|
The
Streets Original Pirate Material (Locked On 679/Warner)
 Yeah,
folks are calling this 22-year-old London “geezuh” Mike
Skinner the British Eminem, but I don’t quite see it. Mr. Mathers
has “issues,” see, this Skinner kid—the one-man show
that is the Streets—he’s just got a list of perfectly reasonable
complaints and snarky insights into the zeitgeist of the young, broke
and caned in London two-kay-two. Well, that and a deadly skill with
the thesaurus, a crateful of those dope, dyslexic “garridge”
beats, plenty of stirring strings and shit, and a “roight, ’ere
it iz” directness that’s desperately refreshing in U.K.
music. “Turn the Page” sets the stage with a swelling, chivalric
declaration of intent before “Sharp Darts” hits hard, with
the subsequent “Same Old Thing” easing off into a reggae
bit (with bite). Further on, the pot-vs.-pints pugnacity of “The
Irony of it All” is just too perfect. Bloody brilliant bloke.
9.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Blurtonia
self-titled (Grenadine/FAB)
After waiting a year for Blurtonia to get a national release for this
new, brilliant gem, it’s here—louder, faster and more intense
than ever. On Blurtonia’s second CD since 1999’s debut,
Adventures in the Kingdom of Blurtonia, Sir Ian Blurton and his crew
have put together 11 sizzling songs which, from start to finish, make
for a rock ’n’ roll masterpiece. If you are looking for
what high-energy hard rock music is all about, may I just put it this
way: Ian Blurton the scruffy-bearded, riff-slinging genius and his band
will blow you away with this one. 9/10 (Jason Felker) CD launch
with Ashtray Heart and The Saga Continues… at Barfly, Fri., June
14, 9pm, $6
Speedealer
Second Sight (Palm Pictures/Outside)
Speedealer first introduced themselves as Zeke junior, but have since
stretched out and found their metal/rock footing, leaving the high-velocity
thrash behind. Hey, wait a minute, didn’t Zeke do the same thing
with their last record? Oh, well. Produced by ex-Metallica dude Jason
Newstead, this is straight-up metal riff rock that his old cohorts could
only hope to come up with. The only problem on Second Sight is that
Speedealer stick to the same formula throughout and, despite doing it
well, it can get a bit tiring. Definite FUBAR rock that always deals
out the lethal dosage of high-octane riffage while remaining dumb as
fuck. 8/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Cavity
On the Lam (Hydra Head)
Another band who scrape the resin out of Sabbath’s bong bowl,
but they get no complaints here. The riffs are as heavy as possible,
but it’s singer Rene Barge’s guttural, distorted vocals
that make this a real winner. Cavity aren’t just molasses-thick
riffage either, letting the spaces breathe without stepping on their
own toes. The tuning is sub-low and while the production does get a
bit too compressed, it still lets all of the interesting parts sit back
in the mix so the main riffs can bludgeon. Head-crushing stoner rock.
9/10 (Johnson Cummins)
They
Might Be Giants No! (Idlewild)
 Parental
units, take note. Kooky duo TMBG take a crack at the kiddie-disc market,
and considering their square-headed, chock-a-block, quirk-pop inclinations,
the job’s cut out for them. Actually, aside from turning the irony
meter down a fraction, the two Johns, Linnell and Flansburgh, have hardly
recalibrated the classic TMBG formula. On No!, the subject matter includes
robots, balloons, groceries, streetlights and the ghost of Thomas Edison—as
well as occasional bursts of nonsense (“Violin”)—and
it’s all perfect for the wee folk. Kids’ll dig the bonus,
interactive animated bits, and parents will appreciate the fact that
the last three tunes are scientifically engineered to dwarf-toss the
little ones into the land of Nod. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Belle
and Sebastian Storytelling (Matador)
On paper, the fifth Belle and Sebastian album threatens to be a massive
downer, as this soundtrack/score is indelibly touched by its namesake,
the recent film by loser-lover Todd Solonz. But fumbling humour and
abundant pop (“Scooby Driver” rocks?!) makes this one of
the band’s least depressing discs. The mildly amusing dialogue
clips don’t undermine their signature orchestral-pop-folk-melancholia,
however, and some charming instrumentals, like the recurring “Fiction,”
effectively display the Scottish ensemble’s playing prowess. But
a few weak tracks persist among the largely lovely, upbeat arrangements,
so this isn’t quite B&S at their best. 7.5/10 (Lorraine
Carpenter)
Múm
Finally We Are No One (Fat Cat/Fusion III)
While they employ neither the soaring grandeur of Sigur Rós nor
the elfin idiosyncrasy of Björk, the music of the Múm quartet
is unequivocally Icelandic. It’s got that precious, half-lit,
glimmer-in-the-gloam quality their peers wield so well, and the unselfconscious,
cyclical interweaving of microtronics and folk/classical instruments.
