Disc of the week

VHS or Beta

Le Funk (On!)

The reconciliation of the longstanding rock/disco rivalry has been playing itself out lately both in NYC, in the neo-no-wave of the Rapture, and across the ocean in France, in acts ranging from Daft Punk to rinôçérôse. We can now add Louisville, Kentucky to the list. The town’s native sons VHS or Beta have also figured out how to slot surly riffola into glitterball grooves, and do so in a rougher, sweatier, far less self-concious fashion than those named above. The track “On & On,” with its abrasive guitar buzz over a bouncing disco bassline, illustrates the idea perfectly. This six-pack mini-album harbours four studio tracks, including the ambitious “Solid Gold,” and a pair of live ones to remind us that this isn’t about revising pop history so much as getting a wicked party going. Speaking of which, they’ll be at la Sala Rossa on July 20. 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Shenanigans (Reprise/Warner)
What did you expect? More catchy punk tunes, more arch riffs, more nasal Briticisms, more token heartfelt moments (but no tiresome radio ballads), more sweat, spunk and terminal teenage angst. It’s nothing new for this No-Cal trio, but it’s still head, shoulders and wallet chain above the ever-advancing so-called-punk army. Covers of Dee Dee Ramone and the Kinks add colour, while some originals suggest surf (“Espionage”), speed rockabilly (“Don’t Wanna Fall in Love”), and olde-tyme rock ’n’ roll (“On the Wagon”), lending new flavours to this tried, true, sometimes trite formula. 7/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

The Osbourne Family Album (Epic/MTV/Sony)
What we have here is a collection of songs hand-picked by the Cosbys of the new millennium, with little quips about why they picked them and what each song personally says to them. Sharon explains why the Cars’ “Drive” and Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight” are family favourites. In case you were wondering, yes, Ozzy’s “Mama, I’m Comin’ Home” is indeed about Sharon. Kelly’s version of “Papa Don’t Preach” is a stinker (you knew that already) while the show’s theme song—Pat Boone’s version of “Crazy Train”—is pure godhead (you knew that already, too). Does Ozzy know about the parental advisory sticker? 5/10 (Johnson Cummins)

The Third Invasion (Roadrunner)
The power is there, as is the intent to wake your fallin’-asleep-at-the-wheel ass up. It seems this intent on Max Calavera’s part needs to be repeated in many different ways that are all the same. However, despite the Brazilian percussions and traditional instruments, the surprising twist is the attempt to merge an R&B element with sitars, shoutcore and chill breakbeats on “Tree of Pain.” Interesting technique, but needs work. Tracks like “Call to Arms” and “Downstroy,” however, would mash fans to a liquid in a live setting. “L.O.T.M.” will also get the thickest of seas churning. But the problem that plagues this album is the employment of the obvious and the lack of diversity in approach to heavier tracks. 6.5/10 (Lateef Martin)

Writers Without Homes (4AD/Select)
Menudo aside, bands with revolving-door policies rarely develop a signature sound, as demonstrated by this chameleonic ensemble. Apart from the four-piece core, this album features 13 additional musicians and vocalists (including members of Tarwater, the Czars, Tram and Cocteau Twins) mixed, matched and mollified into a post-rock, new-age, ambient mish-mash. The soft sound of rainfalls, the nostalgic tinkling of a music box, fleeting faux-ethnic rhythms, intensely resonating guitars, horror keys and a dead animal sonnet provide the desperate peaks and sombre valleys of this unruly, uneven disc. 7/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Laika Come Home (Astralwerks/EMI)
Guess Damon Albarn and co., the monkey’s uncles behind the Gorillaz cartoon band, had a lot of fun with the Space Monkeyz’ dub version of “Tomorrow Comes Today.” That one-off collab last year, a single B-side, led to this full album. The lion’s share of Gorillaz’ eponymous debut disc gets refangled by D-zire, Dubversive and Gavva, three dubniks who’ve worked with the likes of Linton Kwesi Johnson, George Clinton and Horace Andy. They’re the clear winners in this simian soundclash—the originals are nearly unrecognizable, poking through in patches. Pop dub reggae dominates, with more than a nod to the fun of old 2-Tone ska. In fact, ex-Special Terry Hall cameos on “M1A1.” 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

