Fans of Stereolab, Tortoise and Air (and Pink Floyd?), pay attention now. This unpronounceably-named label has delivered some high-grade Haligonian orch-pop in the past (witness the Wilsonian wisdom of the Heavy Blinkers), but this time they've outdone themselves. This phenomenal octet has the familiar post-rock elements in place--Reichian marimba riffage, space banjo and astro-slide, theremin and tiki-bar vibes and all that great stuff. The songs have an amazing way of shambling along in their ornate glory, seemingly on the verge of imminent collapse. Then they go and fall beautifully into place. Outta sight. 9/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
With more of the hyper DIY electropop action we've come to expect from NYC's grrrley three, Le Tigre's sophomore LP is another winner. A checklist: call-and-response vocal play, bursts of Kathleen Hanna's torrential punk wail, simple but stirring manufactured beats and the odd shit-hot guitar riff. Uh-huh. But what's new is a more spacious sound, occasionally too spacious, stretching thin tunes 'til they fall flat. And the battle of the sexes takes centre stage more than ever ("We got all the power getting stabbed in the shower/and we got equal rights on ladies nite!"). Yep, there's claws in them thar fur. 8/10 (Lorraine Carpenter) The Del-Gators Pound Down (Sympathy for the Recording Industry) With two Sexareenos and a Spaceshit in tow, it's obvious that this is gonna be a good 'un. And a good 'un it is. The deft writing styles of guitarist Oily Chi and keyboardist Coco Butter Khan are mighty indeed, and Jenna's vocals are full of swagger. Where the Detroit Cobras seem over-produced and lacking in raunch, this R&B shimmy is guaranteed to grab your crotch and get you cutting a rug. "Get Down (and Get Stupid)" could even rival Les Sexareenos' "Everybody Sexareeno!" as Montreal's ultimate beer-drenched dancefloor call. It's the best Montreal release of the year, by jimmy! 9/10 (Johnson Cummins) Default The Fallout (TVT/Universal) This record sucks ass, but did any of you check out the Slayer show at Metropolis last Saturday? Man oh man, could a band possibly be more crushing? No fuckin' way! New recruit Paul Bostaph hit the skins as if he was possessed, guitarist Kerry King looked like something out of the WWF, and Jeff Hanneman's six-string pyrotechnics were spot on. The encore ("South of Heaven" and "Angel of Death") had to be one of metal's most electrifyin' moments. Yep, Slayer are the true kings of heavy but this Default record just sucks ass. Hell, it sucks my dad's ass! Default 3/10, Slayer 666/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Pigface Preaching to the Perverted: the Best of Pigface (Invisible Records) With 80+ guest artists such as Flea, Jello Biafra, actor Jeff Ward, Tool's Danny Carey, Ogre and NIN's Trent Reznor, Pigface is rock tofu with a taste for the schizophrenically dramatic. Resident porker and part-time Killing Joke drummer Martin Atkins gets interviewed (at a bowling alley?), flirts with electronics and samples and fucks up radio IDs. Skinny-Puppy-esque tracks, Taiko passages and time-space mind phuckery of the industrial sort wrap this double CD up in tight, red, dripping shreds. A nice round-up for fans, and an eclectic and fulfilling collection for newcomers. 8/10 (Lateef Martin) With Gravity Kills and Godhead at Foufounes on Sun., Nov. 18, 6pm, $22.
