The Black Keys
Thickfreakness (Fat Possum/Epitaph/FAB)
I'm still blown away that something this soulful could come out of two record-collecting college geeks from Dayton, Ohio. Their debut The Big Come Up made the year-end top 10 polls in NME and Mojo and found outspoken fans in the White Stripes. This new one is even better and will have most critics running for the keyboard, just as hipsters will scream their name from the highest mountain. This duo does it all with just drums, guitar and some of the sweetest singing you're likely to hear for a while. The cover of "Have Love Will Travel" may be peeled right off the Sonics' version, but singer Dan Auerbach adds new swagger to the blister. This is soul/blues played straight from the heart and raunchy as hell. Like the sticker on the front says, you will get down. 9.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)
The White Stripes
Elephant (V2/BMG)
Don't fret over the Grand Ole Opry gear, the cricket bat or the major label. This is very much the lo-fi, lo-class, ambiguously related peppermint duo of old. Album four finds fat blues riffs with dabs of metal, slow-boiling sing-songs, rock city punk, ballads crawling with desperate charm and glam that keeps on chugging. And Jack passes the mic to Meg on "In the Cold, Cold Night," while U.K. chanteuse Holly Golightly squeezes in for the cutesy three-way finale. Tight, well paced and endearingly goofy ("be like the squirrel"?), Elephant is bound to sit its big ass in rock's history books. 9/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)
Kristin Hersh
The Grotto
Throwing Muses
self-titled (4AD/Beggars Group)
Inspired by a death in the family, and recorded during her fourth pregnancy, Kristin Hersh's fifth solo album is fittingly murky and hormonal, its lyrics drawn from haunted dreams. That said, it's also a light, nearly lush listen, Hersh's voice and acoustic guitar backed by Giant Sand's Howe Gelb on piano and Andrew Bird on violin, though the album's strained refinement doesn't match its striking predecessor, Sunny Border Blue. For something (almost) completely different, Hersh's Throwing Muses are back from a seven-year hiatus, rocking the 4AD way with founding member (and Hersh's half sis) Tanya Donelly audibly in tow. The tag-team weaves its witchery around '90s guitars, alternating between distorted jangling and thick, alterna riff rocking, delivering some bold pop and pummelling fire along the way. Both 7.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)
Hed (PE)
Blackout (Jive/Zomba/BMG)
What the hell happened? I heard Broken, the last album from Hed (PE), and absolutely flipped over their mix of heavy guitars, techno and attitude. Now all I can hear is bits of Kid Rock and even Limp Bizkit (yeesh) and some lyrical nonsense reminiscent of Linkin Park. This is played-out shit we've been hearing for the past few years from every other rap/rock group. There's still some devastating riffage and menacing tracks like "Half a Man" and "The Only One" but this is only half as good as Broken. Somebody save us! Deftones, where are you? 6/10 (Lateef Martin)
Tony Allen
Home Cooking (Narada/EMI)
The rhythmic cornerstone of the Nigerian Afro-beat sound of the '70s, master drummer Allen has since then continuously pushed it forward and outward. He's made overtures to the avant-jazz and jam-band types, to house and downtempo heads and, with this new one, to the U.K. R&B and hip hop scene - and possibly the crossover pop charts beyond. Fela freaks will cringe at the slickness, and mediocre Brit MCs and the unfortunate inclusion of Blur's Damon Albarn on one track don't help. But one can't really fault the modern production by London's Unsung Heroes. When they're on, and Tony's keeping it in a classic vein ("Crazy Afrobeat," "Kindness"), Home Cooking cooks. 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Zion I
Deep Water Slang v2.0 (Raptivism/Fusion III)
I have to say that, even though Zion I has always managed to come correct with solid singles, their first LP Mind Over Matter was a little inconsistent. Deep Water Slang, however, seems something like a transitional leap for MC Zion and producer Amp Live. Some of the songs on here are just fresh as all hell and seem to escape the formulaic shackles of their previous record. Songs like "Kick Snare" and "Boom-Bip" show a new musical maturity to match Zion's lyrical advancement. Guests include Pep Love, Grouch from Living Legends, Aceyalone and Goapele. This is an earful of well thought-out and well executed hip hop. 8/10 (Scott C)
Truby Trio
Elevator Music (Compost/Fusion III)
Maybe it's just me, but the Truby Trio has officially contributed to the growing pile of limp nu-jazz that just seems to be trying too hard in all the wrong places. This is not a horrible record, with a few redeeming moments of Afro-Brazilian lustre, but if anything, it's a little too much of the same thing. Even the inclusion of their half-assed D&B attempt "A Festa" would make Marky and Patife shake their heads. Although no dancefloor regular would turn their nose up at this collection, they could certainly throw themselves into some less generic tracks with a little effort. Sorry, guys. 7/10 (Scott C)
Manitoba
Up in Flames (Domino)