DAT Politics
Plugs Plus
(Chicks on Speed/Fusion III)
From the industrial wasteland of Lille, France, this fuzzed-out, micro-rhythmic glitchno act comes care of Berlin electro-art terrorists Chicks on Speed, and it shows. The beats range from danceable to maddening to absent, the vocals are minced, phased, sampled and skewed, the laptops are on fire. If this disc were time-capsuled, the cavemen of the future might recoil in confusion and fright, reducing our history to scary campfire stories of killer fibre-optic insects and bloodthirsty mech-beasts with European accents. Which just about sums it up. 6/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

John Digweed

MMII (Bedrock/Warner)
With his latest mix of classics and soon-to-be-classics, Digweed connects the dots between the ubiquitous chillout compilation and the darker, pumping afterhours mix. Kicking it off with the ambient, breaky electro-prog of Pollon’s “Lonely Planet,” JD slowly progresses into the dubby tech-trance club sound he’s become famous for. Bad news: Celtic-breaks cheesefest inna Enya vs. Adam Freeland mode courtesy of Pole Folder + CP. Good news: sweet Shakespeare’s Sister dub plus previously unreleased track, both by Darren Emerson. Perfect soundtrack to post-disco-nap preparations. JD fans won’t be disappointed. 7/10 (Raf Katigbak) At Stereo, Fri., July 5, 2am, $15

People Under the Stairs

O.S.T. (Om/Fusion III)
This One and Double K are not “old school.” Yeah, maybe their beats are different from everything out there, and their flows run from playful to biting to downright hilarious, but taking the time to make sure a certain vibe is expressed and felt in your music isn’t old school, it’s just love. These guys simply love hip hop and instead of trying to take it back somewhere that it’s already been, they’re trying to shed new light and open some new ears today. If music is the key, then this Cali duo has this shit on locksmith. There’s some BBQ and drop-top beats right here, so cop it before the summer is over. 7.5/10 (Scott C)

With Aim at Club Soda, Fri., July 5, midnight, $22.50

Raphael Saadiq

Instant Vintage (Universal)
As the key member of both Tony Toni Tone and Lucy Pearl, Raphael Saadiq has had a profound impact on contemporary urban music. Though not all his work was stellar, there were memorable moments with both groups. The same can be said for his solo debut—some filler, some Saadiq-inspired gems. His potential is evident on tracks like the boastful “Doing What I Can” and the sweeping retro groover “Faithful.” If the set had been filled with this calibre of music throughout, this would be a lot closer to instant vintage, instead of simply instant Saadiq. 7.5/10 (Gerard Dee)

Various
St-Germain-Des-Près Café 2 (Wagram/FusionIII)
With all due respect to new directions in jazz, I have to say that, by and large, it’s hard for the innovators to get real props these days. Sure, guys like Mark de Clive Lowe, Koop and Bugge Wesseltoft always come through in the crunch (like they do on this record), but there are still a lot of cats making looped-up jazz bits à la 1990 and gettin added to comps like this one. There are several downtempo and a few housey songs here that sound annoyingly mundane and forgettably stale, but a few glasses of wine and I could have a perfectly wonderful conversation with this paint-by-numbers jazz playing in the background. 6.5/10 (Scott C)

Hancock/Brecker/Hargrove
Directions in Music (Verve/Universal)

To complete the names above, they’re Herbie, Michael and Roy, in a loving tribute subtitled Celebrating Miles Davis & John Coltrane. Recorded last October at Toronto’s famed Massey Hall (think Bird, Diz and Bud), this one works on many levels—great ensemble playing, solos and choice of material. Nine tracks here, including three new ones from the co-leaders (“Misstery”—a “de-arrangement,” in Hargrove’s words, of “Stella by Starlight”—is just right). There’s also Brecker’s breathtaking aria “Naima,” plus a return to the Gil Goldstein reworking of Gil Evans’ arrangement of Kurt Weill’s “My Ship” (one which Brecker also used on his Nearness of You CD). Grab this one up and, for more on Gil Evans, read Larry Hicock’s new book Castles Made of Sound. 9.5/10
(Len Dobbin)

Dolly Parton
Halos & Horns (Sugar Hill)
I know some of you are already giggling at the girl with the most famous set of mammalian protuberances since Jayne Mansfield, but Dolly’s no joke. Not a speck of new country here, just down-home mountain music, and Dolly has produced and penned ’em all. Well, almost. Perhaps she was just well into the raspberry wine when she came up with the moronic idea of covering “Stairway to Heaven.” Oh, it makes me wonder, indeed. That aside, Halos & Horns is a great record that will take you back to the days of Loretta Lynn and even Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt. Laugh all you will, but if you like country music that still holds honesty and authenticity close to its heart... 8/10 (Johnson Cummins)