Album seven (already?) finds this Welsh quintet floating through colourful folk-pop territory with acoustic, orchestral ease. Innocent, often melancholy tunes take precedence over the silly psych-pop formula played out on their earlier albums, sharing more common ground with the Velvet Underground at their most childlike ("I'll Be Your Mirror," "New Age") than, say, fellow Welsh popsters the Super Furry Animals. Belle & Sebastian is another fitting comparison, although Gorky's sit somewhere between the Scot act's most "sad bastard" and hyped pop moments. Beautiful and light, this is one of those lazy, sunny Sunday records. 8.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter) 4Hero Creating Patterns (Talkin' Loud) Wow. It's been a while since an album has taken such great lengths to show that there is some tangible relation between the worlds of electronic and acoustic music. Mark Mac and Dego got our attention three years ago with their debut Two Pages, but Creating Patterns raises the bar to stunning heights. In their imaginative transformation from drum & bass royalty to talented composer/arrangers, they've enlisted an elite task force that will only further ensure their success. Hallowed guests include Ursula Rucker, Bembe Segue, Jill Scott, Roy Ayers, Terry Callier and more. This is indeed 100 per cent 21st century soul. 9/10 (Scott C)
Somebody told me I'd immediately be labelled a hater if I wrote what I thought about Short Cut's debut. That said, Pete la Couche offers little to the ear that it hasn't already heard before. MCs SP, Yvon Kreve, and Faf Larage represent nicely, along with a beautiful ditty featuring vocalist Dessy, but the brunt of the record doesn't seem to know Swizz Beats are played out like a 50-year-old cheerleader. Synth strings are cool, but this album relies too heavily on that sound, and unfortunately doesn't offer much in the way of originality. 6.5/10 (Scott C) Ming & FS The Human Condition (Om / Fusion III) What do you get when you combine Herbie Hancock, Nitzer Ebb, Mantronix, Skinny Puppy, Phish, Mickey Finn, Big Daddy Kane, two-step garage and soulful house? A rather busy and eclectic musical smorgasbord is what, aka the second album from NYC's odd couple Ming & FS. And this duo certainly has a rich background: Ming started off punk/industrial, later to become one of Florida's first drum & bass DJs, while Polygram hired FS at the age of 16 to make hip hop beats. So this disc is full of "phat, phunky beats," using nearly every genre known to man. Very "rave-chic." 7/10 (Krista) DJ Anthony MarcGBH New York (Topaz) It didn't take long for GBH to morph from a basement club gathering into the most compelling reason for New Yorkers to hit Centro Fly, a sprawling dance palace in Manhattan's roaring '20s. With DJs Romatt and Anthony Marc co-helming the mothership, GBH is now a marquee hoedown that draws a weekly horde of cult-ish grooves and celebs. The night celebrates a distinct blend of house music, disco sampling, funkafied tracks with minimal vocals. This CD, mixed by Anthony Marc, kicks off with the Romatt thumper "Come Top Me" and maintains a heady, infectious flow throughout, delivering great, bootylicious house. 8.5/10 (Peter Lightburn)
Two East/Westers with ties to the late Transglobal Underground. The first, People's Colony No. 1, sees Neil Sparkes (last heard with the Last Tribe) laying out a carpet of chill, shimmery dublaphonix for Rizwan and Muazzam Mujahid Ali Khan--yeah, you guessed it, like that Rahat cat, they're nephews of the late, great Nusrat. Capable but hardly outstanding qawwals, these two, and Sparkes ain't at his best either, amounting to a less than inspired album. Now, Johnny Kalsi (C.V.: TGU, Fun^Da^Mental, Afro Celt Sound System) and his Dhol Foundation are a different story. The key is the dhol, of course, that boss Punjabi drum usually rolled out in squadron formation for max thunder. The Foundation (also a school, BTW) bring on a sharp, tight, energetic post-bhangra sound, with a visit from TGU's Natacha Atlas in there. Temple 7/10, Dhol 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) Faith Evans Faithfully (BMG) Her third release finds Faith Evans working hard on the love tip. Backed by P. Diddy, and a host of other producers, including the Neptunes and Chucky Thompson, she runs the gamut from devotion (the title track) to dismissal (funky lead single "You Gets No Love"). Her vocals have developed deeper, richer tones over the years, and she flexes them nicely on mid-tempo jams like the '70s sounding "Do Your Time" and the bitter sweet "Don't Cry." Yet another solid set for one of R&B's most faithful. 7.5/10 (Gerard Dee) Clare Fader The Elephant's Baby (Raconteur Records) Former Montrealer Fader shows off her cabaret/vaudevillian stylings in this beautifully produced disc. Damon Carmona does the arrangements and they're quite musically (and instrumentally) rich, with cowbells, tin whistles, bodhrans, marimbas and French horns all contributing to the album's lush sound. Fader's songs are pretty good too, lending themselves well to Carmona's sonic manipulation. They're definitely of that old style, but without feeling kitschy. 8/10 (Mark Slutsky) At Casa del Popolo on Mon., Nov. 19, 9pm, $5. Tom Varner Second Communion (OmniTone/Fusion III) The French horn remains a rare instrument in the jazz field, it's mostly used for colour. There have been relatively few soloists on the instrument, Julius Watkins and David Amram from the '50s come to mind. Now we have a first-class soloist (and composer) in Tom Varner, who actually had a chance to study with Watkins. On this, his latest recording, his quartet with Tony Malaby, Cameron Brown and Matt Wilson is augmented by Pete McCann and Dave Ballou. A beautiful tribute to Don Cherry (no, not that one), it includes a new look at his "Complete Communion." 9.5/10 (Len Dobbin) |
The Hylozoists La Nouvelle Gauche (Brobdingnagian/Outside)
Le Tigre Feminist Sweepstakes (Mr. Lady/Outside)
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci How I Long to Feel That Summer in My Heart (Mantra)
DJ Short Cut Pete la Couche (Kilo/PlayDat)
Temple of Sound & Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali People's Colony No. 1 (RealWorld/EMI)
Dhol Foundation Big Drum Small World (Shakti/EMI)