Little Brother
The Listening (ABB)
For sheer track-for-track quality and soul, this is probably the best record I’ve heard for about a year. Little Brother are Phonte, Big Pooh and 9th Wonder, a crew hailing from North Carolina and packing some serious East Coast heat. Producer 9th Wonder has an obvious appreciation for Pete Rock’s lush and soulful arrangements, while Phonte and Big Pooh have no shortage of verses to accompany his brilliant productions. Once again it’s some no-frills, no-name regular dudes who seem to understand that this shit is about ripping verses, tight beats and having fun. I expect a lot of good things to be said about this record in the coming months, so if you get the chance to grab it, do not hesitate. 9/10 (Scott C)

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Nocturama (Mute/Anti/FAB)
Two decades in, Nick Cave and co. decided to bang an album out in a week from the ground up. The experiment was then handed to Nick Launay, who produced Cave’s old band the Birthday Party in ’81, and its quality and mood are thoroughly spectral. Cave’s quasi-religious fervour seems newly stoked with unhinged urgency, as in the orgiastic epic, “Babe, I’m on Fire,” while the ballad-spirituals are as staid as ever, with Warren Ellis’s violin sliding mournfully around Cave’s piano. Without editing and revision, you’ll naturally lose some, yet it’s amazing how many Cave was able to win. 7.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

The Subsonics
A Lot to Forget (Slovenly)
This Atlanta trio’s been at it for a decade now, and the time is right for them to get their due. Equal parts white-trash heat rash and ambivalent downtown cool (think black on black on China white), the Subsonics’ stripped-down, nervous jitterpunk sits squarely twixt the Strokes and the Stripes. No great shifts from previous discs - the Velvet Underground influence is still front and centre (singer Clay Reed shares more with Lou than a last name). Nods to rockabilly, burned-out blues and NYC proto-punk à la CBGBs complete the menu. With its featherweight fierceness and sticky pep, A Lot to Forget is a little something to keep in mind. 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Various
Songs From the Material World: A Tribute to George Harrison (Koch)
I’ve always eyed Beatles tributes with suspicion - how does one outdo the largely undisputed masters of modern pop-craft? This one, sadly, is no exception. They Might Be Giants fall flat with “Savoy Truffle,” I’m afraid, and while the MC5’s Wayne Kramer having a go at the hyperbolically beautiful “It’s All Too Much” promises amazing things, the result is uninspiring. The only real standouts here are the old-schoolers - lone Stone Bill Wyman and his Rhythm Kings funkify “Taxman” and the late John Entwistle of the Who charges “Here Comes the Sun” with some nearly explosive mod muscle. 6/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Ministry
Animositisomina (Sanctuary/EMI)
Aaah, ain’t nothing like waking up and getting bitchslapped by an anthem for the bitterness of hate on a sunny winter morning. With a blatant disregard for 4/4 time and sheer animosity toward your ears, Ministry is a welcome burst of pain in a season devoid of industrial anger. Actually, this is more a straight-up pissed metal album, full of contempt for corruption, hate and greed, than it is a hybrid of cold factory mayhem. Ministry got their hate on for 2003. Gotta love that mutilated rabbit on the back of the lyric sheet - at least, I think it’s a rabbit. 7.5/10 (Lateef Martin)

Asian Dub Foundation
Enemy of the Enemy (Labels/EMI)
London’s Desi drum & bass disrupters return with an expanded bag if not a whole new one. MC Deeder is now abetted by newcomers Aktar and Spex, the scope of ADF’s political ire and fire has gone global, and get this, U.K. dub master Adrian Sherwood’s behind the board this time. Unfortunately, Sherwood doesn’t up the dub factor noticeably, and ADF’s borderline rapmetal elements remain in place. After the clumsy, overzealous opener “Fortress Europe,” however, there are some real sweet spots here. Sinéad O’Connor lends her pipes to the powerful “1000 Broken Mirrors,” “19 Rebellions” detours to Brazil, “Dhol Rinse” is plain fun and “Cyberabad” high-fives India’s fledgling technocracy. What I wanna hear, though, is ADF’s recent rescoring of the cult French flick La Haine… 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Massive Attack
100th Window (Virgin/EMI)
From their roots as the groundbreaking British sound system the Wild Bunch to their chart-smashing string of crossover hip-pop-tronica releases, the Bristol boys are back and have not lost their touch. Rather than switch up styles and pull a full 180, on first listen, their sound seems not to have changed at all. Closer inspection via headphones reveals the truth - their sound has not so much changed as become an extension of their past. Massive Attack have learned not to mess with a good thing and are taking their soulful, dubbed-out, eastern-influenced sound even further. Once again they enlist the help of a few star vocalists - longtime collaborator Horace Andy on the echo-chambered “Everywhen” and Sinéad O’Connor for “Special Cases” (look out for the Akufen remix, coming soon!). Moody, dark and deep, Massive Attack have indeed still got it. 8.5/10 (Raf Katigbak)

Various
.ilation (Sonig)
For a taste of the truly schizophonic, check out the latest collection of tracks from Cologne-based experimental imprint Sonig, 18 way-out tracks showcasing 22 artists on their roster of musical mavericks. With the exception of the a few self-indulgent, avant-garde vocal and electro-acoustic pieces that taint the middle of the CD, there are some excellent pieces here. They range from the crazy, Jean-Jacques Perry-on-brown-acid opener by Wevie De Crepon, to the excellent, glitched-out techno of Aelters’ track “Brasilia,” to the obscenely intense yet somehow still catchy gabber assault of “Violilation” by Mouse on Mars (whose members Andi Thoma and Jan Werner run the Sonig label). An insane yet carefully crafted homage to sonic experimentation that will surely please those looking for something very different. 7/10 (Raf Katigbak)

