The Dears Nor the Dahlias (Grenadine/No) Murray Lightburn doesn't want you to hear this. He'd prefer it if you didn't give your money to Grenadine for this portrait of the Dears as a young and grossly derivative band. "Spend it on neckerchiefs and gladioli instead," he might say. But fans will get a kick out of these cute inaugural recordings, set to tape between '95 and '98, audibly the heyday of Britpop. If you ever dreamt of Blur's The Great Escape and the Smiths' debut album united in ecstatic union (and who hasn't?) then you'll like the 20th-century Dears. 7.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter) Natalie Merchant Motherland (Elektra/Warner) The former 10,000 Maniacs singer is back with her first proper solo album since '97's Ophelia, and her somehow seductive folky warbling persists through a dozen tracks produced with help from T-Bone Burnett (and let's not ignore the input of a small army of musicians). The best tracks are the rhythmic, eclectic pieces, such as the opener "This House Is on Fire," which blends slithery Arabic-inspired strings with reggae overtones and an inviting melody. Orchestral, klezmeric and waltz-like arrangements all complement Merchant's balladry, but things fall apart when thin MOR rock takes over, gross guitar bits and all. 6.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)
Electric Wizard Dopethrone (The Music Cartel) U.K. doom-meisters Electric Wizard are equal parts Dude, Where's My Car? and The Wicker Man while stewing neck-deep in all things Sabbath. The dinosaur dirges of "I, Witchfinder," "Funeralopolis" and "Barbarian" are crushing doom served up at its heaviest. Check out the lyrics to "Dopethrone": "Rise, black amps, tear the sky/Riff-hewn altar wreathed in smoke and weed." Fuckin' heavy, eh!? These ominous odes rumble like the storm clouds before the apocalypse and will have you laughing and crying at the same time. Did I mention that the cover is a picture of Satan smoking a bong? Whoa, dude! 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins) With Enslaved. Macabre and more at Foufounes Electriques, Wed., Dec. 19, 7pm, $20
Einsturzende Neubauten 1991-2001 (Mute/Fusion III) After the stellar Silence Is Sexy, released earlier this year, Blixa Bargeld and co. take some time to regroup with this introspective look at the last half of their prolific, 20-year career. Even the most rabid fan will like this as most songs are either alternate takes, live versions, unreleased tracks or rarities. Easily one of underground music's biggest influences, Neubauten prove to be just as important on this two CD set as when they first debuted their industrial noise. Their flirtation with traditional song structure continues to grow but is still driven home with some clanking, beeping and discordant glee. They wrote a song on a cement mixer, 'nuff said. 9/10 (Johnson Cummins) Les Abdigraditionistes L'amour au fond de la gorge (Rodrigol/Local)
Various Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Twisted Nerve (But Were Afraid to Ask) (XL/Select) Twisted Nerve is the Manchester-based indie label run by Badly Drawn Boy's Damon Gough and DJ/designer Andy Votel, and this sampler (their 30th release) features a track or two by each of its artists. But don't expect a uniform sound. Shambling folk-pop (BDB), hyper rock instrumentals (DOT), unruly electropop collages (Mum&Dad) and some lightly implemented breaks (Sirconical) all fall under the quaint Twisted Nerve umbrella. And not only do these exclusive or hard-to-find tracks offer a peek at what this small army of indie Mancs have to offer, but it's a satisfying listen all the way through. 8.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter) Cypress Hill Stoned Raiders (Columbia/Sony) How many albums can a group of stoned-out gangstas make about weed and killing people? Six, not including an album done in Spanish. One would think that things would get tiring, but tales of cheeb smoke and gunsmoke are intertwined quite nicely with varied vibes, keeping things interesting. "Trouble" is a phat drum & bass track with live drums and grinding guitars, "Memories" is a smooth retrospective on the Hill's illustrious career, and Redman, Method Man, Kurupt, Kokane and MC Ren all make appearances. By keeping their formula of live pecussion, Latin flavours, rap-rock elements and a smattering of Spanish lyrics, they've grown beyond the genre, delivering a surprisingly well-rounded album. 7.5/10 (Lateef Martin) Promoe Government Music (GrooveAttack/Fusion III) You just have to give it to those crazy Scandanavians. Promoe and his crew Looptroop have been contributing to the world stage of underground hip hop for years, with a handful of strong singles that displayed their interpretation of the culture, and a real firm grasp on hip hop fundamentals. Government Music represents the organized rebellion against the norm that Promoe raps so easily about, dissing everyone from complacent American MCs to the media and close-minded individuals everywhere. This is a pretty talented group of people collected here, who take this shit serious enough to try and innovate and elevate all at once. 8/10 (Scott C) DJ Swamp Never Is Now (Decadent/EMI)
