopped and respliced beats àla Funki Porcini and the illbient touches we've come to love from Spooky, We* and that whole gang. The back cover shows a trashed-up, colour-distorted photo of a junkyard, and that's exactly what this sounds like--except that the wrecked cars are all Porsches, Beemers and Mercs and the normally mean, bitey dogs are dancing around in a junglist manner. 7/10 (Chris Hatherill)