EUPHRATES
A Bend in the River (independent)
Declaring war on the status quo and delivering a substantial blow to all unprepared perpetrators, A Bend in the River pops the lid on Euphrates, Montreal's Iraqi-Canadian hip hop connection. Master of ceremonies Narcicyst lays it down deep with his relentless flow, weaving in and out of politics, religion, the media, perception and where we fit into all of it. I love when he flips from Arabic to English without missing a beat. The Sandhill production team sets this record apart from beginning to end with rough rhythms and melodies from a part of the world that most of us have only ever seen on TV. From "Iraqnaphobia" to "Klaochi," it's nice to hear some truly original hip hop from right around the corner. 8/10 (Scott C)

BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB
Take Them on, on Your Own (Virgin/EMI)
They won't start a revolution, but San Francisco's dour Britrock fanboys put the rebel in BRMC with a series of protest songs (notably "Generation" and "US Government"), subject matter that meshes smoothly with tangled love stories and psyched-out drama. As on their debut, the decadent riffs, sultry basslines and bursts of anthemic, breakneck punk ring out from the Jesus and Mary Chain echo chamber in thick, searing waves. Despite a few wrong turns into dregs-of-Britpop territory - somewhere between Crispian Mills' chakras and Noel Gallagher's cocaine-sprinkled Corn Flakes - there's plenty of high-end, white-hot rock to be had. 7.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

ALIEN ANT FARM
truANT (Polydor/Universal)
Miles beyond their previous release Truant, AAF's sophomore disc (and major label debut) delves deeper into their sound. It's a lot more varied and textured than that of their nu-metal counterparts these days, ranging from the bossa nova flavour of "Tia Lupe" to the dub-influenced "Never Meant." With curious shades of Incubus and Tool offset by a playfulness all their own, AAF show potential for greater things by diversifying, and truANT is a step in the right direction. 7/10 (Lateef Martin)

ADAM GREEN
Friends of Mine (Sanctuary/EMI)
The boy from NYC's Moldy Peaches squeezes out some folk naïf of his own, a second solo album built on sweetness and silliness, childlike melodies and dazzling strings. Violins and cello swell over soft rhythm and Green's acoustic guitar, adding a classic, emotive weight to his leisurely tunes. Meanwhile, his lyrics dwell on everyday quirks and goofy details (prostitute fingers, salty candy, Jessica Simpson) and mildly surreal fantasy (royal boudoirs, airborne bakeries, sex with legless girls), lots of dry jokes and seedy babble occasionally intercut with poetic and tender words. 7/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

VARIOUS
Russendisko Hits (Trikont)
In a grimy corner of the former East Berlin is the club Kaffee Burger, home to the bi-weekly Russendisko night run by Yuriy Gurzhy and Wladimir Kaminer. The soirée's draw reaches well past the Russian ex-pats as DJ Yuriy spins his choice cuts of Russkie alt-pop, a solid batch of which is collected here. No question of the impact that ska and reggae had over there - they serve as the basis for at least half these songs, which also draw on surf, new wave, klezmer and Balkan brass band action. There's a vodka-fuelled obtuseness to this stuff, but it only ups the sense of goofy fun. Let me hear your balalaikas ringing out! 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

VARIOUS
Awesome Collective Vol. 1 (Awesome/DKD)
If you're one of those people who have always looked up to Toronto's "hip hop business infrastructure" and wished that we had that right here in MTL, then this is for you. With the exception of visionary MC and spoken-word artist Reign, who has three songs here, everything else (Bishop, Kuya, Keiko and Jenna G), seems to be tailored for T-Dot's exploding commercial urban radio climate, candy-coated copycat beats and all. Saukrates changes speeds for a minute with Big Black Lincoln, a production guise that allows him to sing and produce more, and even make generic house joints it seems, but the rest, as a wise man once said, is fit for the pit. 6.5/10 (Scott C)

VARIOUS
The Sound of Young New York (Plant)
When New York's Plant Bar fell victim to the city's draconian cabaret laws last April, thousands of hipsters with perfectly messed-up hair were left looking for an equally intimate place to dance to high-calibre, DJs (Felix Da Housecat, Norman Cook and David Holmes all played there and super hot disco-punk band the Rapture had a weekly). Thankfully, Dominique Keegan (owner of Plant Bar and Plant Music) made this CD, capturing the attitude of the emerging disco-electro-rock scene where anything goes as long as it's good. Standouts include NYC's Radio 4, les Clones, the Glass, a DFA remix of Metro Area and a Rapture remix of Rinocerose's "Music Kills Me." 8/10 (Raf Katigbak)

VARIOUS
New Deutsch (International Deejay Gigolos)
Compiled by Tomas Bar and DJ Hell, and in the same spirit as Gomma's excellent Teutonik Disaster comp, New Deutsch compiles tracks from the early European post-punk scene where synths first found their way into rock songs and the musical zeitgeist was cross-pollination. As a historical document, New Deutsch is quite good, with enough examples of German synth-pop to make any hardcore electro fan's wilting fauxhawk spring to life. As an album, New Deutsch falls slightly short of the mark with only a few standout tracks (like No More's "Suicide Commando") out of 24. That said, it does provide a rare and interesting look at early German synth-rock and the roots of electro. 7/10 (Raf Katigbak)