The band’s comprised of two guys handling circuitry and the classically-trained
twin sisters Valtysdottir (that’s them on the cover of Belle &
Sebastian’s Fold Your Hands, Child) on cello, glockenspiel, ethereal
vox and so forth. For all the pixie dust and crystal clockwork here,
the music’s firmly grounded and eminently satisfying. 8.5/10
(Rupert Bottenberg)
Sharon
Jones & the Dap-Kings Dap-dippin’ With… (Daptone)
Finally, a new funk gem that nobody can say anything about except how
brilliant it is. Sharon Jones sings like a hard-drinking woman who was
raised in the church but ended up on stage. Bosco Mann and the Dap-Kings
have got to be the tightest thing around since hot pants, and I ain’t
just saying this. Your jaw will drop at how this record is recorded,
with an electrifying funk feel oozing from every single track. I like
every song on here (all 10 of them) but Sharon Jones has put a new and
very special place in my heart for Janet Jackson’s “What
Have You Done For Me Lately,” which she rips a new one like she
wrote it. Recorded in label owner Gabe Roth’s basement, this is
a new funk milestone for all to enjoy. 9.5/10 (Scott C)
Massive
Attack & Mos Def “I Against I” 12” (Melankolic)
Mos and Mas? Where the hell have Massive Attack been? From the heady
sounds of this little 12” from the Blade soundtrack, it obviously
wasn’t Ibiza. This is one of those collabos that sounds extremely
interesting on paper, but for some reason it’s almost a little
too melancholy for the mighty Mos Def. It’s like, “If there’s
an instrumental and an accapella, then I’m straight.” Unfortunately,
there’s just this song, and perhaps this is what we should expect
from a soundtrack fixer-upper of such let-down calibre. 6/10
(Scott C)
Joe
Claussell Music… a Reason to Celebrate (BBE/Fusion III)
Like many of his compatriots, New York’s Body & Soul ace Joe
Claussell draws inspiration from two fabled Gotham titans—David
Mancuso (the Loft) and Larry Levan (Paradise Garage). Usually associated
with world-beat-tinged garage house, Claussell refuses to be balled
and chained with any specific tag. BBE allowed Joe to cherry-pick from
the 50,000-plus records in his collection, and the result is a simmering
broth covering shades and hues of varying musical persuasions. There
are glitterball shakers fom the disco era by Pam Todd and Imagination,
along with the tropi-funk of “New Math” by Dave Samuels.
Yambu’s “Sunny” is the tabasco sauce that brings the
pot to a boil. Music… is more than just good, it’s good
for you. 9.5/10 (Peter Lightburn)
Tonex
O2 (Verity/Jive)
Male vocalist Tonex may look like an R&B thug, but he’s actually
a gospel singer with some street bite. His spiritual message is cloaked
in some of the quirkiest beats this side of Rodney Jerkins, making his
gospel not just contemporary, but cutting edge. He delivers a message
that’s sometimes preachy (the title track), sometimes urgent (“Help!”)
and always straight to the point. There’s nothing particularly
original about this one, though the hip hop generation should have no
problem making the leap of faith into this gospel party. 6.5/10
(Gerard Dee)
Various
Dope & Glory: Reefer Songs der 30er & 40er Jahre (Trikont/Triage)
 Decades
before Ozzy coughed up the intro to “Sweetleaf,” pot songs
were a dimebag a dozen, as this fussily annotated, two-disc German comp
illustrates. No less than 50 tunes here from a host of jazz, blues and
swing artists—to name some biggies, there’s Cab Calloway’s
“Reefer Man,” Louis Armstrong’s “Muggles,”
Nat King Cole’s “Hit That Jive Jack,” even Benny Goodman’s
“Texas Tea Party.” And what’s a weed-jazz comp without
Mezz Mezrow and the off-the-wall antics of Slim & Slam? These are
the tunes that seem to mysteriously disappear from more respectable
overviews of these artists and their era, gathered together in a bumper
crop. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Rene
Thomas The Real Cat
Rene Thomas Meeting Mister Thomas (both EmArcy/Universal)
This unsung giant of the jazz guitar left a rather small recorded legacy,
so these items recorded in Paris are to be treasured. Born in Liege,
Thomas lived in Montreal for five years beginning in April, 1956, a
particularly fruitful period in this city’s jazz history. One
of the two sessions on the first CD was done just prior to his arrival
here. Pianist Rene Urtreger and bassist Benoit Quersin are on this one.
Jimmy Raney was Thomas’s idol and the title tune here would seem
to be a relative of Jimmy’s “Motion.” The second CD
stems from a 1963 date and has American Lou Bennett on organ in a program
that includes Wes Montgomery’s “West Coast Blues.”
By the way, Rene can also be heard on CDs by Bennett and by Sonny Criss
in the same “Jazz In Paris” series. Oh, and Rene’s
daughter, Florence, drives a city bus on the 17 route here in Montreal.
10/10 (Len Dobbin)
 Frank
London’s Klezmer Brass Band Brotherhood of Brass (Piranha/Fusion
III)
This disc not only assembles Jews, Moors and Gypsies in a mystic, Masonic
triumvirate, it heralds the event with a balls-out blast of brass, Big
Easy style. Klezmer icon Frank London’s crew comes together with
likeminded units from Cairo (the Hasaballah Brass Band) and the gypsy
trail (Boban Markovic Orkestar) for a fierce, funny, frenzied parade
of traditional tunes, hammered to fit the drums ’n’ brass
parameters. Taken at face value, this stuff is a wild ride, but when
you dig into the near-nonsensical, historical-conspiracy liner notes—a
fucking laff riot—it takes on mythological proportions. Tough
enough to knock down the walls of Jericho, energetic enough to build
the Tower of Babel again. 9/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
|
