ARTHUR H
Négresse blanche (Polydor/Universal)
The finest French figure in adult pop today returns with his fifth studio album, which sees him stowing the world beat parlour tricks and smoothing his new-millennium musette sound to a luxuriant buff, his sandpaper croon and wicked wordplay likewise softened. While musically more focused, his lyrical portraiture runs wild as ever, mining the collective mythology for precise emotional and erotic metaphors. He slips easily into the skins of his characters, presenting them like waking dreams—vivid yet just beyond tangible. As the title suggests, it’s the feminine voice he’s seeking out here, specifically with iconic odes like “Marilyn Kaddish,” “Lily Dale” and “Lady X.” He’s no less explicitly French—check the mash note to Paris “City of Light,” or the stand-out “14 juillet 2002,” getting inside the head of Maxime Brunerie, the guy who tried to cap Chirac last year. 9.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
RADIOHEAD
Hail to the Thief (EMI)
You know what they say about judging a book. But on Radiohead’s sixth album, the evil world collage and cheeky title say a lot about the gloom, doom, aggression and clinging hope of the lyrics and of the sound, possibly the band’s most successful mesh of the electronic and the rock. Guitars are back, but not entirely at the expense of their newer gear and minimal tendencies, and most tracks build on substantial songs and strong feelings rather than merely neat sounds. Like most records, this one could have shed a track or three, but greatness abounds regardless. 8/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)
METALLICA
St. Anger (Elektra/Warner)
They’re back! After playing possum on their past couple of duds, it looked like Metallica was down for the count, but on St. Anger they don’t just get off the ropes, they deliver a 75-minute knockout. All guitar solos are thrown out the window, giving the crushing riffs more elbow room. Updating with elements of nu-metal and the sludge of Entombed, Down or COC while revisiting their thrash roots, Metallica are lethal throughout and do very little pandering to the radio dial. If you wondered what happened after ...And Justice for All, fear not, they will crush you on this one. The real treat here is the extra DVD that shows them rehearsing the entire album without the Bob Rock production excess and shows a band hungry and ready to reclaim the metal crown. Metal up your ass! 9/10 (Johnson Cummins)
VARIOUS
Lux Catalogue (Neon Magazine)
New York, Quebec, Melbourne, Munich, everybody talk about—la musique pop. Quebec City’s Neon Magazine label collects some of our province’s most promising indie synth jockeys and a handful of like-minded international acts, 15 tracks gathered under the broad umbrella of electropop. It’s a multilingual sampling of great new wave, unhinged synths, quaint keyboard ditties and a spot of electroclash pastiche, hitting its highlights with Montreal’s infectious Echo Kitty and Quebec’s Sigue-Sigue-styled Chernobyl Cha-Cha, whose second song on the comp is a cover of Corbeau’s “Illégal” with a guest chanteuse doing her best Marjo. Crisse! 8/10 (Lorraine Carpenter) CD launch with Echo Kitty and Jaune Diète at O Patro Vys, Tues., June 17, 9pm
VARIOUS
Wild Dub: Dread Meets Punk Rocker Downtown (Select Cuts/Fusion III)
As a former Flying Lizard, Sounds reggae scribe and comrade to the Rotten one, Vivien Goldman’s the right person to compile a look back at the U.K. dub/punk collision of ’77 to ’80. The usual suspects have all been rounded up—the Clash, Ruts, Slits, Killing Joke, Stiff Little Fingers and Billy Idol’s old band Generation X, in fact the first punk band to drop a dub side. The aforementioned John Lydon’s here too, both with his post-Pistols PIL (“Death Disco) and producing his bro’s band 4 Be 2. Add to that the black rock dub of Basement 5 and a Grace Jones closer and kid, you’ve got gold—fierce, chaotic, revolutionary gold. 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
JAYLIB
“The Official” 12” (Stones Throw)
JAYDEE
Ruff Draft EP (Mummy)
Just like chocolate and peanut butter, hip hop producers Jaydee and Madlib (Jaylib) combine to create a simple but effective flavour that you already knew would taste great. Representing Detroit and Oxnard, CA, respectively, these two are known individually for distinct production styles that incorporate everything from gutter beats to soulful swells, neck-breaker bounce and untouched goodies. This first single from their upcoming LP finds J rapping on Madlib’s beat “The Official” and vice versa on the B-side “The Red.” Easily two of the most prolific minds making beats out there, they are also both oblivious to production trends. Jaydee’s Ruff Draft EP seems to find Dilla pushing his creativity to new heights or strange lows, depending on how open-minded you are. Nice to hear him rhyming on his own beats again, though. Somehow it all seems to make more sense that way. This is definitely an “I’m just doing some shit…” record. Jaylib 8.5/10, Jaydee 7.5/10 (Scott C)
BONOBO
Dial M for Monkey (Ninja Tune/Outside)
