Jamiroquai
LateNightTales (Ultra)
The latest installation of the LateNightTales series mixes the groovy selections of British soul boy Jamiroquai into one fluid late-night party. Judging by these tracks, it's easy to see where he gets his own funky vibe from. These largely unknown gems come from some very well-known urban artists including Ashford & Simpson ("Stay Free"), Sister Sledge ("Pretty Baby"), Patrice Rushen ("Music of the Earth") and the Commodores ("Girl, I Think the World About You"). It's a credit to Jamiroquai that he could put together an old-school jam session that features Rufus right up against the Pointer Sisters, without missing a beat. 9/10 (Gerard Dee)

Mark Lanegan Band
Here Comes that Weird Chill (Beggars Banquet/Select)
A lot of you may have been hipped to Lanegan from his recent work with Queens of the Stone Age, but he's a veteran scenester who cut his teeth as the singer with the Screaming Trees and has numerous solo outings tucked under his belt as well. Fans of QOTSA are going to love this EP - Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri are all over it, as are Dean Ween, P.J. Harvey, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan, Afghan Whig Greg Dulli and Master of Reality's Chris Goss. Although a lot of the mongrels on this eight-song effort are a little half-baked, Lanegan's trademark raspy howl really propels songs like "Lexington Slow Down," and the amazing cover of Captain Beefheart's "Clear Spot" is a real jaw-dropper. The full-length Bubblegum is dropping in the spring, and I am waiting with baited breath. 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)

The Aversions
self-titled (Die in Style)
Quebec City's Aversions play '77-style punk that is sneering, seething and snotty, fun that will actually bring the now defunct fellow QC band Demolition to mind. Production is crisp but these young punks keep it short and sweet with eight blasters all clocking in at under two and a half minutes. Admittedly, the lyrics are a bit goofy. Check out this nugget from "Censored Movies": "They used the devil in the bottle with no posology." (Posology, huh?) Who the fuck cares what this guy is screaming about as long as it rocks. Kind of sounds like all of the usual suspects - early Saints, the Vibrators and New Bomb Turks. Nothing all that new but it's chock full of 'tude and fun, the stuff good punk rock is supposed to be about. 8/10 (Johnson Cummins)

Nelly Furtado
Folklore (Dreamworks/Universal)
Over a pro mix of modern pop, Latin rhythms, jiggish folk and a faint whiff of hip hop - the bio calls her "a product of hip hop freedom"! - Furtado spews vain and inane lyrics from end to end, but bless her for dropping the punishing squawk that ran through Whoa Nelly. This "mature" follow-up, again co-auteured by Track & Field (aka two ex-Philosopher Kings), takes a rapid tumble after two decent tracks, proving that Furtado is as short on ideas as she is long on pimping her Portuguese background without drawing anything substantial from it. 6.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

The Field Register
Eastern Shore (Ships at Night)
From Moncton to Montreal, from Feint to the Field Register, this quintet has evolved fast, from self-conscious, droning post-rockers to accomplished writers and arrangers of graceful epics. Not that these songs lack intensity or volume, but they're built carefully with gradual emotive swells in mind, and the subtler moments, featuring soft vocals and piano, sound just as compelling as the fuzzed-out guitar outbursts. Melancholy tends to sound lazy and weak if it's not painted with full strokes and lush colours but, on stirring tracks like "B.C.W.," it seems the Field Register have got it right. 8/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Various
ZeD: Live off the Floor (CBC)
All manner of indie music is the cornerstone of the catch-all cornucopia of (mostly) Can-con arts that is CBC's late-night TV show ZeD. The show's eclecticism is illustrated in the variety of artists who've done the live thing thereupon. Thing is, a similar eclecticism is required of this comp's potential purchasers. Solid versions from Canucks like BrassMunk, Patrick Watson, Weakerthans, Buck 65 and the Organ, as well as a take on "Evolution" by Cinematic Orchestra, are high points. Can't say the same for some of the others. But hey, I can think of worse ways to see my tax dollars evaporate. 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Tori Amos
Tales of a Librarian: A Tori Amos Collection (Epic/Sony)
Think of this as a mixed CD and not a best-of, as many selections weren't singles or hits. Instead, these 20 songs are Tori's personal favourites, spanning her career from Little Earthquakes to To Venus and Back. With four new songs Tori exudes the same haunting effect she's had throughout the years, from trip-hoppish dirges to the starkness and simplicity of piano and vocal to full band. The DVD is a nice bonus with live performances and a picture gallery, but with songs like "Cornflake Girl," "Me and a Gun," "Bliss," "Playboy Mommy," "Professional Widow" and "Crucify," this album will satisfy both the fan and the newcomer. 8/10 (Lateef Martin)