Various Afro Art Greatest Hits Vol. 1 (Afro Art/Fusion III) One reason I like to check for stuff on Afro Art is variety. You never really know what to expect from this London-based label that not only stamps "progressive black music" on a lot of their records but actually makes it with style. From releases by Black Science Orchestra and the Ballistic Brothers to Souldrummers, the gang's all here, with Ashley Beedle, Paul Murphy, Marc Woolford and even Phil Asher contributing tracks to the whole. Half of this two-CD set caught my attention, the rest is as they say, music history. 7/10 (Scott C) Jill Scott Experience (Hidden Beach/Sony)
Jill Scott represents the vanguard of the post-millennium soul movement. Her brilliant Who Is Jill Scott? introduced an artist who effortlessly combines poetry and R&B into a unique storytelling style. This live set builds on that, and adds Scott's infectious charisma to showstoppers like "Love Rain" and "A Long Walk." The second of this two-disc set features new tracks, the best of which are the reality-check "Gotta Get Up (Another Day)" and the super-funky "Gimme." Essential. 9/10
Zoot Sims Complete 1944-1954 Small Group Sessions (Blue Moon/Fusion III) Sims, one of the most swinging of all tenor saxophonists, came to fame with the bands of Woody Herman and Stan Kenton. The 67 tracks contained here begin with an 18-year-old Sims featured with a group headed by pianist Joe Bushkin, and end a little over 10 years later with Zoot leading a quartet with Russ Freeman on piano. In between we hear chronological examples of his art with all manner of people including a young Harry Belafonte, Roy Eldridge, Toots Thielemans, Al Cohn, Frank Rosolino and Lars Gullin. A four CD set that would go nicely under the tree. 9/10 (Len Dobbin) |
Subtitled "The Definitive Story of 1970s Funky Lagos," this three-disc set is far more than just the latest anthology of cool, politically charged Afro-beat grooves. The third disc is a documentary in audio collage form, mirrored in the informative booklet, exploring the upheaval in Nigeria at the time as reflected in the music it produced. The focus is Afro-beat spearhead Fela Kuti, of course, and his bold, righteous blend of big band, funk and Yoruba rhythms. The comp branches out from there, though, checking off drum god Tony Allen, highlife hero King Sunny Ade and plenty more, all in a carefully researched historical context. Informative if you can book the reading time--otherwise, well, the mind doesn't always have to follow the liberated ass. 10/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Quebec's contribution to the global jackass insurgency (fellow travellers: Gonzales, King Missile, Jaap Blonk) was once a mere two idiots and a Casio. Now it's two idiots, a scratch DJ, a violinist and a Casio, and they've refined their ridiculous routines to about as close to perfection as budgetronic horndog verballistics can fall. The karaoke country muzak thing is too carefully constructed to be dismissed as weed-fiend noodling. More to the point, the psychedelic, sexed-up wordplay of the fabulous Abs, a true enema for the constipated spoken-word scene, is tighter than ever. Don't ask me to translate, though, the joual-gorhythms are so complex they'll take a dumb bloc months to decipher. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Best known for smashing platters, self-mutilation and bumming with Beck, DJ Swamp is the sort of punk rock provocateur that the intensely regulated demi-monde of turntablism so urgently needs. Besides, he's got the DMC trophies to back up his propensity for shit disturbance. Moving ahead to the next square with his debut disc, Swamp again counters the current by flying entirely solo, unheard of in hip hop these days. He riffs, raps and rockets his way through an idiot-savant, scratch 'n' match, electro-hesher hellride that hardly lets up. Worth it for "Worship the Robots" alone. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)