Hidden Cameras
The Smell of Our Own (Evil Evil/Outside)
After creating a mini-furor in Toronto with their homo-hippie theme shows featuring near-nude guys go-go dancing to the band's "gay folk church music," the Hidden Cameras deliver the exquisite debut album everyone was expecting. Negotiating scores of players and their instruments, band leader Joel Gibb has crafted an angelic wall of sound, somehow bridging the Polyphonic Spree and Belle & Sebastian. It's uplifting, universal pop your kids and parents can listen to, whether or not they acknowledge the lyrics, largely homoerotic paeans to buns, bodily fluids and orifices. Spiritual, sinful, innocent and naughty, the Hidden Cameras celebrate the body with a joyous sound. 9/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Ikara Colt
Chat and Business (Fantastic Plastic/Epitaph/FAB)
Spewing aggression and dripping with style, this British quartet makes room for smarts and hooks in their art riot, recalling the likes of vintage Sonic Youth, the Fall and Drive Like Jehu. Jutting riffs, thunderous drums, hyper, undulating basslines and underlying keys set the scene for Paul Resende's chattering vocals, often in shouty harmony with guitarist Claire Ingram. Mood shifts find Resende switching into world-weary gear atop more minimal, downcast sounds, though they rarely let the speed go slack. Running on a fresh, full tank, Ikara Colt are away with a stunning debut. 8.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter) With Sahara Hotnights and the Washdown at Petit Campus, Fri., April 4, 9pm, $13.50

Linkin Park
Meteora (Machine Shop/Warner)
If you're that self-loathing cur stuffed in the corner on the verge of bowling for Columbine, this album is for you. The trade-ups between singer Chester Bennington and "rapper" Mike Shinoda are still there, but by God, some people should just, like, not rap. The bone of contention for the Parkers is the ever-present girlfriend you hate, and are gonna break up with reeeeal soon, but not before venting over two full albums and a (decent) remix release in between. Musically, the band has definitely gotten better, with an often successful mix of metal, breaks and sampling, but a 40-page montage on how the artwork was done for the cover? Trees are crying. 6/10 (Lateef Martin)

Molasses
A Slow Messe (Fancy/Alien8/Sonic Unyon)
One of the most aptly named bands since Codeine or, uh, Decapitation, this Mile-End collective lets it ooze out slow and sweet, with a solid backbone in gospel, free improv, funeral dirges and traditional folk. String sections, found sounds and field recordings, bowed saw, slide guitar, organ and more add density to the lonesome strum of Scott Chernoff's acoustic guitar and balladeer whisper. Chernoff's lyrical pearls spill blood but Molasses can still cut deep even on the instrumentals, which take up half the room on this two-CD set. 9/10 (Johnson Cummins)

The Unicorns
Unicorns Are People Too (Caterpillars of the Community)
If you take on a tag like the Unicorns, you have two choices, musically. One, you can dish out brutal heaviosity in an Am Rep vein. Two, you can hole up like a squirrel and generate some dinky, lo-fi electro-folk-pop foolishness. Originally from B.C., now local, this duo do the latter in style (or is that anti-style?), doing little numbers that are silly, awkward, catchy, poignant and embarrassing - often all at once. A nice balance of clever humour, slaphappy naïveté and nifty hooks, perhaps best filed under "bunkbed rock." 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) CD launch at the Bread Factory (617 St-Remi, #304, St-Henri), Sat., April 5, 9pm

Rob Swift
Under the Influence (Six Degrees/Outside)
Although the skills exhibited by Rob Swift have been showcased many times with both recordings and live performances, Six Degrees' next installment of their Under the Influence DJ series finds him composing a mix based on records that were introduced to him by his older brother. The 31-year-old Jackson Heights, Queens native watched his father play out as a salsa and merengue DJ, while his brother learned how to scratch on his dad's equipment. This is a collection of funk and soul treats and some special moments, all inspired by the humble beginnings of this world-class DJ. 8/10 (Scott C)

Codec & Flexor
Tubed (Forte)
Although slamming the whole electroclash thing has become de rigeur amongst jaded hipsters everywhere, no one can deny the positive effect the punky, DIY attitude has had on the techno scene at large. Tubed is a prime example. Sven Zalac and Matthias Freund drop a dark, sleazy and edgy album that mixes equal parts techno, industrial and house. Okay, so what if the über-industrial vocals and dimestore lyrics get a little long in tooth towards the end of the album? There are some solid dancefloor-rockin' tracks that save the album (including the insanely deep lead-off single bomb "Crazy Girls"). Quite possibly the graver (goth/raver) album of the year. 7/10 (Raf Katigbak)

Zero dB
Reconstruction (Ubiquity/Fusion III)
It's been a few years now that the dirty basslines of Zero dB have been warming up the place, playing a prime role in the "remix first, LP second" world of breaks, nu-jazz, and hard to classify goodies. Chris Vogado and Neil Combstock have been working very hard to make sure that the name stays with you, churning out the quality rubs. Although these guys seem to have an ear for polished dirt, it'd be nice to hear them on some of their own shit at length. They've definitely got my attention though, so let's see where the beat goes from here. 7/10 (Scott C)