Sure, he made waves with his massive debut IDM album Start Breaking My Heart a few years back and toured the world with his rocking chop shop of laptop hip hop. But this is 2003 and like all great artists, Canadian producer Dan "Manitoba" Snaith has re-invented himself. Remember the time before people would string a bunch of sounds together on their computer and call it a track? The time when people actually wrote things called songs? Well, Snaith does, and on Up in Flames he pulls his inspiration from the psychedelic pop world of Spaceman 3 and Mercury Rev. Sounding more like Brian Wilson than Boards of Canada (he even sings on some of the songs), the end result is catchy, confident, and a refreshing change from the laptop fodder flooding the experimental techno market. 8.5/10 (Raf Katigbak)
Miss Kittin
Radio Caroline Vol.1 (Mental Groove)
Although she helped to propel the nu-electro scene to the top of the dance charts with her distinctively sweet, nonchalant Euro vocals, Caroline "Miss Kittin" Hervé is still first and foremost a DJ, something she proved with her great mix on Terminal M Records a while back. On Radio Caroline, she steps up to the plate again and hits another homerun, albeit a slinky, subtle and minimal one. Beginning with the abstract (tracks from Pansonic, Autechre, Jacob Fairley) and moving to the grooving (Jesper Dahlback and Marshall Jefferson), Radio Caroline may not be the pumping electro-tech that most will be expecting ('80s fauxhawk casualties will be pleased to know that yes, she does talk throughout the album), but it is still a great listen. Meow! 9/10 (Raf Katigbak)
Les Nubians
One Step Forward (EMI)
On their '99 debut, Princesses Nubiennes, this duo was somewhat of a rarity: French/Cameroonian sisters flipping urban tracks with a French/English twist. They take it to the next level here, offering a delicious blend of musical flavours including pop-flavoured R&B ("Temperature Rising" with Talib Kweli and the infectious "J'veux de la musique"), jazz ("Que le mot soit perle") and reggae ("El son reggae" and "Brothers & Sisters" with Jamaican staples Morgan Heritage). African rhythms are, of course, pervasive throughout, combining beautifully with the sisters' irresistible harmonies on tracks like "Me & Me." This is more of a giant leap ahead. 8.5/10 (Gerard Dee)
Roscoe Holcomb
An Untamed Sense of Control (Smithsonian Folkways/Koch)
This is fuggin' godhead! Holcomb's rapture of pain will leave you changed, guaranteed. In keeping with Smithsonian fashion, this 26-song set is all taken from field recordings where his high lonesome hollering dig right to the centre. Mainly using only his banjo for musical accompaniment, Holcomb's words come straight from the Appalachian mountains while taking the occasional swallow from the wells of gospel, Baptist chants, hillbilly, folk, bluegrass and old-time string bands. Holcomb slipped away in 1981 but John Cohen's extensive liner notes here recount the life that left him with calloused hands and a pool of over 300 songs, providing the perfect companion to these amazing songs. 9.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Wardell Gray
The Wardell Gray Story (Proper Box)
One of the great "instant composers," a melodist of the first rank, Gray, who died in 1955, was one of the most consistent musicians in jazz history. Renowned for his tenor playing, Pepper Adams ranked him as one of the great baritone saxophonist as well. What we have here over four CDs are 77 tracks recorded between 1945 and 1952, laid out chronologically. Along with his better known sides as a leader and those with Benny Goodman and Count Basie, there is a wealth of rare material here. Bebop at its best from a true singer of songs - no wonder Annie Ross added words to many of Wardell's solos. 10/10 (Len Dobbin)
Rondellus
Sabbatum (The Music Cartel/Koch)
And now for a different kind of heavy. Sabbatum is an album of Black Sabbath covers performed in a properly-schooled medieval style. This Estonian outfit had the lyrics to "War Pigs," "The Wizard," "Symptom of the Universe" and nine more translated into Latin. Then they busted out the lutes, organistrums, frame drums and gothic harps for an unholy modal roundup. Chuckles aside, Rondellus have, as Finland's Apocalyptica did with Metallica's catalogue, divined the true musical beauty of these klassix. Plus, it'll kill unicorns dead at 50 paces. Eheu Deus! 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
Mini CD Reviews
Otto Von Schirach Chopped Zombie Fungus (Schematic) » Fifteen tracks of raw, unadulterated Satan, from drill & bass to horror rap. Not for the faint of heart. 9 (RK)
Stan Kenton Orchestra in Concert (Hindsight) » The fact that Scott LaFaro is on bass makes this one most appealing. 8.5 (LD)
The Stone Roses The Very Best of… (Silvertone/BMG) » Meaning most of the stellar debut and satellite material from Madchester's MVPs, plus token crap from their dismal Second Coming. 8 (RB)
Yo La Tengo Summer Sun (Matador) » Hoboken's best, back with Krautrock lullabies, beatnik pop, lonesome ditties and deep cushions of easy listening. 8 (LC) With Portastatic at Cabaret, Tues., April 15, 9pm, $20
Circulatory System self-titled (Cloud Recordings/Sonic Unyon) » Olivia Tremor Control and Neutral Milk Hotel alumni confer for classic chamber psychedelia. 7 (LC) With the Sea & Cake at Cabaret, Mon., April 14, 9pm, $15.50
P'Taah Staring at the Sun (Ubiquity) »This "rule breaker" stole this album title from Level 42! 7 (SC)
Zeigenbock Kopf Nocturnal Submissions (Tigerbeat6) » Full-frontal, in-the-red electro-fag-punk from Germany. The rocking of the cock, redefined. 7 (RB)
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