The Planet Smashers No Self Control (Stomp/Sonic Unyon)
Weezer self-titled (Geffen/Universal) After three years MIA, nerd-rock mavericks Weezer deliver more chunks of guitar-laden power pop on their third album. The disc gets off to a steady start with a pair of melodic pop-rockers and peaks at track three with the current pop-metal single "Hash Pipe." The rest of the album is competent but the formulaic structures become more transparent and dull with each song. A couple of big choruses even bear the plastic shroud of '80s radio fare and, although the 10-track, 28-minute album hardly wears out its welcome, it somehow gets old fast. 6/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)
Agent Cooper A Little Blatant (Querian)
Arab Strap The Red Thread (Matador/FAB) Four albums in and Arab Strap's world is still one where alcohol and piss (and most other bodily fluids) flow all too freely, but the musical landscape's new-found filmic grandeur mercifully lightens the load. The lightly picked guitars and electronic atmospherics of old mesh with epic strings and cymbal crashes on some tracks, while the minimal songs simply highlight Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton's devastating songwriting. Fans will note that Moffat's half-sung, half-pished anecdotes are more sad and perverse than ever. The black comedy culminates at album's end with a suicidal phone message complete with background party noise. Now that's classy. 8.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter) Bodybag The Bodybag Files (Discos Del Toro)
Tool Lateralus (Toolshed/EMI) Tool pick things up from where their last album Aenima left off five years ago. Legal battles with their former label has kept them from the studio, but created fuel for a bonfire the size of a small city. Singer Maynard James Keenan drags his vocal labours from side-project A Perfect Circle into the toolshed like miles of entrails in his twisted wake, while the rest of the band cocoon him with bludgeoning, epic soundscapes. Reflecting Tool's intricate beauty is the multi-layered artwork of Alex Grey. Tool and Grey share the fact that their art burrows far beneath the surface, delving into spirituality and transcendence. This is a soundtrack to an acid trip in a zero-G jungle of churning latticework, charged with ritualistic, tabla-infused tribal ferocity. Got shamen? 9/10 (Lateef Martin) MegadethThe World Needs a Hero (Sanctuary/EMI)
SnoozeGoingmobile (Crammed/Audiogram)
Fantastic Plastic Machine Beautiful (Emperor Norton/Outside)
Phuture 303 Survival's Our Mission (Music Man/Fusion III) In the late '80s, Earl "Spanky" Smith, Herb Jackson and DJ Pierre (under the tag Phuture) cranked out "acid tracks" for the seminal House label Trax. Widely regarded as the music that fomented the acid house movement, their impact was nothing short of titanic. Now under the name Phuture 303, Earl Smith is back in business with some techno-leaning iron works for Belgian label Music Man. On one track, assisted by DJ Pierre, Earl reprises his eerie vocal assault on a 2001 version of Lil' Louis' classic apocalyptic shaker "Blackout." At a fast and furious pace, the rest of the album is pure microchip mayhem. 7.5/10 (Peter Lightburn) Ginuwine The Life (Sony) The man who started his career with the sexual funk ride Pony has mellowed out. On his third release, he approaches his old lustful self sparingly, like on the bumpin' "So Fine" and "That's How I Get Down" featuring rapper Ludacris. On "Tribute to a Woman," he shows that he takes love seriously, while on "Two Reasons I Cry," he vents over the death of his parents. This Ginuwine is deeper, but the old one was a lot more fun. 6/10 (Gerard Dee) Jordi Rosen Madame Xavier (independent)
Steve Slagle New New York (Omnitone/Fusion III) Leader Slagle is best known for his work with the Mingus Big Band and the large ensembles of Carla Bley and Joe Lovano. His fiery alto sax (and flute) are well represented here in a quartet setting with guitarist Dave Stryker, Cameron Brown and Gene Jackson and, on selected cuts, two more of my favourite players, Joe Lovan and vibraphonist Joe Locke. Music by Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus is heard here alongside strong original material by Slagle and Stryker. Try "Loftology" to get a feel of the session. Slagle's best to date! 9/10 (Len Dobbin) |
It has been argued that punk rock was the Caucasian version of soul music, and if that's true, this CD is the perfect marriage of the two. Ex-punkers the Detroit Cobras play sultry, sassy R&B and up the ante with punk-rock know-how--this is definitely not your garden-variety retro act. Knowing full well that all of the greatest R&B songs have already been written, the Cobras choose to rescue some that have been languishing in obscurity for the past 40 years and give them new glimmer. The real jewel here is Rachael Nagy's breathy rasp, propelling songs like "Cry On," "Stupidity" and Otis Redding's "Shout Bama Lama." Total genius! 9.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)
