The Icarus Line
Penance Soiree (V2/BMG)
Seriously though, the Icarus Line could be the new saviours of rock. With too many bellbottomed retreads fouling the genre, the Icarus Line have the balls to actually (ahem) rock but also taking chances at every corner and bringing something new to the table. With Stooges nihilism, Am Rep noise, Jesus and Mary Chain pop and '60s psych rock, the Icarus Line will have you on the edge of your seat, wondering just where the hell they're going next. The band brings danger into the mix with songs like "Up Against the Wall Motherfuckers" lashing out blindly, then switches gears with the eight-minute opus "Getting Bright At Night" that is engineered to pull you into their dark little world. Pick this up and find out why the Strokes really kicked them off of their tour. 9.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)

The Beta Band
Heroes to Zeros (Regal/EMI)
Hippies and their music get a bad rap, and there are some valid reasons for this, but the Beta Band isn't one of them. These upstanding crusties have stacked their self-produced third album with low-riding grooves, psychedelic reverberations, electronic SFX and plenty of beats, bells and whistles, segueing from Zen spirituals to catchy rock, all blanketed with Stephen Mason's anaesthetizing voice. Smoother than their previous albums but far from homogenized for the pop charts, the record was mixed by Nigel Goodrich (Beck, Radiohead) "to achieve the highest fidelity." Take that any way you like, and pass it on. 7.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Jérôme Minière
Chez Herri Kopter (La Tribu/Select)
Montreal's minstrel of miniature sounds revisits his fanciful Kopter character, and the results aren't exactly what one would expect from either. The idea is, Kopter has gone from dispossessed Arctic fantasy-islander to CEO of an imaginary corporation - meaning a firm that deals in the imaginary, see? His star employee is Minière who, with assorted assistants, concocts "branding" tunes that run from icy new wave ("If You Don't Buy You Die") to gentle sad-vertisment ("Un magasin qui n'existe pas," with Lhasa) to vector-based beat bursts, snap-crackle-poetry and crypto-jingles. Good tunes individually and together, a clever comment on corporate culture. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Animal Collective
Sung Tongs (Fat Cat)
From the opening digital screech that morphed quickly into acoustic guitar plucks and harmonic vocal rhythms, I knew that this album was going to be something special. Brooklyn quartet Animal Collective have always been a hard to pin down - while Sung Tongs is certainly their most accessible effort to date, they still manage to twist and bend the form of psych-folk into wondrous new directions. With songs that could have been penned by Simon & Garfunkel and the mangled intimacy of Tom Waits combined with the minimalist sound collage of Fennesz and fresh childlike liveliness of the Unicorns (without the goofiness), it wouldn't surprise me if Animal Collective become the next darlings of indie-dom. 9/10 (Raf Katigbak)

Pheek
Les autres promeneurs (Epsilonlab)
For the last six years, Montreal's Jean Patrice Rémillard has been steadily making a name for himself on the minimal techno scene. While his second album Paysages matriciels solidified his position on the mini-tech map, Pheek's sound still had a ways to develop. Now, on his latest release for Epsilonlab, he's crystallized his sound into a cohesive whole. From the ethereal "Ouverture" through to the bouncy "8 Hertz," Pheek's Perlon and Kompakt influences shine through, giving the listener a polished and driving listen. While he hasn't broken any new ground in terms of sounds, Pheek has managed a solid album that would please anyone looking for spacey, upbeat minimal techno. 8/10 (Raf Katigbak) CD launch with Éloi Brunelle at Velvet, Sat., May 15, 10pm, $6

The Streets
A Grand Don't Come for Free (679/Warner)
With Dizzee and Wiley snapping at his heels, Mike Skinner's position as king of the new London rap sound is contested. He's got a head start though, and has grown up (a bit) since his exciting debut Original Pirate Material. Round two sees Skinner drifting away from the dancefloor and clarifying his sounds and words - at once more straightforward and more adventurous (the chunky rockism of lead single "Fit But You Know It," for instance). Several slower romantic ruminations pop up, but the mouthy tales of pints and petty complaints are still there, gradually confirming him as the poet laureate of the Saturday night piss-up. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Pete Rock
Soul Survivor II (BBE/Fusion III)
You who were at the Pete Rock/CL Smooth show a few weeks back heard the legendary duo break into some new material that sat well beside some time-honoured classics. "It's a Love Thing" and "Appreciate" both feature CL's butter delivery over Pete's soul-filtered bangers, but the first song that hit me off of this long awaited treasure chest is the heavyweight "We Good" featuring Kardinal. Although this record has some sweet surprises, like RZA and GZA on "Head Rush" or "Give It to Ya" with Little Brother, I was a little let down by both Slum Village's "Da Villa" and Dead Prez on "Warzone." All in all, this is what a good production comp is about - the solid beats of Pete Rock and an MC wish list to get excited about. 8/10 (Scott C)

