Various Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the West Memphis Three (Sanctuary/EMI) The West Memphis Three have been convicted of murder in Arkansas, and the prosecution’s chief smoking gun was that they liked heavy metal, wrote dark poetry and wore black concert shirts. They were eventually found guilty solely because the Arkansas jury thought they looked “evil.” One of the three, Damien Echols, will die by lethal injection unless some light is shed on this gross miscarriage of justice. Henry Rollins has called on people like Exene Cervenka, Iggy Pop, Slayer’s Tom Araya, Chuck D, Ice T, Ryan Adams and more to step up to the mic and scream out their favourite Black Flag song. Sure it’s a good cause, but does it rock? Are you kidding? Lemmy singing “Thirsty and Miserable”? This rocks like the dickens. For more info on how you can help check out www.wm3.org. 9.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)

RockFour Another Beginning (Rainbow Quartz) From Tel Aviv, Israel, comes this youthful quartet dedicated to the art of pursuing the perfect pop-rock song (the raison d’être behind the entire Rainbow Quartz catalogue, in fact). It’s a quixotic quest, of course, but when one gets this close, they can’t be faulted. There’s a big debt present to the Byrds, the Beatles and the Blues (the Moody ones), of course, with the spacious harmonies and chiming guitars. However, high-tech production and spacey effects that George Martin woulda creamed over keep these boychiks in the here and now. 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) With les Mods at Jupiter Room, Sun., Oct. 13, 10pm, $6

Andy Stochansky Five Star Motel (BMG) Classic pop melodies, lush yet restrained instrumentation, production by Ian LeFeuvre (Coldplay, Eels, Supergrass), and a beautiful, Jeff Buckley-light voice do wonders for the third album by this Toronto singer-songwriter, formerly a sessions musician with the likes of Ani DiFranco and Jonathan Richman. Many of these songs start softly and slowly build to soaring choruses with gushes of strings or layers of guitar, while others simmer steadily with shimmering keys or light acoustic guitar. Despite its touches of dead weight, this major-label debut has that rare combination of well-executed, quality songwriting and hard commercial potential. Go figure. 7.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter) With Emm Gryner at Petit Campus, Wed., Oct. 16, 9pm, $12.50

Archive You All Look the Same to Me (Hangman/D7/Dep) From trip-hop central (mid-’90s Bristol), this obscure trio now packs a hefty palette, with tracks ranging from a minute and a half to 17 minutes long, with a style that wavers from aching soul with blunt, hip hop beats to sprawling ’70s jam attacks, from stiff noise to utter silence. And (surprise!) their singer sounds just like Thom Yorke. Despite its erratic textures and tempos and the inconsistent quality of its individual songs, this is a flowing, sonically sumptuous effort that’s united by tortured lyrics and shadowy vibes. Dark side of the spoon? 7.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Stereo Total Musique Automatique (Kill Rock Stars) Berlin-based polyglot boy-and-girlfriend Françoise Cactus and Brezel Göring have been working their electro-yéyé schtick since the mid-’90s, long enough that they no longer need to scrounge up covers to really excel. The template remains the same—the debonair, flirtatious French pop of the ’60s meets trashy Deutsche elektronix, with a dash of punk grrrowl—but this time, it’s their own tunes that really resonate. Numbers like “L’amour à 3,” “Ich Weiss Nicht Mehr Genau” and “Kleptomane” (featuring Felix Kubin) stick to you like strawberry bubblegum. Not much over three minutes here, in classic pop style, but as always ST make up for it in quantity. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Mean Red Spiders Still Life Fast Moving (Teenage USA/Outside) Less messily psychedelic and space-rockist than previous albums, this third effort remains drenched in dream-pop atmosphere, sullen vibes and free-spirited structures. For those unfamiliar with this Toronto quintet, fans of Stereolab, Sonic Youth and Lush will appreciate the neat consolidation of murmuring vocals, Moogs and histrionic guitars, the latter being the only element that ever verges on tiresome. Veering towards pop and retaining that endearing, arch edge can be a tricky undertaking, but they’ve done it here, and done it well, with little audible effort. 8/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Mindless Self Indulgence Alienating Our Audiences (Uppity Cracker) Those who like it obnoxiously vile, fast, neurotically schizophrenic and shameless, look no further. MSI demand an acquired taste for rock and breaks and samples and industrial mayhem twitchier than a tweaked-out serial killer looped out in the pink Barbie aisle of Toys R Us. Alienating Our Audience is taken from rabid recordings of post-nuclear performances from earlier this year. Quite kinetic, and unabashedly fun, not for the squeamish—but what will they tell their grandkids? 7/10 (Lateef Martin)

DJ Spinna Presents Beyond Real Experience Vol. 2 (Beyond Real/Nice) It’s become fairly clear to me that while DJ Spinna has been flexing his new-found production might throughout the house music world, his hip hop chops haven’t budged from where they were. That’s not to say that his penchant for crisp drums and melodic grooves has left him, but the bar hasn’t exactly been raised either. BRE Vol. 2 features tracks with some new faces and some old ones, but there doesn’t seem to be a Spinna banger in sight. Maybe I’m being hasty, but “So What” with Jigmastas and Guru needs to grow on me some more. “My Momma” with Mr. Complex and El Fudge is as touching as it is corny, and “Plan X” with Sadat X is regressive. That’s right, regressive. Other guests include Akil, BX Crew, Ha the Jet Black, Shadowman and Skam, but Spinna needs to chill with beat handouts and get back to business. 7/10 (Scott C)