Adrian Sherwood
Never Trust a Hippy (RealWorld/EMI)
It's taken the major domo of U.K. neo-dub crossover production two decades to get around to his solo debut, so yeah, it's a bit anti-climactic. It's a RealWorld release, so the global span of sounds putting meat on the bones of Sherwood's acrobatic, sci-fi nu-jazz/dancehall exercises is to be expected. Even with moments of treacherous weirdness and industrial bite, though, his orderly approach to dub is often too antiseptic. What could well have been a cyberpunk milestone, a musical Blade Runner, is rather closer to George Lucas's sterile THX 1138. It's got its moments, though. 7/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Aphex Twin
26 Mixes for Cash (Warp/Outside)
I've got good news and bad news for Aphex Twin fans. Bad news first: you know that mint, ultra-rare Curve remix on one-sided vinyl you've stored unopened in a safety deposit box somewhere with the hopes of retiring on it after selling it to some freaky Japanese collector? Well, kiss that dream goodbye because Warp has just released a two-CD collection of rare-as-Pope-shit Aphex Twin remixes and that one is on it. The good news is, at least now you'll know what it sounds like (unless of course you were a true Aphex fan and bought two copies) as well as 25 other off-the-hook remixes he's done over his insane career. 10/10 (Raf Katigbak)

Wayne Wonder
No Holding Back (EMI)
Small wonder this Jamaican export is finally getting his due. His latest disc fuses pop R&B over a solid reggae bedrock, creating infectious grinders like lead single "No Letting Go." Though he favours a more commercial sound, he manages to create accessible island vibes without the corny overtures of a Shaggy. Key to this is Wonder's supple, elastic voice, which easily bends and weaves around laidback grooves like "Glad You Came" and "My Kinda Lady." He shows a hardcore side on tracks "Enemies" and "Metal & Steel," proof positive that he's never a one-hit Wonder. 7/10 (Gerard Dee)

The Allman Brothers
Hittin' the Note (Peach/Sanctuary/EMI)
Now that founding member Dickey Betts has been on a forced hiatus from the band and Gregg Allman's role as a leader has diminished slightly, the writing on the wall would dictate this being a one-way ticket to suckdom, right? Well, it would if it wasn't for the exquisite vocals and trademark Allman Bros. twin guitars of Govt Mule's Warren Hayes and newbie Allman Derek Trucks. The blueprint hasn't changed one iota and the band seems to be playing with newfound energy, with Haynes penning all but the cover of the Stones' "Heart of Stone." Nice surprise. 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)

Eric T. Johnson
Herbie Nichols Vol. 1 (Summit/Allegro)
The name is new to me as well. Johnson is a guitarist from the Boston area, as are the other musicians on this date, trumpeter Phil Grenadier (Larry's brother), bassist Bob Nieske, drummer Nat Mugavero and the awesome George Garzone, who is heard on both tenor and soprano. The Herbie Nichols in the album title was a marvellous, criminally under-appreciated composer and pianist who died in 1963, leaving a small legacy of recorded and unrecorded material. In recent years his music has been championed by the ICP, its pianist Misha Mengelberg, Steve Lacy, Buell Neidlinger and Roswell Rudd. This release deserves a spot on your shelf with those releases - 10 superb compositions, played with great respect and innovation. 10/10 (Len Dobbin)

Mini CD Reviews

Toshiko Akiyoshi Hiroshima (True Life Jazz/EMI) » One of the great jazz orchestras. The title piece and her "Wishing Peace" are particularly appropriate for the times we are presently living through. 10 (LD)

Four Tet Rounds (Domino) » Sampling a range of live instruments like bass, drums, xylophone guitar and gamelan, this is essential listening for the post-rock laptop set. 9 (RK)

Jay-Jay Johanson Antenna (BMG Sweden) » Re-modelled as a new age Bowie clone, Johanson eases into elegant, unböring synthpop. 8.5 (LC)

Izzi Dunn Fire (Bitasweet/Westbury) » Izz comes hard with strings, lyrics, Kaidi, Phlash, Unsung Heroes and Afronaught. Tough. 8 (SC)

Various Miami Sound (Soul Jazz/Fusion III) » Funk obscurities from the Sunshine State, '67-'74. Citrus-sweet and, with psychedelic touches and substantial Caribbean flavour. 8.5 (RB)

North of America Brother, Sisters (Level-plane) » Get your abacus back out, these Haligonians aren't given up on math rock just yet. 7 (JC)

Ani DiFranco Evolve (Righteous Babe/Festival) » Jazzedy Ani gives us some music to feel esoteric by. 6.5 (LC)

George Thorogood Ride 'Til I Die (Eagle Rock/EMI) » This might work as the soundtrack to a monster truck battle, but if you are listening to this in your living room right now, you are a serious weirdo. 4 (JC)

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