Disc of the week

MeShell Ndegeocello Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape (Maverick/Warner)

Like her previous sets, Ndegeocello’s latest is built around a theme. Her astonishing ’93 debut Plantation Lullabies was a dead-on conversation about race; ’96’s groundbreaking Peace Beyond Passion took on religion; ’99’s Bitter dealt with complex relationships. This time, her target is politics. The guests-Tweet, Missy, Lalah Hathaway, Caron Wheeler-are subtle, blending seamlessly into Ndegeocello’s landscape. Not so voices from the past like Angela Davis (“Hot Night”) and Dick Gregory (“Dead Nigga Blvd.”), who share the spotlight throughout. On the set’s most mesmerizing track, “Akel Dama (Field of Blood),” Ndegeocello literally fades out and lets the words of Gil Scott Heron, Countee Cullen and Ethridge Knight take over. A triumph of artistry, Ndegeocello continues to be groundbreaking nearly 10 years after her debut. 9.5/10 (Gerard Dee)

David Bowie
Heathen (Iso/Sony)
Shedding yet another skin, this time the creeping adult-contemporary shroud of his last album Hours, his eminence revisits the darker, more immediate style of his ’70s material with former producer Tony Visconti at his side. Minimal synths, beats, strings, piano and fleeting, angular guitars (by guests Dave Grohl and Pete Townsend) are expertly spun into a great-sounding album, Bowie’s smoothest and least contrived in years. The handful of really solid tracks and all their Thin-White-Duke-isms make this a must for any Bowie fan, with the understanding that there will never be another Low or Ziggy Stardust. 7.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Playgroup self-titled (Astralwerks/EMI)
Cataloguing, collating and cross-referencing, London-based producer Trevor “the Underdog” Jackson traipses through two decades of club sounds on this electro-disco-dub-rock-hop mega-project. From catwalk scratch-ups to street-corner b-boy battles, sweaty warehouse shakedowns to loft-party art attacks, Jackson’s got a sonic snapshot of each in his mind’s eye. And the guests! Edwyn Collins (second in command, actually), KC Flightt, ex-Headcoatee Kyra, dub hero Dennis Bovell, Luca Santucci… Le Tigre’s Kathleen Hanna drops in for the Slits-samplin’ “Bring It On” while no less than Shinehead graces a dancehall-lite cover of Paul Simon’s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” (Davy DMX is in there too). Only one problem: not a single tune here stands out as particularly special. The sum, see, ain’t always greater than its parts. 7/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Kristian Hoffman & (Eggbert)
This undersung Hoffman cat can be best placed by who he’s been seen with-from his CBGBs days with edgy popsters the Mumps and O.G. loungecore unit the Swinging Madisons, through collabs with the likes of Lydia Lunch, Klaus Nomi and Dave Davies of the Kinks. His latest “solo” joint, as the titular ampersand suggests, sees a whole parade of his pals on the mic (except Van Dyke Parks-he does his arrangement thing). Russell Mael of Sparks and Rufus Wainwright, Ann Magnuson and Paul “Pee-Wee” Reubens, El Vez, the Lunch lady and plenty more put their spin on Hoffman’s lyrics. His music-an exquisite, extravagant pop-pourri of carnival-coloured hooks and pinwheeling feelings-remains the constant, and consistent throughout. 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Mary Timony The Golden Dove (Matador/Fusion III)
Moody, minimal arrangements mark the sophomore album by this former Helium frontwoman, now an all-around singer-songwriter-guitarist. White witchery, L.A. excess and other flaky musings run through this murky folk-pop, coloured with the fantasy sights and sounds of psychedelic and prog rock. Using mainly acoustic guitar, strings, percussion and piano, synths are applied on the album’s highlight, “Musik and Charming Melodee.” Call it budget Loreena McKennit or hallucinogenic Liz Phair, but, despite its unique flavour, this disc too often resembles bad teenage poetry set to music. 6/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Alien Crime Syndicate XL From Coast to Coast (V2/BMG)
Upon hearing the name I expected kinetic breakbeats punctuated by cheesy acid lines, distorted vocals and industrial samples. Oh yeah, there are distorted vocals and even that vocoder effect that Cher sucked all the credibility out of, kick-starting a wave of carbon copies, but the music itself is barely catchy and completely unremarkable. It’s what you’ll find on your average rap-devoid soundtrack: tepid rock. Note to all y’all mediocre radio stations (And you know who you are), add this to your pile of generic, radio-friendly rock of the tasteless. Kinda like tofu straight out the box. 5/10 (Lateef Martin)

