Valley of the Giants
self-titled (Arts & Crafts)
Evoking widescreen images of bottomless canyons, red rock formations and dusty dry heat is a tidy feat for Northeastern people, and Shalabi Effect's Anthony Seck, Strawberry's Dierdre Smith and members of Broken Social Scene, Do Make Say Think and godspeed! have done just that. Michael Crichton's 1973 film Westworld is the thematic thread, pinpointed on Smith's lush, lazy song of the same name, a ballad for Yul Brynner's "lonely, murderous robot cowboy" character. Vocals are scarce, but the rich personality and narrative force of the strings and resounding guitars will draw listeners beyond the confines of "post-rock," without leaving that faithful audience behind. 9/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Courtney Love
America's Sweetheart (Virgin/EMI)
If Courtney Love's goal in life was to play Sid-and-Nancy with Kurt Cobain, she should have croaked years ago, before Hole's last album and certainly before this sad L.A.-rock sludge. She'd have left the world with two decent records, possibly elevated to great records in the fog of myth. Instead, the egomaniacal trash princess is fated to drag her wretched corpse through musical limbo, spewing tired, damaged screams and warped balladeering over Linda Perry's ghostwriting and, shamelessly, her dead husband's most recognizable riff, ripped off on the aptly titled "I'll Do Anything." Disgusting. 2/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Brides of Destruction
Here Comes the Brides (Sanctuary/EMI)
Who the hell forgot to lock up the rock 'n' roll retirement home? Headed up by L.A. Guns' Traci Guns and Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx, these long-in-the-tooth rockers actually surprise here. The boys still pack the Hollywood Boulevard trash and glitter, but songs like "Shut the Fuck Up" and "I Don't Care" (complete with an MC5 shout out) owe more to Hellacopters and Glucifer. Unfortunately, it's downhill after that, when the Brides dye their greying temples jet black with nu-metal angst. The Sweet-inspired "Life" is nice, but if these guys are going to be taken seriously they should drop the L.A. polish and toe-jam angst and just let the attitude ride the song out. They prove it's there on two songs of the nine and to be honest, I'm surprised they could come up with two. 6/10 (Johnson Cummins)

Vocokesh
The Tenth Corner (Strange Attractors)
Card-carrying members of the new psychedelic movement, Vocokesh let the Roland Space Echo do the all the talking as they take the expressway to your skull with acid-drenched improv rock, manipulation of analog synths and other vintage gear, drones, blips and bleeps - all sent through the stratosphere. What's also really interesting here is that Vocokesh composed three songs influenced by films (Antonioni's Zabriskie Point and Jodworsky's classics El Topo and Holy Mountain) that would be the ultimate soundtrack for each. This is as psychedelic as it gets. Fans of Acid Mothers Temple, Pink Floyd, krautrock, Shalabi Effect and Dead Meadow: take note. 9/10 (Johnson Cummins)

Incubus
A Crow Left of the Murder (Epic/Sony)
When Incubus first splashed onto the scene years ago, I admired them for their adventurous music and sense of humour. Following in the sordid footsteps of Faith No More and Mr. Bungle, Incubus created a genre-defying mix of drum & bass, funk, metal, techno and more. Over the years, the band aimed for safer and safer ground, though with a keen acumen. Miles better than their last effort Morning View, this new CD finds them more a straight-up rock band than anything else, but their knack for adding whatever works, from DJ tomfoolery to synth slices, still spices things up. 7/10 (Lateef Martin)

Chromeo
She's in Control (Turbo/Fusion III)
Hot on the heels of their DFA-remixed 12-inch "Needy Girl," local electro-funk duo Chromeo (Pee Thug and Dave 1) are set to unleash 45 minutes of straight-up '80s lover's funk. Rather than cloning up another Human League or Gary Numan outfit, Chromeo take their squiggly synths and chunk-a-funk basslines from groups like the Gap Band, Raydio, Cameo or Harold Faltermeyer. "Mercury Tears" is a robo-rock ballad à la Console or Little Computer People, while "Way Too Much" and "Ah Oui Comme Ça" would fit perfectly on the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack. The Ray Parker Jr.-styled "Needy Girl" is by far the hottest track on the album - Pee Thug expounds soulfully on his relationship woes as Dave 1's talkbox provides backup. More than just regurgitated '80s schlock, these solid pop songs are catchy, fun and produced with love! Sa-weeeet! 8/10 (Raf Katigbak)

Various
Zen CD (Ninja Tune/Outside)
Various
Zen RMX (Ninja Tune/Outside)
They come not to praise or to bury, but rather both. This pair of double discs, together with the Zen TV DVD collecting the label's frequently excellent videos, serve a dual purpose. First, they raise a glass to Ninja Tune's remarkable output since 1990. Zen CD gathers standout numbers that have stood the test of time (tell me Coldcut's "Atomic Moog" or Mr. Scruff's "Get a Move On" don't still kick ass), while Zen RMX collects the best Ninja-tune remixes from folks like Cornelius, Squarepusher and Ashley Beedle. Second, they're there to close the lid on the label's rep as a '90s trip hop/big beat operation, as Ninja moves on to fractured chamber jazz, Afro-fusion, leftfield hip hop and (at least, I hope) Uzbeki midget knife-fight anthems. A wealth of stealth, good for the health. Zen CD 8.5/10, Zen RMX 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Drag-On
Hell and Back (Ruff Ryders/EMI)
Now, I know the ladies love gangsters with paper, at least according to Drag-On, but do they really love derivative, carbon-copy gangsters who write songs like "I'm a Ryder," "Bang Bang Boom" and "Put Your Drinks Down"? Probably. This poster boy for mediocre rappers likes to remind us of how hard he's had it during his rise to "the top," which you'll understand if you hear "Let's Get Crazy" with DMX or "Life Is Short." Stuck in some sort of stunted growth loop, I hope and pray that one day before his time is up Drag-On can serve up something that we simply weren't expecting from him. Is that possible? Too much to ask? We'll see… 6.5/10 (Scott C)

