Ben Charest
Les Triplettes de Belleville (Les Armateurs/EMI)
A big fat félicitations to Montreal jazzbo Charest, who's found himself responsible for the soundtrack to Sylvain Chomet's hit animated film (opens here this weekend - catch it!). Given the absence of dialogue in the movie, a lot rides on Charest's musical judgement. Then again, given how well this stuff stands alone, he's clearly up to the task. A veritable curio cabinet of dusty, age-browned oddities, Charest's score explores all manner of moods - sunny, sexy, eerie, awesome - via retro Gallic flavours of swing, chanson (crooning imp M makes a cameo) and clanky, industrial tone poems. Each listen coughs up some new lil' gimcrack or geegaw. Formidable! 9/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

The Fall
Country on the Click (Action/Fusion III)
It would be disappointing to find Mark E. Smith doing anything but shambling through some rant or other, but luckily the Manchester perennial is keeping it angry and unkempt after 26 years and as many LPs. Today's Fall is simply Smith and his players of the month, but the band's sound seems to persevere apart from its rotating cast. On their strongest disc in years, Smith's slack, slurred vocals and absurd poetry unfurl over glam rock racket, cascading basslines, dexterous keys, handclaps and a dash of tinned beats, arranged in either super-catchy, ultra-silly or über-rockin' packages. 8/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Firewater Songs
We Should Have Written (Jetset)
As you may gather from the title, this is a collection of covers, classic tunes recast by Tod A and his morbid, muscular, morally shaky creep-rock ensemble. The songbooks of Lee Hazlewood, Leiber & Stoller, Tom Waits and Johnny Cash get raided and, to Mr. A's credit, handled in a capable fashion. The Stones' "Paint It Black" becomes a funereal dirge while the Beatles' best tune "Hey Bulldog," sadly sans piano, kicks ass nonetheless. My fave is "Storm Warning" by Lyn Taitt & the Comets, a mid-'60s rock steady hit from Jamaica that gets a grim Balkan spin here. Respectful yet inventive, the way a covers disc should be. 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Various
Canned Hamm's Karazma: Reimagined (Pro-Am)
The eerily naïve "entainment" of Vancouver song-and-dance duo Canned Hamm has earned them a growing global fanbase, not only among snickering hipsters and recovery cases but among capable name musicians as well. A bunch of the latter have taken a running go at this Hamm track or that, with varied but generally pleasing results. Bobby Conn, Caroline Mark, the New Pornographers, the Spitfires, Frenzal Rhomb and more dive into the duo's dingbat odes to karaoke, toupees and erotic love, spinning them in punk, garage, indietronic, C&W and noise-assault directions. Bookending these efforts is mouthy mayhem from uncomedian Neil Hamburger and nutbar Nardwuar. Totally karazmatic! 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Laika
Wherever I Am I Am What Is Missing (Too Pure/Select)
Following their recent best-of/B-sides retrospective, this British duo returns with a stripped-down new offering. Of course, a minimal Laika album is still a lush and fluid affair, dreamily embedded in sultry jazz, jungle beats and mellotron shiver, only minus the guitars, brass and samples that filled out their previous albums. In addition, singer Margaret Fiedler has shifted focus from social concerns to love and nature, aiding the music's hot-and-cold currents with fiery and glacial imagery. Despite its somewhat homogenized and dated "electronica" sheen, this disc is ideal for a late-night chillout session or over a cold winter morning's coffee. 7.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Jimi Hendrix
Axis Outtakes (Purple Haze/Fusion III)
This one is for the Hendrix archivists only. But if you're a Hendrix fanatic like I am, you'll easily overlook the surface noise, pops and hiss and hear one of rock's greatest minds in the process of sculpting one his defining records, his second album Axis: Bold As Love. Although a lot of this already appeared on the box set that came out a couple of years ago, there are still some real keepers, like the rare vocal and solo guitar version of "You Got Me Floating" or "Cat Talkin' to Me," sung by drummer Mitch Mitchell. If you are not a Hendrix completist but want to get off the beaten track a bit, best check out the posthumous records sanctioned by his estate on the Experience Hendrix label. 7/10 (Johnson Cummins)

Various
Sex: Too Fast to Live Too Young to Die (Only Lovers Left Alive/ Fusion III)
While packaged for the spiky-haired, dog-collared set, this comp will be far more at home with those given to Beatle boots and bowlcuts. These 20 tracks were the ones found on the jukebox at Sex, the chic fetish-gear boutique Malcolm McLaren ran at the time that he was constructing the Sex Pistols, and by extension U.K. punk. Flamin' Groovies, the Troggs, the Sonics, Screaming Lord Sutch and other '60s garage-rock notables join Alice Cooper, Loretta Lynn and Johnny Halladay for a platter of primo retro shit. Did it influence what would become punk? Beyond Vince Taylor's "Brand New Cadillac," which the Clash covered, I couldn't say. But it sure rocks. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Korn
Take a Look in the Mirror (Sony)
If you're any older than 14, I find it hard to believe you'd be interested in this album. Can we get a little something more constructive than "Shut up or I'll fuck you up" or "I can't control myself, I fuckin' hate you?" On Take a Look in the Mirror, Korn brings the pain with stripped-down production - unfortunately their riffs and hooks aren't terribly original and neither are the overdone lyrics. I find that a lot of hot MCs jump into metal collabs without any knowledge of what a good metal track is. Case in point: Nas on "Play Me." Stop the insanity! 6/10 (Lateef Martin)