PEPE DELUXE
Beatitude (Emperor Norton/Outside)
The leftfield turntablistic curiosity Super Sound, the first joint from these funky, freaky Finns, was constructed entirely out of found samples. Beatitude now has the James Spectrum and JA-Jazz (a duo after DJ Slow's departure) rounding up dozens of musicians to make their deliberately retro samples from scratch. A fat batch at 18 tunes, this set has a number for every mood and moment of the day - funk-rock overkill ("Salami Fever"), snappy beat-pop ("Girl"), lazy balcony jams ("Real Simple"), what have you. Some snag you right there, some take a while to grow, some you've forgotten before they're done. Lack of focus hurts here - they coulda lost a quarter of this and come far tighter. 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

JAGA JAZZIST
The Stix (Ninja Tune/Outside)
My patience with new-school jazz from northern Europe is limited, but here's a Norwegian 10-piece that'll keep me on board right through the record. The instrumentation is the familiar post-rock grab bag, meaning lots of flute, clarinet and glockenspiel supplementing the bass, drums and keys galore. The tasty, patient, pleasantly energetic compositions, largely by founder Lars Horntveth, owe as much to Steve Reich and Moondog as to Tortoise or the Scandinavian e-jazz environment. The mild drum & bass mix gives a sense of fracturing and reassembling, but not to the point where it's disconcerting. Rich in tones and colours, The Stix is a substantial and satisfying joint. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

DEAD OR ALIVE
Evolution: The Hits (Epic/Sony)
Mindless crap, you say? Dregs of that non-decade, the '80s? That was precisely the point of Boy George knockoff and pro cocktease (apparently he's not gay, amazingly) Pete Burns, front she-man for Dead or Alive. Here, their greatest hits are gloriously bound up in all their inanity, a wet dream for any club child of the '80s. Some of the remixing is quite unnecessary - I like my mindless musical nostalgia pure, thanks very much. Still, this makes for some truly, ecstatically fun listening. I was singing along - Ms. Burns had my heart going bang bang bang bang. 8.5/10 (Matthew Hays)

THALIA
Thalia (Virgin/EMI)
LUMIDEE
Almost Famous (Universal)
Debut sets by Mexican-born Thalia and Puerto-Rican songbird Lumidee may both have infectious lead singles, but that's where the similarities end. Thalia's funky collaboration with Fat Joe, the seductive "I Want You," belies a set that's bent more on pop-rock ambitions than urban inflections. Not that the set's devoid of rhythm - both "Misbehavin'" and the attitude-filled "What's It Gonna Be Boy" are groovy pop numbers. But Thalia mostly relies on forgettable pop hooks that don't live up to the street vibe of "I Want You." Conversely, Lumidee's sound is less diverse but more enjoyable, because the set builds on the rhythm of ubiquitous summer jam "Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)." In truth, many of the tracks here are almost "Never Leave You" part two (the "Uh Oooh" remix featuring Busta and Fabolous notwithstanding). But Lumidee get points for staying true to her vibe, even though it wears a little thin. Thalia 6.5/10, Lumidee 7/10 (Gerard Dee)

BOB BROOKMEYER & KENNY WHEELER
Island (Artists House)
This signals the welcome return of John Snyder's Artists House label. Snyder, who was here recently producing Susie Arioli, has come up with a winner on which an excellent trio (Boston-based musicians John Hollenbeck on piano, Jeremy Allen on bass and Frank Carlberg on drums) back two of the finest instrumentalists and composers in jazz history. Toronto-born Wheeler and Kansas City-born Brookmeyer are both 73 and are heard on trumpet/flugelhorn and valve trombone respectively on seven originals, four by Kenny and three by Bob. Try Wheeler's "Strange One" and Brookmeyer's "Upstairs With Beatrice." Masterful! 10/10 (Len Dobbin)

Mini CD Reviews

SCOTT HAMILTON QUARTET Live in London (Concord/Koch) Great, swinging tenor from Mr. Hamilton. 9 (LD)

VARIOUS Grand Slam One-On Vol. 2 (Grand Slam) Exclusive Madvillian, Quantic Soul Orchestra and joints from the Heliocentrics, Sadat X and more. Tight. 7.5 (SC)

AMEN ANDREWS "Vol. 2" 12" (Rephlex) Luke Vibert returns as Plug-like weirdo junglist madman Amen Andrews in the second of five planned 12-inches on Aphex Twin's label. Massive! 7 (RK)

ANDREW VINCENT AND THE PIRATES I Love the Modern Way (Kelp) Classic college pop collides with rock 'n' roll, providing some serious tennis-racket riffing material. 7 (LC)

OBERSOUNDZ PE3EPBBAHO (Pias/Select) Nostalgic Parisian rave-lounge chill room sonics. Just so you know, PE3EPBBAHO is pronounced "reservado." 7/10 (LM)

THE FRENCH Local Information (Too Pure/Beggars) The top half of Hefner resurface with some mildly retarded tunes for music boxes of the future. 6 (LC)

THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Plays Hits of Pink Floyd (Koch) Symphonic Floyd's a nice idea, but where are "Astronomy Domine," "One of These Days," "Nile Song" or even "Run Like Hell"? Without them it's just another brick in the wall of superfluous Floyd merch. 4 (RB)

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