Various
Indietronica: Pop + Electronica (Sonar/Fusion III)
Here’s one for you Goldilocks types. If you find electroclash too oversexed and crassly amateurish, trip hop too dreary and musique actuelle too aggravating and abstracted, then this should elicit an “Aaah, just right.” It goes a long way in defining the genre of clever, cute, understated bedroom PC-pop. The lineup here is unapologetically German-centric, what with Mouse on Mars, Schneider TM and half the Kitty-Yo catalogue on board, but there’s also acts like Iceland’s Múm and Her Space Holiday from the States to fill things out. You can thank Spain’s noted Sonar Festival for assembling this decent little package. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

50 Cent
Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (Shady/Universal)
As with many MCs that have come before him, any unsuspecting but interested party who isn’t up on the hype surrounding 50 Cent might not be able to pinpoint exactly why this dude is destined for bigga t’ings. Yeah, he’s been shot numerous times (“Gotta Make It to Heaven”), he’s got cats trying to kill him (“Many Men”) and he’s a New York MC with a part-time southern drawl (“Like My Style”), but is this record really worth all the fuss? If you like Dre or Eminem’s production then this LP will sit well with you, but despite 50’s brazen disregard for anyone and anything that might stand in his way, he’s yet another mediocre rapper caught up in a media whirlwind. It’s not a bad debut, it’s got “sold” written all over it and, according to 50, he’s already rich. Let’s hope he doesn’t die trying to stay that way. G-Unit! 7.5/10 (Scott C)

Al Green
The Love Songs Collection (Capitol/EMI)
Never mind the junior macks; this love season, defer to the master. Back in the day, the minister Green knew how to turn a simple groove into the ultimate booty call, and did so with aplomb via über-classics like “I’m Still in Love With You” and “Let’s Stay Together.” But it doesn’t end there, this collection is full of mood makers and booty shakers, so don’t sleep on tracks like “L-O-V-E (Love),” “I’m Glad You’re Mine” and “Let’s Get Married,” and love and happiness won’t sleep on you. 8/10 (Gerard Dee)

Eleni Mandell
Country for True Lovers (Zedtone/Fusion III)
Trading her elbow gloves for a lady Stetson, this cabaret pop chanteuse has set eight original country tunes to tape, along with covers of songs sung by Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette, Bob Dylan and Irma Thomas. Two of these ditties will put a kick in your step, while the others tend toward teary, beery (dreary?) ballads built on acoustic guitar, pedal steel and mandolin. Problem is, this pushes Mandell’s vaguely tenuous, aloof vocals up front, affected twangs, warbles and all. In the end, this here’s a sweet album that often sounds like the one-off flirtation it is. 6.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Willie Nelson
Crazy: the Demo Sessions (Sugar Hill/Festival)
Before Nelson broke out on his own, he was an up and coming writer working the tin pan alley of Nashville. He was probably best known for penning the biggest jukebox song of all time, “Crazy” by Patsy Cline. Willie’s own version here is stunning, but it’s the intimate setting of just his voice and guitar that really makes this special. These songs are from ’61 to ’66 so Nelson’s trademark toying with phrasing is just finding its feet here, but the gentle coaxing of his voice is already fully realized. Nelson’s flirtations with jazz chords on a country backdrop proves he was way ahead of his time, and the little-heard, honky-tonkin’ “I Gotta Get Drunk” make this a must have for any fan. 9/10 (Johnson Cummins)

The Drummonds
Pas de Trois (True Life/EMI)
Fred Hersch
Live at the Village Vanguard (Palmetto/Fusion III) Two piano trios here. On the first CD, Canada’s Renee Rosnes is joined by her drummer husband Billy Drummond and bassist Ray Drummond, no relation except musically. For his part, Hersch is joined by Drew Gress and Nasheet Waits. The former CD, produced by Todd Barkan, was recorded in 2000 and features nine tracks, standards except for the title track by Paul Arslanian and Wayne Shorter’s “Miyako” (which is common to both sessions). Renee also looks at “Too Young to Go Steady” and “Golden Earrings,” while Hersch’s 2002 session mixes standards like “Some Other Time” and “I’ll Be Seeing You” with Monk and Denzil Best’s “Bemsha Swing.” There are also six interesting originals of his own in there, including the quirky “Stuttering” and “Phantom of the Bopera” - the latter perhaps a tribute to Monte Kay’s ’40s Broadway jazz club the Royal Roost, which was also known as “the Metropolitan Bopera House.” Two very different trios, both classy items musically. Both 9.5/10 (Len Dobbin)

Adi Braun Delishious (Blue Rider) » A new name in the jazz-singer genre with 12 well-chosen tunes, including the title track and “When in Rome,” and just-right backing from a quartet led by Doug Riley. 8.5 (LD)

Various Legends of the Incredible Lap Steel Guitar (Horse Rock) » A collection of masters playing on one of the most lyrical instruments ever built. 8.5 (JC)

DJ Spinna “Drive”/“Rock” 12” (BBE) » Live rework of the two-year-old banger “Rock” gets high marks, with “Drive” not far behind. 8 (SC)

Laika Lost in Space (Too Pure/Select) » Two discs of the best and rarest of Laika, Britain’s ambient and funk-laced electropop export (named for the dead Sputnik pup). 7.5 (LC)

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