Various
The Future Sound of Montreal (King-a-Groove/Fusion III)
Those of you familiar with the Future Sounds of Jazz compilations on Compost should know right now that the similarities between this record and that series are in name only. Compiled by Mauricio Svanstrom, FSOM once again revisits lounge appeal, a seemingly unshakable concept for comps coming out of Montreal. With notable selections from relatively unknown Montreal artists like Slingin' Ease, Ra-Faelle and the Urban Element, this collection builds on the inoffensive downtempo-chill-out limbo that Montreal seems to hover in, always inches from turning the corner to strong and challenging songs, and instead settling for less intrusive background music. This is a good intro to some emerging Montreal artists but it sticks a little too closely to a fleeting lounge ideal. 7/10 (Scott C)

Earth, Wind & Fire
Love Songs (Sony)
Teddy Pendergrass
Love Songs Collection (Capitol/EMI)
Just in time for the lovers' holiday come these classic hits packages by two soul legends. Sure, Earth, Wind & Fire are best known for their jazzy funk and extravagant orchestration, but they're also responsible for delicate mood-setters like "Reasons" and "Love's Holiday." And "After the Love Is Gone" still goes down as one of the preeminent post-breakup songs. Meanwhile, bedroom grooves were Pendergrass's calling card. With sensual slow jams like "Love TKO," "Close the Door" and "Turn off the Lights," his music was legendary for creating the ambience of many a romantic night. Both of these collections capture love's mood with rhythmic precision and exquisite timing. And what better backdrop to good food and candlelight? EWF 8/10, TP 9/10 (Gerard Dee)

James Gelfand
Jack Paradise (Zone 3/Select)
Subtitled "Les Nuits de Montréal," this is Gelfand's music for a Gilles Noël film that opens here on Feb. 20. The film is based in part on the life of real-life jazz pianist Bob Langlois, a superb musician who died on Oct. 28, 1987 at the age of 74 after a career that began in the '30s when he sat in the Clef Club and actually traveled with a black band to places like Magog. Not having seen the film, I don't know how the music works in that context, but it works as a CD. The original music by Gelfand, Wray Downes and Daniel Mercure is heard, along with some standards, played (and sung) by the likes of Gelfand, Dawn Tyler Watson, Ron DiLauro, André Leroux, Michel Donato, Dave Grott and other talented members of the Montreal Jazz community. A fitting tribute to a marvellous musician. 8.5/10 (Len Dobbin)

Juan Carranza
Mareas (Oliver Sudden/Festival)
What makes Montrealer Juan Carranza's spin on flamenco stand out from the pack is that he drains off the Iberian gravitas, substituting an easy, Caribbean cool and a beachfront lyrical bent reflecting the nature-preserve status of his native Costa Rica. His third release Mareas sparkles with pleasant energy, be it in his tight and percussive touch on the guitar, the Latin American liveliness of his vocals or the quick, unpredictable intricacy of his compositions. Backed by a little accordion, a bit more bass and a bunch of percussion, Carranza charts new waters for the flamenco genre. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Mini CD Reviews

Centro-Matic Flashes and Cables (Misra/Sonic Unyon) Centro-Matic's Will Johnson takes over the mantle left vacant by GBV's Robert Polland as the best lo-fi indie songwriter. 9 (JC)

Stevie Vallance Practically Naked (Hart Creations) An impressive little album by this Montreal-born singer, catch her at Upstairs on Friday and Saturday. 8.5 (LD)

Subhumans Live in a Dive (Fat Wreck) Now you can enjoy the sounds of Subhumans live - without the waft of model glue and urine while some sweaty, shirtless guy jumps on your head. 8 (JC)

Various Rebutz Bootlegs (Rebutz) The Quantic Soul Orchestra remixes Nas's "Get Down," plus a JH remix of "Neutronics" by K-OS. Hotness. 8 (SC)

Various Ennio Morricone Remixes Volume 2 (Compost/Fusion III) With twice the material of the first - some good, some bad, some ugly - Compost's second celebration of the film-score master includes Chicken Lips, Doctor Rockit and T.O.'s Moonstarr and Nick Holder. 7.5 (RB)

Rroselicoeur Drachenhöhle (Where Are My Records) With tunes, chants, hums and guitar howls vying for the forefront, this is free noise for the scatterbrained urbanite. 7 (LC)

The Coral Nightfreak and the Sons of Becker (Deltasonic/Sony) A limited-edition album between "proper" albums, or tracks that didn't make the cut. Guess these Liverpudlians aren't banking on a box set. 5 (LC)

Sander Kleinenberg Everybody (Thrive) An über-mega-party deep techno mix as contrived as the "fun and kooky" hand-written liner note additions complete with "typos" - so raw! 5 (RK)

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