Angélique Kidjo
Oyaya! (Sony)
For over 15 years, this West African native (she was born in Benin) has been bringing the sounds of African rhythms to the world. This set completes a trilogy of albums where Kidjo explores the music of the African Diaspora - '98's Oremi focused on the U.S., '02's Black Ivory Soul took on Brazil. This time out, Kidjo turns the spotlight on the Caribbean, concentrating on much-loved styles like salsa, calypso and ska. Though she pays particular attention to the Latin music of the region ("Conga Habanera" references Cuba, "Djovamin Yi" remembers salsa queen Celia Cruz), Kidjo delivers an enjoyably diverse musical tribute to this culturally rich region. 8/10 (Gerard Dee)

Various
Blue Note Revisited (Blue Note)
This isn't the first time the brass at Blue Note have let the producers of the day raid the vaults and retool classic tracks that have been traditionally off limits. It is, however, the first time they've done it where 50 per cent of the record wasn't a complete waste of time. Kenny Dope tackles Bobby Hutcherson's "La Malanga" while Kyoto Jazz Massive tries their hand at Eddie Henderson's "Kudu." There's also J Dilla doing Brother Jack McDuff, Madlib doing Bobby Humphrey, 4Hero doing Horace Silver and Osunlade doing Grant Green - to name a few. With the exception of DJ Cam's botched attempt at Donald Byrd's "The Emperor" and La Funk Mob's lax treatment of Wayne Shorter's "Oriental Folk Song," this LP goes great with a pinner on the balcony. 8/10 (Scott C)

Carolyn Mark and the New Best Friends
The Pros and Cons of Collaboration (Mint/Outside)
Victoria's main dame of country has made one hot and hilarious third album, a vibrant caboodle of rowdy boot-stompers and sweet weepers aided and abetted by about 21 friends, among them B.C. scenesters Ford Pier (keys) and Tolan McNeil (guitar), and Chicago's Kelly Hogan (vox, piano), the third Corn Sister. Speaking of which, there's no Neko Case, aside from a namedrop in "Vincent Gallo," Mark's lighthearted exploration of subconscious crushes. Whether she's dissing Toby Keith, gibing white wine-drinking men or beating herself up over a bottle of red, Mark sings it smart and savvy. 8/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

John and the Sisters
self-titled (Northern Blues)
Thank God there is more to Toronto blues than Jeff Healey. This genre-busting cosmic blues CD dismantles the 12-bar style, throws it in the air and lets the pieces fall where they may. The songs are then swept up and put back together with pipe cleaners and chewing gum - with glorious results. Most songs start off with all of the traditional elements intact but, through improvisation, the end result is usually twisted into something completely different. It's not impossible for them to start off with a barrelhouse boogie and, by the end, be dragging through a New Orleans funeral dirge with a singing saw leading the charge. Kevin Breit's (Norah Jones, Cassandra Wilson) sonic swamp blast is worth the price of admission alone. 8/10 (Johnson Cummins)

Stacey Kent
The Boy Next Door (Candid/ Fusion III)
This is CD number six for this New York native who's been living in England since the early '90s. There, she's worked with the Vile Bodies Swing Orchestra and appeared in the film Richard III as a band singer. She's certainly a vocalist deserving of a wider listening audience and, on this CD, she's beautifully backed by a group put together by hubby, tenorman Jim Tomlinson, on 16 tracks dedicated to her musical heroes - Cy Coleman, Cole Porter, Charles Trenet, Carole King, Michel Legrand, Duke Ellington and Harry Nemo among them. If the name is new to you, this would be a great introduction to a major talent. If you're familiar with Ms. Kent, it's probably already on your want list. 9/10 (Len Dobbin)

Mini CD Reviews

Doc and Merle Watson Sittin' Here Pickin' the Blues (Rounder) Original classic album with eight bonus tracks. 9 (JC)

Hal McKusick Jazz Workshop (RCA Victor import) A valuable reissue by this altoman, with compositions by Gil Evans, Geo Russell and Jimmy Giuffre and great solos from people like Art Farmer. 8.5 (LD)

The Pixies Wave of Mutilation (4AD/Select) Not only have these '90s alt-rock essentials reformed, they've finally dropped that best-of disc. Pretty thorough. 8.5 (RB)

David Cross It's Not Funny (Sub Pop) Oh, yes it is, you stunted, balding, four-eyed manchild. Quite funny, in fact. 8 (RB)

Francisco Garcia Duplex (Saboteur Musique) With this EP of deep and danceable microhouse, Montreal's Saboteur Musique promises more big things this summer. Watch out! 8 (RK)

Bad Acid Trip Lynch the Weirdo (Serjical Strike) System of a Down's distant cousin - errant and speedy trashcore, frothing-at-the-mouth weirdo music. 7 (LM)

Rob Ellis Music for the Home Vol. 2 (Leaf/Fusion III) A decade's worth of strident, spasmodic and ambient piano music. Not to be listened to while driving. 7 (LC)

NERD feat. Common, Mos Def, De la Soul & Q-Tip "She Wants to Move" Native Tongue mix (Virgin) Nice hustle, guys, nice hustle... 7 (SC)

Gomez Split the Difference (Virgin/EMI) No longer "fiddling with machines," Gomez have gone back to basics (meaning they sound like a shitty bar band). 4 (LC)

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