While No Self Control maintains the competent hooks and no-frills catchiness that have kept these local ska-pop-a-teers afloat as the ska boat sinks, something else has wormed its way in here. There's a definite tone of brooding, even angry, determination to the record. Tunes like the raw, dark opener "Fabricated" and the pained, subdued "Wish I Were American" seem so far removed from the naïve fun of Smasher classics like "Pee in the Elevator" or "Uncle Gordie." Maybe it's the production by Stephen Drake (the Odds, the Hip), maybe it's the motel-room Bergman festivals, maybe it's just that the Smashers done growed up a bit. Whatever. Let's not see it as raining on anyone's parade, but rather defiant partying in spite of the inclement weather. 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Blatant indeed. This record glows in its obvious lack of refinement. Complete post-punk/indie-rock guitar soup, slightly directionless and strangely puzzling in a laissez-faire kind of way. If these boys have got anything, it's heart. And wit too, including such lyrical gems as "Dear Mr. Tony Danza/ You're just a Sunday morning in New York." But never do they wander into the dangerous territory of taking themselves too seriously. Drawing cues from the Pixies, Pavement and Sonic Youth, this local foursome dropped all their inhibitions when they went into the studio, and this honest, random mess is the result. Love it or hate it. 7.5/10 (Boss Sambosa) CD launch at Jailhouse Rock, Fri., May 25, 9pm, $5
This furious local nonet is liable to make a deep mark on the global metal scene, taking cues as they do from Slipknot, to an certain extent, and Sepultura, big time--Roots in particular. Full-bore metalcore thunder hosts tag-team vocal manoeuvres (ominous ogre vs. elfin tantrum) as well as a rich array of tribal percussion, some scrap-metal klang for urban grit and the occasional police-state sound crash. Hell-in-a-handbasket doomspeak informs the lyric sheet, of course. A complex structure, musically, all the more impressive for its risky, relentless pace. Call it a well-tossed sonic nailbomb in the future primitive zone. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) With Napalm Death at Foufounes Électriques, Wed., May 30, 8pm, $18
Megadeth's main man Dave Mustaine still has a lot to apologize for after his limp attempt at radio-friendly alternative rock on the last outing, Risk. Unfortunately, Mustaine offers none this time around--in fact, he slaps us in the face instead. There's an attempt to get back to basics here but it gets tangled up in bad songwriting and heavy-metal clichés. Mustaine is still following in Metallica's footsteps (currently not a good place to be) but on pieces of crap like "Moto Psycho" and "Return to Hangar," he comes across as lamer than Kirk Hammett's feather boa. 5.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Having taken a short hiatus to produce a Brazilian-tinged album as Dalcan, France's Snooze is back with a follow- up to his very successful debut The Man in the Shadow. While album number two still retains much of that original film-noir cabaret feel, Goingmobile does have more of a light, electronic cocktail-lounge feel to it, which makes me want to say things like, "C'est vachement rigolo." And with snazzy, catchy song titles like "Success With the Ladies" and "A Smile With a Knife," it is! 7.5/10 (Krista)
"Comparing my music to a girl, I used to like a 'cute' girl but now I prefer a 'beautiful' girl. It is more mature." Thus spake Tomoyuki Tanaka, don of Tokyo's leftfield-disco Shibuya-kei sound, gracefully nailing the gist of his third album. Now backed by a pair of collaborators, Tomoyuki-san's latest finds him tuning into the magnificent strings of the Philly soul sound (original players, recorded on location) and jazz singers Hirth Martinez and Bob Dorough (the cat behind Schoolhouse Rock). Tanaka's cartoon bossadelica still surfaces on tracks like "Paragon," but the overall vibe is substantially more calm, reserved and observant than what's gone before. The man's got taste, I'll give him that. 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Local accordionist and tarot reader Rosen's new full-length is a charming, kinda dreamy little disc. A host of Montreal notables (including Rufus Wainwright, Lisa Gamble, Grayson Walker and Mike Moya) appear on Madame Xavier, playing instruments as diverse as the harmonium, ukelele and, of course, Rosen's ubiquitous squeezebox. A very endearing album, with respect definitely due to Rosen for breaking into a Hebrew folk song in the middle of "Three Angels (Reason)." That's the spirit. 8.5/10 (Mark Slutsky) CD launch at Casa Del Popolo, Thurs., May 31, 10pm, $5