Monster Magnet God Says No (A&M/Universal)
Nebula Charged (Sub Pop/Warner)
Ruby Short Staffed at the Gene Pool (Thirsty Ear/Outside) After an unexplained five-year hiatus, Lesley Rankine is back with her minor label debut. As on Salt Peter, former Pigface collaborator Mark Walk co-writes and co-produces most tracks, adding some dark touches to this electrofied pop. While her sophomore release is less mired in trip hop heaviness than its predecessor--sometimes resembling trendy, mindless funky-techno-lite--Rankine provides enough depth and groove to keep it interesting. Funk and jazz influences appear in the arrangements, along with some Aphex Twin style breakbeats, and let's not forget Rankine's torchy vocals and twisted, lustful lyrics. Overall, it's good to have her back. 7.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)
Drunk Horse Tanning Salon (Man's Ruin) What do you get when you add equal measures of early ZZ Top boogie, Melvins audacity, King Crimson pretension and the Art Ensemble of Chicago's outside jazz? A killer record. The twin guitars of Elijah Eckert and John Niles are splendid in most any style they choose, and there are plenty. On "AM/FM Shoes" Eckert also proves himself quite the wordsmith when he screams, "Woke up sick so I called in drunk"--genius at work here. Familiar song formats get taken down a twisted road, stopping in momentarily in the least obvious places before continuing the ride. God bless 'em, but this is everything latter day Meat Puppets failed at. 9/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Tiger Saw How To Be Timeless Tonight (independent) There aren't any rough edges on this record. Even surprises creep up slowly, wrapped in gooey organ and viola. Guitars are coated in reverb and delay, and in the distance muted drums pop and clunk along. Up front and "painfully" clear are of course the tiny, strained, fragile vocals of Dylan Metrano and Juliet Nelson. This is an old formula--round out a sad record by tossing all the orchestral instruments together on heavily bleeding analog tape, and when doing the vocals, make sure they sound like they were done in one take. There are echoes of Molasses on this record, if only in mood and instrumentation, but this band reminds me of Eric's Trip more than anyone else. Maybe it's the recording style, maybe the vocals. Boy, I miss Eric's Trip. 7/10 (Boss Sambosa) With Molasses at Casa del Popolo, Thurs., April 19, $5 Angie Martinez Up Close and Personal (Elektra/Warner)
Big Pun Endangered Species (Loud/Sony) God bless the dead. Pun's legacy continues with the release of this, a collection of previously released hits from his two albums, some collaborations and of course the unreleased stuff. There's also some liner notes written by Fat Joe, as well as personal photos from Pun's own collection. Widely regarded as a big man both in life and on the mic, this record aims to show Pun at his best. There's even a new joint called "How We Roll" that features Pun's kids singing the hook, along with production by Swizz Beats, Buckwild, Alchemist and Young Lord. 7/10 (Scott C) Various Mushroom Jazz 3 (Om/Fusion III) Goddamn, goddamn, hip hop slam--Mark Farina's Mushroom Jazz series continues with a vengeance, if you can use that word to describe a downtempo and chilled-out beats compilation. Warming up with a little intro followed by U.K. weirdbreaks group King Kooba, Farina continues the "not-your-average" track selection with choices like Dynamic Syncopation, Herb Alpert, People Under the Stairs and a couple other hip hoppers, though it's mainly about the instrumentals on this one. After 70 lazy, hazy minutes, he wraps it up with Bahamadia and a cut from Montreal's own Jaffa. Classy. 9/10 (Chris Hatherill)
Mateo MurphyImpact (Disktrick/DEP)
Keoki Jealousy (Moonshine/Koch)
Koffee Brown Mars/Venus (Arista/BMG) R&B has seen its share of successful male/female duos, including Ashford & Simpson in the '70s, Rene & Angela in the '80s and in the '90s, Groove Theory. Koffee Brown is the first act to bring the genre into the new millennium, and they do it with significant success. More ghetto than their predecessors, they combine artful wordplay with street savvy and come up with engaging tracks like "Weekend Thing," the provocative "Fingerpointing" and the love jam "All I Need (Bonnie & Clyde)." Tasty. 7.5/10 (Gerard Dee) Tarika Soul Makassar (Triloka/Song)
Charles Mingus Charles "Baron" Mingus, 1945-49 (Uptown/Fusion III) The early works of a jazz giant, these items were recorded in California for five different, now pretty much forgotten, labels. They are collected together for the first time here--most of them haven't seen the light of day since their original release as 78s. Among the bassist's cohorts here are the Woodman brothers Britt and William, Maxwell Davis, Roy Porter, Karl George, Buddy Collette, Richard Wyands, Cal Tjader, Helen Carr, Eric Dolphy, Art Pepper, Jimmy Knepper and Mingus' mentor Red Callender. A 90-odd page booklet gives you a ton of info--it's been lovingly put together by Andrew Homzy and our own Dr. Bob Sunenblick, the producer. A major reissue! 10/10 (Len Dobbin) |