Lexicon
Youth Is Yours (Spytech/Ill Boogie)
Ah, the brotherly flows of Oak and Nick from Lexicon. These guys seem to have a knack for hitting the nail on the head, and their newest creation is as short and sweet as they come. Youth Is Yours embodies the "party while you can" attitude that many MCs have turned into lame careers, without sacrificing the perceptive observations that most give up after one too many (compromises). Songs like "Xamot" and "Tomax" get the nod, while joints like "Voodoo" and "These Days" remind me of some dirty Beatnuts shit circa Intoxicated Demons. A nice surprise all around. 8/10 (Scott C)

Ove-Naxx
Bullets From Habikino City H*C* (Soot)
Japanese sound destroyer Ove-Naxx drops some sick breakcore for the masses on the first full-length release for DJ Rupture's Soot Records. Fans of Venetian Snares will rejoice over the off-kilter, speed-driven breakbeats, distorted bass drums, amen slices and dinky 8-bit melodies that collide with traditional Japanese koto samples and jap-rap lyricism. The fifth track "Miburounin" sounds like Japan's answer to Mike Patton doing a thrashcore track with Squarepusher, while number six "Over-Noxious-Ax-Grinder" is a total Akufen meets Commodore 64 breakbeat headfuck. Brilliant! 8.5/10 (Raf Katigbak)

Various
You Are Here (Accidental)
The first comp from Matthew Herbert's Accidental, Soundslike and Lifelike labels is an excellent cross-section of their output over the last three years. The three labels started as a home to Herbert's various guises (Radio Boy, Doctor Rockit and Herbert) but have since grown to become home to a slew of different forward-thinking artists who share a passion for melody and sound exploration. The comp includes tracks from Matmos member Drew Daniel (aka The Soft Pink Truth), singer-songwriter John Matthias, Japanese artist 8 Doogymoto, electronic pop-rockers My Robot Friend and more. 8/10 (Raf Katigbak)

Various
Required Listening (Do Right/Fusion III)
While John Kong's Do Right imprint continues to rewrite the book on real Canadian independent music, this collection of seasoned Can-con seems like a lukewarm offering from some of Toronto's veterans and breaking artists. Emerging stars like Circle Research and Ottawa's BAW stand tough with strong songs, while new directions from DJ Serious and Augusta sit strangely beside Moonstarr and Kong's now ancient but oddly included "Future Vision," Brassmunk's already huge "Big" and questionable selections from both Nick Holder and Ivanna Santilli. Maybe I'm asking too much from the term "Toronto exclusives," but overall, the inclusion of older songs and questionable fare from established artists left me wanting much more. 7/10 (Scott C)

The Blind Boys of Alabama
Go Tell It on the Mountain (Virgin/EMI)
What better way to capture the sounds of the season than with this stellar release from the venerable Blind Boys. Their trademark classic vocal harmonies in check, the Boys invite a slew of guests to join the holiday festivities, and each of them bring their own special gifts to the celebration. There's George Clinton and Robert Randolph who add funky vocals and kick-ass pedal steel guitar, respectively, to "Away In the Manger," there's the unmistakable Tom Waits on the title track, there's Me'Shell Ndegéocello who kicks it festive on "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" and that's just for starters. Throw this one on and have a Happy Holiday! 9/10 (Gerard Dee)

Barry Harris
New York (Reservoir)
Often called "The father of Detroit jazz," pianist Harris is one of the very best living bebop pianists. This outing was recorded in NYC in August of last year and features Barry with a quintet made up of Charles Davis on tenor, Roni Ben-Hur on guitar, Paul West on bass and an underappreciated drummer in Leroy Williams. Six tracks here, Williams' "Two Step," classics "'Round Midnight" and Tadd Dameron's "Casbah," an "Out of Nowhere" variant and three by Barry - his look at "Strike Up the Band" entitled "Monking Around," "To Dizzy With Love" and, with the help of the audience, "7-4-3." Bebop at its best! 10/10 (Len Dobbin)

Mini CD Reviews

Bill Cunliffe How My Heart Sings (Torii) The pianist and a sextet with 10 works by drummer/composer Earl Zindars. 8 (LD)

Radio Berlin Sister Sounds (Global Symphonic/Scratch) B.C.'s new wave wunderkind remixed for the dancefloor and the headphones by Hot Hot Heat, P:ano etc. 8 (LC)

C'lan Fearless (Artists and Poets) A honey-tongued T-dotter keeps the '80s revival a-rockin' in the key of Depeche Mode, A Flock of Seagulls and even bigger, badder hair. 6 (LC)

Hoobastank The Reason (Island) Still can't find a reason to like this band. Is it the vacuous music? The tongue-offending name? Okay, it's the name. 6 (LM)

Twine self-titled (Ghostly International) Delicate folktronica that is as slow and sleepy and unfortunately as unproductive as a frosty winter morning. 6 (RK)

Bone Marrow Bound (Krafty/Nerd) Let's hope this one isn't as serious as it sounds. 5 (SC)

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