Mad Doctor X Chillonometry (Bomb Hiphop) You may be familiar with the previous exploits of Mad Doctor X, who has been contributing to the world of instrumental breakbeat records since the very beginning. This is the guy who pioneered the original DJ Toolz series that came out on Ninja Tune early in their now sprawling catalogue. The good Mad Doctor also had a hand in the London Funk Allstars back in the day, but now, with his third release of primarily instrumental hip hop fare, it’s clear that those days aren’t completely over for him. Chillonometry feels like one of those early trip-hop comps, dubbed out in places, a little too jazzed and funky in others, with no real standouts at all. The result is a supremely middle-of-the-road chill-out record. The mediocrity of the release is almost scientific, but I guess that’s exactly what chillonometry is, right? 6.5/10 (Scott C)

Various Turbo Studio Sessions Vol. 2 (Turbo/Koch) This double-disker showcases Turbo’s two new offshoots, Fabergé and White Leather. The former’s a bit more couture, but unpredictable in its pursuit of dancefloor doozies. Hence neo-no-wavers LCD Soundsystem and Euro-wiseguys Martini Bros rubbing shoulders with the cushy electrofunk of Montreal’s own Chromeo. White Leather’s even more out there, and more populist to boot, bringing home the transatlantic electro-pop. Gotcher Mount Sims, DMX Krew and Crossover alongside Jordan Dare and FPU, borging out on “Seven of Nine.” Either way, it’s clear that Turbo got self-reinvention down, looking not for what’s now but what’s next. 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Sususmu Yokota The Boy and the Tree (Leaf/Fusion III) With the follow-up to last year’s brilliant Grinning Cat, Yokota once again asserts his role as a leader of the new experimental ambient electronic wave. With its percussive loops and subtle melodic repetition, The Boy is a dreamy sonic fairy tale rich in organic tones and textures. One listen and you’ll understand why people like Phillip Glass and Radiohead are all over his shit. 8.5/10 (Raf Katigbak)

Mark Anthony Presents Ritual the Album (Nu Mark) This is his first long-player consisting of all original material for Mark Anthony, local DJ hero turned global noisemaker. Taking its name from Mark’s safaris at Stereo, Ritual showcases the sounds that have made him a popular standout in the trancey circuit scene. With a posse of local studio talent (Derrick H, Sheena Hershey, Mocha S, Inda Matrix, Eric Tourangeau and other), things are put in place for an interesting trip. Apart from the retro, electro-ish lead track and synth-driven darkness, there are shades of classic tribal house architects Murk. All nine of these effects-laden, percussive thumpers are blended in a way that spanks the senses and piques the interest of any diehard Ritual-goer. Lots of attitude, lots of heart. 8.5/10 (Peter Lightburn) At Black & Blue at the Olympic Stadium, Sun., Oct. 13, 10pm, $80

The Blind Boys of Alabama Higher Ground (Virgin/EMI) The Blind Boys of Alabama are your grandmother’s gospel, but this time with a twist. They rejuvenate their age-old vocal style by breathing new life into some time-worn standards. The results are mixed. Tracks like Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready” or Aretha’s “Spirit in the Dark” aren’t too much of a stretch in terms of vocal style. But when the Boys dig into Prince’s “The Cross” or Jimmy Cliff’s “Many Rivers to Cross,” they prove their gospel style reaches beyond the South. Grandma would be proud. 7/10 (Gerard Dee)

Hod O’Brien Fine and Dandy (Fresh Sound/Fusion III) Stephanie Nakasian Lullaby in Rhythm (V.S.O.P) Hod and Stephanie (Mrs. O’Brien) live a rather low-profile life in Greenwood, Virginia. He’s the finest living bebop pianist this side of Barry Harris and she’s a singer of the first rank. Both produce CDs that are consistently on my “must own” list. Hod is again joined by Tom Warrington and Paul Kreibich in an outstanding trio outing that includes the familiar (the title tune) and more obscure pieces like “The Red Door,” “The Great Lie” and “Philly Twist.” Hod also appears to advantage on his wife’s CD. Subtitled A Tribute to June Christy, it includes items that June did with Kenton and on her own—Rugulo’s “Interlude,” Benny Carter’s “Lonely Woman” and, the one everyone associates with Christy, “Something Cool” are among the 17 songs here and the tenor of Harry Allen is an added bonus. Both 10/10 (Len Dobbin)

Oscar Peterson Tenderly (Just a Memory/Fusion III) The 1958 trio, with Herb Ellis and Ray Brown, live and in top form in Vancouver. This is previously unreleased material and a second volume is in the works. 9.5 (LD)

The User Symphony #2 for Dot Matrix Printers (Asphodel/Outside) Retaining many moments of brilliance, this amazing live performance hardly loses a thing in the translation to disc. Fucking genius! 9 (RK)

Bongzilla Gateway (Relapse/Koch) A fresh shipment of resonantly resinous spliff-riffs from these wasted Wisconsinites. Total heaviosity crunch (THC for short). 7.5 (RB)

Ash Free All Angels (Infectious/Kinetic/BMG) An anaemic album three for this Scots quartet, with only a few solid blood-rushes among mediocre rock tunes. 7 (LC) With Dashboard Confessional at Metropolis, Wed., Oct. 16, 8pm, $20, all ages

Spek Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff (DKD) My man sounds like Q-Tip, but this stuff is one step away from Moxy Fruvous. 6 (SC)

The Coral self-titled (Deltasonic/Sony) If the boys behind this rawkous, gypsy skank-down are the “best new band in Britain,” I bet the folks at NME aren’t sleeping nights. 5 (LC)

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