Revolutionary in so many ways, this 1972 record. In its raised-fist politics (not to be confused with swinging fists), sure, but also in that it was the first reggae album, as opposed to the singles and collections thereof which reggae previously favoured. Moreover, it boasted the slick production values that broke Marley & co. in the States and the U.K., and by extension legitimized reggae music outside Jamaica. Follow that through: reggae to dub to hip hop to dancehall, jungle, drum & bass and onward--you say you want a revolution? Purists will argue that the fancy-ass production stole from the raw soul of reggae, but this edition features both Chris Blackwell's polished release and also the original, gritty Jamaican takes. Compare as you dare. Features familiar numbers like "Stir It Up," "Stop That Train," "Concrete Jungle" and more. 10/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) The Wailers play Rainbow-Ites on Thursday, April 26, 8pm, $25
Monster Magnet have thankfully returned to their Hawkwind-inspired days and have even included the awesome "Medicine," from their debut, Spine of God. With the relentless, cheesy organ, "Heads Explode" and "Kiss of the Scorpion" sound uncannily like '60s psychedelic gods the Music Machine, while the drum loops in "Doomsday" and "Queen of You" seem just obvious in this bong-rock setting. Nebula are more meat-and-potatoes riffs rock and offer no surprises here--thank God, 'cuz this is their best yet. Being former Fu Manchu members, this trio practically invented the mindless sludge riff, but it's Ruben Romano's drumming that have these guys out on top. The Parliament feel to "Beyond" is undeniably heavy while the Stooges rock barrage of "Shaker" will please the old fans. All hail the mighty cowbell. Both 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Longtime Hot97 personality Angie Martinez has made a lot of friends in the hip hop biz over the years while working the airwaves of NYC's most listened-to radio station. While not the strongest MC in the mix, she gets by on charisma and basic skills, as well an ability to just ham it up. Years on the radio have only helped her become extremely comfortable being herself, and this record is, interestingly enough, an entertaining romp with Angie and all her friends. Featured guest include Prodigy, Wyclef, Snoop, Big Pun, Mary J, Jadakiss, Fat Joe, Q-Tip, Jay Z, and every other MC in New York that she's ever vibed with on the air. 6.5/10 (Scott C)
And Impact is exactly what our very own Mateo Murphy is currently making on the global electronic music market. With tunes released on labels like Relentless, Turbo and Default, and rumoured projects in the works for revered producer Richie Hawtin, Mateo is the talk of techno town. His debut LP for Montreal-based label Disktrick features 10 original, intense and funky techno tunes in a continuous mix. Mateo's signature "house grooves meet techno attitude" style of production is burning up dancefloors from Laval to Lithuania, St-Laurent to Sao Paulo and back, so get it while the getting's good--in six months it'll be a collectors' item. 9/10 (Krista)
Listening to this CD made me think of what things would be like if Trent Reznor was gay, took a lot of drugs and liked to "rave." If the artist formerly known as DJ Keoki didn't have such a huge ego and hadn't deluded all those intoxicated rave babies into thinking he really was a star, he would never have been a star--which proves that there is something to be said for quality drugs. Keoki's latest is an arguably less-than-mediocre collection of "my first techno tunes" which includes a song inspired by Napster as well as a shameful remake of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's '80s anthem "Relax." Sad, but true. 5/10 (Krista)
Tough, talented Hanitra Rasoanaivo and her band Tarika are already well established as Madagascar's folk-pop ambassadors. With this new disc, she's done some digging into homeland's history. Check it out: 1,500 years ago, Madagascar's first settlers were in fact Indonesian. Started in London and finished in Jakarta, Soul Makassar is a natural fusion (a millennium and a half in the making) between African and Indonesian styles, fully functional in a modern, global-pop context. Still a sociopolitical firebrand ("Kingsong," "Set Me Free"), Rasoanaivo takes time to hype simple pleasures, like a cool snack she discovered ("Koba") or a cheerful run at the Ronettes' "Be My Baby." 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)