The Genie
Rebel Music (HLM/Local)
The resonating electric guitar of the Genie has been turning up more and more these days on Montreal's smaller stages, where his use of a multi-effect pedal, microphone and the aforementioned Fender Strat Plus have been mesmerizing audiences for months. He constructs tight hip hop instrumentals, drum & bass assaults and worldly washes in record time, using his own looped beat box as a backdrop and manipulated guitar as his weapon of choice. Rebel Music tries to translate this magical live experience to record, with mixed results. While the live show is immediately rewarding and a crazy spectacle to watch, some of the recorded material seems watered down without the visual aspect of what is going on in the music. 7.5/10 (Scott C)

Various
Shapes One-Horizontal & Vertical (Tru-Thoughs/Outside)
Tru-Thoughts label head Rob Luis has been sitting pretty for years now, pleased to be heading up an outfit that offers a refreshing stable of innovative and talented producers to the music-buying public. Shapes One reflects some of the many artists from around the world who have been sending music to the Tru-Thoughts offices, and are finally getting a formal release. This wide berth accommodates contributions from the worlds of hip hop, jazz, funk, broken beat, bossa and breaks, recognizing the ongoing works of Quantic and Mr. Scruff as well as newcomers Native Cell and Diesler. Tru-Thoughts signees TM Juke, Nostalgia 77 and Natural Self represent lovely too. A nice primer of quality music that defies classification. 8/10 (Scott C)

Riow Arai
Mind Edit (Leaf)
Whether it's a set of chopsticks with a built-in fan to cool your noodles or a hay-fever hat (a helmet with a roll of toilet paper on top to blow your nose), you can always count on the Japanese to come up with some crazy combo mish-mash of the almost useless. In this case, Japanese beat producer Riow Arai's first release outside of Japan combines the adventurous exploratory spirit of a jazz solo with the heavy breakbeat sampling of labels like Ninja Tune. But while Arai successfully evades the pretentious trappings of other glitch-hop producers by keeping it simple and low-key, Arai falls short of sounding interesting. While Mind Edit does have its moments, many of the songs are so long-winded that by the time it gets interesting you've already stopped listening. 6/10 (Raf Katigbak)

Various
I Like It Volume 1 (Compost/Fusion III)
The four-by-four concept here is to get four prominent yet disparate Euro DJs to choose their four favourite tunes of all time. Lined up for the first of what's hoped to be many volumes are neo-electro point man DJ Hell, Kruder minus Dorfmeister, Compost label founder Michael Reinboth and Theo Thönnessen of the Into Somethin' DJ team. If you think you can guess what their picks will be, you're in for any number of surprises. From the Eno & Lanois and Sylvian & Sakamoto to the Pop Group, Hector Rivera and Arthur Russell, the choices are unexpected - and unexpectedly good. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Various
WiR (Ladomat)
As the plethora of electronic and indie labels have come and gone over the years, Ladomat and sister label l'Age d'Or have somehow remained consistent in their anything-goes philosophy. The first joint comp from two of the hottest labels in Germany, this double CD has everything from the blasé electro cool of Miss Kittin to the jangly krautpop of Superpunk to the minimal techno of Carsten Jost, the frosty go-go bop of Tenfold Loadstar and all points in between - even a live four-piece cover of DJ Rolando's seminal Detroit classic "Knights of the Jaguar" by BeigeGT. If you're even remotely interested in what's going on in the independent European music scene, you'll do well to pick this up. 8.5/10 (Raf Katigbak)

Langston Hughes
Dreamer (Naxos)
Subtitled A Portrait of Langston Hughes, this is a valuable set in the label's American Classics series. Hughes, who died in 1967, has been called "the most musical poet of the 20th century." This CD has 27 tracks, a mix of poetry including "The Weary Blues" and "Madam and the Census Taker" narrated by William Warfield and songs with music by the likes of Kurt Weill, William Grant Still and Hale Smith performed by Darryl Taylor and Maria Conley, the latter a Jamaican-born pianist and student of Gyogry Sandor and a composer in her own right. A special stocking stuffer at a very reasonable price. 10/10 (Len Dobbin)

Mini CD Reviews

Guido Basso Lost In the Stars (CBC/Universal) Beautiful flugelhorn solos with strings arranged by Phil Dwyer. 9 (LD)

The Bottle Rockets Blue Sky (Sanctuary/EMI) They have been called the "greatest bar band in America" and after a listen, I am inclined to agree. Also features Govt Mule's Warren Haynes! 8 (JC)

Lamb Between Darkness & Wonder (Mercury/Universal) After a two-year silence, this U.K. duo deal enough deliciously ornamented orchestral electropop to put lotion in your basket. 8 (LC)

The Music Lovers Cheap Songs Tell the Truth EP (Marriage) Like Scott Walker and the Divine Comedy before them, these Brits revel in elegant, witty, mildly alcoholic pop. 8 (LC)

The Robocop Kraus Living With Other People (l'Age d'Or) When these guys start blending the wakka-chicka disco-funk with the whiz-prang electronics and the oh-no emo rock, there's just no stoppin' em! 7 (RK)

Voodoo Jazz Mo Fat (independent) Love the video for "Galaxy," but this record is tip-toeing on acid jazz circa 1991. 7 (SC)

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