Mercury Rev All Is Dream (V2/BMG)
The Exploders New Variations (Teenage USA) Right from the get-go, T-dot's Exploders separate themselves from the poser rock élite by putting an almost Devo delivery to their high-octane rock 'n' roll. The real aces in the hole here are Classy Craig Daniel's Marshall blast wrestling it out with Simon Pius's Electric Eels/Scratch Acid vocals. The Dead Boys' "Flame Thrower Love" get the Exploder treatment and actually transcends Stiv and co., thanks to Pius's dementia-13 outburst. Okay, "MC5-ish" may be the most overused description in rock crit right now, but these guys seem to tap into the motor city magic better than any of 'em. 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)
System of a Down Toxicity (American/Sony) After exploding onto the scene three years ago with their self-titled debut and turning the hard rock genre upside down with their frantic energy, Mr.-Bungle-esque time changes and raw vocal ferocity, these politically conscious Armenian heavyweights drop an anvil 14-songs thick right on your foot. Thing is, you like it. Although vocalist/keyboardist Serj Tankian often trades his regal, sailing vibrato for throat-ripping bellows, the intensity of his righteously indignant wit is never compromised. The rest of the band delivers with the thickness--making Toxicity a much heavier, more rigid album than the last--but is contrasted by the bludgeoning but blissful vocal harmonies of guitarist/songwriter Daron Malakian. Not as crotch-numbingly schizophrenic as their first outing, but it grabs ya just the same. 8/10 (Lateef Martin)
NeurosisA Sun That Never Sets (Relapse) Neurosis is back with another epic piece of work that will continue to redefine the word "heavy", sustaining the band's slow, brutal assault with crushing repetition. But instead of just plodding away at mind-numbing, detuned chords, they give the songs dynamic drive with chiming guitars, violins and violas. Again under the watchful production eye of Steve Albini, grooves are harnessed at slower-than-slow tempos while the previous all-out screaming is replaced with some stunning vocal performances that lean heavily towards those of Swans singer Michael Gira. The panoramic dirges get even more cinemascope with some great electronic treatment strewn over the simple arrangements. Brutal, beautiful, intelligent, heart-wrenching and, best of all, they don't wear stupid masks. 9/10 (Johnson Cummins) The Datsons Thief in the Night EP (Ricochet)
eX-Girl Back to the Mono Kero! (Ipecac)
RZA as Bobby Digital Digital Bullet (Wu Tang/Koch) Despite the seemingly suspended state that the Wu Tang Clan has held for going on three years now (Ghostface is excused...), here comes the man responsible for the Shaolin sound with the follow-up to his first solo flop. Bobby Digital is one of those ever-so-clever Wu aliases that the RZA created for himself a few years back, allowing him to rhyme and produce just about anything, based on previous Wu success. This release just makes the cut with about four solid bangers, five throwaway beats, three tracks with new Wu blood, one bounce track, one rhumba, one R&B track, two female MC cuts and of course a track that shows just how insane Ol' Dirty Bastard really is. This record is miles ahead of the first Bobby Digital album, and much more enjoyable, but it still raises the nagging question. Will the Wu Tang Clan ever return to the top of the game? Listen to this in the meantime. 7.5/10 (Scott C) Kasheem Malstrom Ange ou Démon (1Lov/FusionIII) It's hard to believe that are 2001 there's still MCs out there who play right into the hands of the hip hop stereotype, but it's become harder and harder to tell who's for real and who's padding their image. Kasheem doesn't know if he's an angel or a demon, but I'm pretty damn sure he's a thug. This local kid flows extra-grimy over beats courtesy of Ray Ray, Stratège and Fang, making his debut fairly strong on two fronts. Although I could do without songs like "Thug Love" and "Player Haterz," "Ange ou Demon" with Le Connaisseur and just about all of Ray's beats keep this thing together. I'm not 100 per cent sure about the inclusion of the odd bounce track, but like that's gonna stop Kasheem... 7/10 (Scott C) (The Real) Tuesday Weld Where Psyche Meets Cupid (Kindercore)
Q-Burns Abstract Message Now Invisible Airline (Astralwerks/EMI) Q-Burns Abstract Message is getting clearer, and what I can make out in the thinning haze are the words "commercial success." MTV bought four tracks from Q-Burn's Invisible Airline, and you'll be able to hear them on upcoming episodes of The Real World and Road Rules. Former DJ/producer Q-Burns, aka Michael Donaldson, who has been booked alongside names like Fatboy Slim and Josh Wink and remixed Britney and Rabbit in the Moon, has dropped the "DJ" and is going with "producer" full time. His second full-length album consists of 12 tracks of radio-friendly electroni-pop. I liked the six that feature the vocal stylings of Naked Music songstress Lisa Shaw. The rest of it is perfect for MTV. 7/10 (Krista) At Sona, Sat., Sept. 15, 1am Mary J. Blige No More Drama (Universal)