Dr. Noh Pave (independent)
The blunt urbanity of this trilogy’s title may be at odds with the woodsy wilds whut incubated it (a Banff residency benefited these local groovadelic jazz-tro-nauts), but it all looks the same from the stratospheric station these sounds inhabit. We’ll follow the doubled drummers as a thread-the low-impact rhythmic intricacies of “Pave Your Soul” weave forward as kozmik synth flares skate off lurking basslines. On “Pave Your Children,” they keep it gentle for a while before erupting into a frantic rush of D&B. On “Pave the Whales” they start sparse and weird, building to a stern but complex thump-mosaic to complement the horn of mystery, finally falling into an crude, insistent charge under the guitar’s dirty chug mantra. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

CD launch with Soundclash, D-Joos and Quadraceptor at la Sala Rossa, Sat., June 22, 10pm, $10

Manchilde & the Butta Babees “Get Down Like That”/“In Da Game” 12” (Bandit)
That’s what I’m talking about. The Butta Babees emerge from the studio once again to drop a solid piece on a seemingly unknowing Montreal. They’ll know soon enough, though, as Manchilde weaves the urban eloquent once again on the Ray-Ray-produced “Get Down Like That,” a Primo-esque ode to the way Man does things. This track alone should add to their growing rep as MTL’s ones to watch. The Hennessy-laden “In Da Game” was meant to be played loud on a system with bass, and features DJ Blast on the cuts, while Man spits the gift. Also here is the old standby “Man ’n Motion,” for those who didn’t know. Part of a balanced diet. 8/10 (Scott C)

Jazzy Jeff The Magnificent EP (BBE/Fusion III)
Even though this is only a taste of an album that will no doubt be the summer joint of the year (that is, if it’s released in August like it’s supposed to), the four songs on this EP tell you more about what Jazzy Jeff’s been up to lately than any re-runs of the Fresh Prince of Belair ever could. As most will soon learn, Jeff’s career didn’t end after getting thrown out the back door by Uncle Phil, but instead centred around producing in the rich musical base of Philly and the soulful artists there trying to push things forward. Featured on this teaser are Baby Blak and Pauly Yams on “Love of the Game,” Slum Village with “Are You Ready,” “Da Rebirth” with Cy Young and “Branded,” again with Pauly. Hope you can get by with these until the payoff in August. 9/10 (Scott C)

Tim Hecker Performs “My Love Is Rotten to the Core”
(Substractif/Fusion III)
“When you’re up on stage, and thousands of people are radiating heat in your direction, the volume rippling your body like a glass of water, there’s no time for thought. Your instincts take over completely. Some people think this isn’t art, but rather, more like trash. But take a look at where art is today, in the gutter.” Sage wisdom of a bleach-blond cock-rocker of days gone by. Montreal’s Tim Hecker here brings us back to that era, exploded and reassembled to near-unrecognizability. It’s both a cunning operation of nostalgia and a surrealist mockumentary. A brilliant noise study from the man who keeps us guessing. 9/10 (Raf Katigbak)

Miguel Migs
Nude Tempo One (Naked Music)
First in a series by the nudists, loungy house vocals and dream-strumentals are diced like a papaya by San Francisco deck stalwart Miguel Migs. Lazy Dog aficionados will love the velvety-smooth texture of the choices here, which range from the ’80s-influenced Louis Benedetti track which features the pipes of David Ruffin Jr. to moonlight beamers like “Soul 2 Let Go” by Derrick White. Other cuts include a flutish bumper in Nathan Haines’s “Spiritual,” which is followed by some vintage Kerri Chandler. Lisa Shaw’s “Ultimate High” pretty much surmises what Mig’s aims for with this workout. Just in time for summer. 8/10 (Peter Lightburn)

Heather McLeod Bones (independent)
A lengthy album of well-written tunes from local singer and songwriter McLeod. If you’re a fan of the folky stuff, you’ll likely really dig this-it’s put together with obvious care and interesting instrumentation (ranging from the flugelhorn to one “$0 bass”), and the tunes have a clear, catchy charm. That’s no doubt aided by the album’s classy production, which really brings out each song’s strengths. A strong release from a prominent Montreal folkster. 7.5/10 (Mark Slutsky)

Oliver Jones &
Skip Bey
Then & Now
(Justin Time/Fusion III)
This is a welcome addition to the discography of renowned, Montreal-born pianist Jones, especially as in recent years the piano bench has taken second place to the golf links. I was in attendance when this excellent duo recorded the 1986 portion of this release. Thankfully, 15 years later they were at it again and this document of the meeting of like minds is the result of those two sessions. Both the musicians and recording technology show growth over the timespan. One new Jones composition and a mixture of standards and jazz standards fill out this 10-track CD nicely. One complaint: the little ink given to the talents of bassist Bey in Gilles Archambault’s notes. This little-recorded musician has been an important cog in the jazz scene since his arrival here 30-odd years ago and, judging by the SRO turnout for a recent evening in celebration of his 65th birthday, a talent that hasn’t gone unappreciated by this city’s jazz community. Now how about a Skip Bey/Lee Shaw duo CD? 9/10 (Len Dobbin)