It’s actually quite amazing to behold the range of emotion bottled up here in Bonobo’s latest effort. The monkey man demonstrates his talents both in sequencing his way around some of the more particular moods and grooves that we are capable of feeling, and by actually playing all of the various instruments that he samples to build his ups and downs. What we hear is a concise and understated proclamation of the true power of music. This record will flow comfortably through you, blurring the lines between reflective moments and dancing dust-ups, with no jagged edges in sight. This is just what the summer ordered, with the monkey man programming the soundtrack of the sun. 8/10 (Scott C)
VARIOUS
Apartmentsounds (CRUM)
Concept albums are great when they work. For Apartmentsounds, the concept was simple: get four Montreal sound artists to create a section of an imaginary apartment (the window, the kitchen, the bathtub, and bed). The four artists—the Stojanov, Women With Kitchen Appliances, Newsystem and zipertatou—do a great job bringing to life their respective sections. Directed by the artist collective Centre de Recherche Urbaine de Montréal, the music (which teeters between music concrete, free jazz, pop and straight-up sound design) ends up being both whimsical and engaging. A fun listen for those who like it a bit abstract. 8/10 (Raf Katigbak)
MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD
Everyone Deserves Music (Imusic/BMG)
If Franti’s last show here was any indication, the intention is to get you dancing while keeping your brain sharp. That’s especially clear on tracks like “We Don’t Stop,” “Yes I Will,” “Love Invincible” and “Bomb the World.” This is an album of hope and optimism with a touch of that ’70s funk and fun, full of tracks so shiny and happy they should probably be on Sesame Street. Still, with party tracks mixed with hip hop influences, some folkier moments, reggae-inflected riddims and house vibes, Everyone is at times a bit like fireworks on video: it’ll be that much more explosive live. 7.5/10 (Lateef Martin)
LUTHER VANDROSS
Dance With My Father (J/BMG)
It’s tragic irony that as Luther’s album hits the street, he’s fighting his way back to health after suffering a stroke almost two months ago. His latest features a who’s-who of urban music, including Foxy Brown, Beyonce (on the superbly Luther-ized “The Closer I Get To You”), Queen Latifah (on the slammin’ “Hit It Again”), Busta Rhymes and Stevie Wonder. But it’s those oh-so-Luther tracks—“Think About You,” “Right in the Middle,” “They Said You Needed Me,” the moving title track—that make it painfully obvious that even after 20-plus years on the scene, he’s still one of a kind. Get well, Lufer. 8.5/10 (Gerard Dee)
BUDDY GUY
Blues Singer (Silvertone/BMG)
One of the greatest living bluesmen picks up the acoustic this time and delves into the deep country blues. The songs are blues jewels penned by John Lee Hooker, Skip James, Son House, Willie Dixon and more but Guy expertly takes the rudders of these vessels and manages to add something new to them. Guy’s takes on standards like “Crawlin’ Kingsnake” (with Eric Clapton and B.B. King), “Anna Lee” and “Hard Time Killing Floor” are goosebump-inducing and prove that, despite the fact that Guy’s mainly known for his Chicago blues style, he’s never given up his Mississippi roots. 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)
LUCKY THOMPSON
Nothing But the Soul (EMI)
Despite the nickname, Eli Thompson, who’ll be 79 next Monday, would be high on many lists as the most under-appreciated musician in jazz history. Despite gigs with Lionel Hampton (at 19!), Billy Eckstine and Count Basie and classic recordings with Basie, Bird, Monk and Miles, in the mid-’70s he dropped out of music and sight, reportedly bitter and disillusioned. The 18 tracks collected on this CD in the Americans in Paris series were all recorded in France in 1956. Other than trumpeter Emmett Berry, who appears on six tracks, the musicians were Paris-based and include Martial Solal, Henri Renaud, Benoit Quersin, Guy Lafitte and Dave Pochonet. Two versions of Lucky’s “Thin Ice,” just tenor, bass and drums, are worth the price of admission. Great tenor playing lays within! 9/10 Len Dobbin
Mini CD Reviews
THE BUG FEAT. CUTTY RANKS “Gun Disease” (Rephlex) After obliterating headz with his post-apocalyptic hip hop as Techno Animal, Kevin Martin teams up with vocalist Cutty Ranks for an all-out distorted industrial dancehall shocker. Murdah! 8 (RK)
CRYPTOPSY None So Live (Century) This live record has new singer Martin Lacroix doing a great job on the oldies, but Flo Mounier’s brutal precision on the traps is top-notch. 8 (JC)
THE RAYMOND SCOTT ORCHESTRETTE Pushbutton Parfait (Evolver/Koch) Great, cartoonish music with titles like “The Sleepwalker Meets the Huckleberry Duck in an 18th Century Drawing Room.” Watch for the group at the Jazz Fest! 8 (LD)
JACKIE MITTOO Champion in the Arena 1976–1977 (Blood & Fire/Outside) A simmering stew of dub-reggae organ groovers from the yardie Booker T., backed by Sly & Robbie to boot. 8 (RB)
OUTRAGEOUS CHERRY Supernatural Equinox (Rainbow Quartz/Fusion III) Surrender to the void with some taut, trippy rock that’s more crispy than flaky. 7 (LC) At Casa del Popolo, Mon., June 16, 8pm
LOVE AND ROCKETS Sorted! The Best of Love and Rockets (Beggars Banquet/Select) I’d rather buy Daniel Ash’s hair on eBay. 5 (LC)
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