Bob Dylan Love and Theft (Columbia/Sony) Like, omigod, how cute was Bobby Dylan back in the day? Those skinny legs, the fluffy 'fro, the moody pout, the mod boots (when he went rock and the folkies pegged him a traitor). Every girl wanted to be his mommy and take care of him and have him write a song about her. But all he wanted to do was write poetry about tortured relationships and stuff-- what a dreamboat! Now he's 60 and sagging a bit at the edges and still singing like a windstorm's caught in his rubber nostrils, but, cripes, he's still rocking hard (in a country-folk stylee) and we love him for it. 8/10 (Geni P) |
Sound the trumpets, unfurl the flags, the piano man for the Pepsi generation is back at the keys. Folds's first solo effort was the Fear of Pop project of a few years back, but that was a wacky lark, a counterpoint to the increasingly mature and ambitious Ben Folds Five. With the demise of BF5, Folds can fuse the best of both worlds, the result being the most solid release with his name on it since the trio's debut. Sometimes sarcastic (the titular take on wigger metal and SWM angst), sometimes sincere (the almost-maudlin closer "The Luckiest"), often the two at once ("The Ascent of Stan," a real baby-boomer ballbuster), the album is wry, pained, incisive, frequently moving and furiously, unremittingly catchy. Filter producer Ben Grosse is at the board for a sound that suits the title, but this is really Folds and Folds alone in the studio, refining and perfecting the themes, both lyrical and musical, that made him the post-punk Randy Newman. Fucking amazing. 9.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
There's something very unsettling about the combined power of dramatic orchestral heaviosity and near-comic, whiney, male soprano (think Emo Phillips). Those familiar with this veteran psych-indie act--an American band embraced in the U.K. and largely shunned at home--will know of what I speak. Ranging from dark and witchy to soaring and cinematic, with relatively understated pop-like gems sitting somewhere between, this is a deeply dynamic, moody album, a logical step from their last LP Deserter's Songs. You just can't argue with lush arrangements on beautifully constructed songs like "Chains" and "Hercules," the album's closing epic. 9/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)
Yes, the Datsons are still living in that marathon mod-soul dance party they started with last year's stunning See!, and the invitation stands. Treat your dancing shoes to the killer title tune on this three-track offering, complete with handclaps, la-la-las, falsetto ooh-oohs, and just a sprinkling of the Jam's "Town Called Malice." Not to downplay the other tracks, two fine ditties with that deeply woven '60s sensibility. "Behind Closed Doors" boasts jaunty pop simplicity, while a touch of horns, some cheap keys and primitive drum machinations fill out the retro texture on "The Sound of Daisy Leaving." 10/10 (Lorraine Carpenter) With the Flashing Lights and Duotang at Cabaret, Sat., Sept. 15
What should you expect from this Japanese double-X trio when they open for the Ping Pong Bitches on Sunday? Expect rapid-fire phase shifts and sonic non-sequiturs. Expect angular, left-brain funk and drill-press bass thud. Expect jazz fu and space-race Atari-tronics. Expect kartoon klassical gas leaks in a Zappa vein and choral harmonies from ye olde renaissance fair. Expect precision histrionics and neo-new-wave (note their cover of M's '79 hit "Pop Muzik"). Expect fairy-tale shout-outs to cucumbers and frogs. Expect foam-rubber freakwear from the tickle trunk of Timothy Leary. In short, expect the unexpected. 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) With Ping Pong Bitches and Federation X at Café Campus, Sun., Sept. 16
This Tuesday Weld is in fact English soundsmith Stephen Coates, whose work sits somewhere between Momus and that "Putting on the Ritz" tune, by Paco or Taco or whoever he was. A fuzzy half-memory, but fuzzy half-memories are what Coates's music is all about. Following the arc of a love affair, expressed with a deft lyrical flair, the album is concocted out of dusty, sepia-toned fragments of pre-war café jazz and crooner pop, looped and layered in a lightweight hip hop fashion. It's been tagged as "antique beat" and "progressive nostalgia," and I'll add "gramophonica" to the list. Whatever you call it, it's gonna blow up big with the spats 'n' ascots set. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Mary's latest is almost the continuation of '94's brilliant My Life; whereas then, her goal was to "Be Happy," that's what she is now, according to the rich "Destiny." Now it's all about the good times, with tracks like "Family Affair" and "Dance For Me" leading the way. Meanwhile, soulful cuts like "Steal Away" and "Flying Away" are the type of escapism we rarely hear from her. Not to worry, this happier Mary still knows how to keep it real, hence songs like "PMS" and "Where I've Been" with Eve. Inspired. 9/10 (Gerard Dee)