Two Lone Swordsmen
From the Double Gone Chapel (Warp/Outside)
Keith Tenniswood and Andrew Weatherall have thrown yet another curveball at IDM purists everywhere. After two years in the studio, the Swordsmen have emerged with a visceral, cut-to-the-chase album of guitars, live drums and yes, even vocals (courtesy of the deadpan Weatherall himself) that brings to mind a modern-day Factory Records spirit. Of course, it wouldn't fully be Swordsmen if there weren't also the noodley electronics we've come to expect, and at the heart of the album is plenty of digital tomfoolery that will please even the staunchest chinscratcher. Rock on! 8.5/10 (Raf Katigbak) Andrew Weatherall joins Plastikman at Metropolis, Fri., June 4, 10pm, $35

Bobby Conn & the Glass Gypsies
The Homeland (Thrill Jockey)
Flashy, trashy Conn is well established as a purveyor of thinking person's bubble-glam, framing his neuroses in a rich, garish, intricate mélange of prog chops, arena-rock flamboyance and shiny pop sugar. The ferocious political bite of The Homeland, however, is unexpected. A concentrated attack on Dubya's distorted America and its blind, violent auto-mythologizing, it would make Billy Bragg or even Jello Biafra blush ("God's on our side/We know we're right," chimes the stunning opener "We Come in Peace"). Nonetheless, some annoying noise interludes aside, the music's as sweet, wild and bright as ever. 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) With Trans Am and les Dokteurs at Cabaret, Wed., June 9, 9pm, $15.50

Alabama Thunderpussy
Fulton Hill (Relapse/Koch)
Fulton Hill was looking like a coin toss to see if ATP would still deliver the goods after original vocalist Johnny Thockmorton left the band last year, but new singer Johnny Weils brings more of the Southern rock edge to their self-styled moonshine metal. ATP are as brutal and unrelenting as ever, but now provide room for melodic twin harmony leads and more concentration on a traditional rock 'n' roll framework. Songs like "Such Is Life" show the band stretching out with acoustic guitars while "R.R.C.C." raises the heaviosity bar. 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)

Need New Body
UFO (File 13)
If this album were a movie (co-directed by Fellini, Dali and John Hughes, of course), it would open with a morbidly obese butt squeezing through a dwarf door, then cut to a mini R2D2 falling down stairs, then a new wave aerobics show invaded by speed freaks and old Italian ladies, then a sun-flecked, retarded cowboy serenade, then a video mash-up of the Knack and Pere Ubu, and so on. There's nary a dull moment as these crazy Philly kids unleash unbelievably tight, rapid-fire surrealism that you can dance, laugh, thrash, sing, sway, groove, boogie, rumble or break down to. 8.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter) With Hella and the Letdowns at El Salon on Mon., June 7, 9pm, $12

Eleni Mandell
Afternoon (Zedtone/Fusion III)
Though based in Los Angeles, Eleni Mandell has never painted a glossy metropolitan veneer over her versatile pop sound, and on this fifth album, the singer-songwriter veers far from the city centre. Backed by her three-piece touring band, Mandell alternates modern jazz with low-riding blues and torch country, styles better suited to backroad cabarets or honky tonks than urban jazz clubs. Her vocals remain sleek, but never overly poised, easily bending, flexing and bristling to match the sorrowful pedal steel or raucous electric guitar or dusky organ that fill out each beautiful backdrop. 8/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Michael Franti
Songs From the Front Porch (Boo Boo Wax)
From vexed, politically conscious MC to bandleader to reflective singer lounging on his porch, barefoot and relaxed, Michael Franti has made the pilgrimage to the "homebound and heartfelt" album (as artists with any career longevity always seem to), and he deserves it. It's a dusty-country-road, sunshine-in-the-eyes album mixing beatboxes, guitars and the odd drum machine. Still conscious, but stripped of the live and boisterous sound he forged with Spearhead, Franti raps some but mostly sings about love, life and circumstances on new tracks, and revisits some Spearhead material like "Stay Human" and "Oh My God." 7.5/10 (Lateef Martin)

Method Man
Tical 0: The Prequel (Def Jam)
When the Wu-Tang Clan released "Protect Ya Neck" as a single back in '93, the song "Method Man" was the B-side, setting up Meth to be the first of the crew to venture into a solid solo career. In 2004, the Ticallion Stallion seems to have run out of the raw, smoked-out baritone charm that he's relied upon for so long. With no less than 16 featured guests over 17 tracks, the continuity is just not here, and sounds like a loosely assembled collection of half-decent tracks and studio seconds. Meth can still make you smile, like he does on "The Afterparty" with Ghostface, but energized raps and production don't seem to have been a priority. 7/10 (Scott C)

Ghostface
The Pretty Toney Album (Def Jam)
Grab yourself a Banana Nutrament, sit back and enjoy what may be the only Wu-Tang member still capable and hungry enough to actually get people excited. Ghostface is untouchable when it comes to the passionate, heart-to-heart rhymes, spitting with an emotional connection to all of his songs. The fact that he's crazy is besides the point, 'cause nobody says it like Ghost. Check "Biscuits," "Holla" and "Run" for Ironman at his very best. The production fits like a glove with the exception of a few tracks, and although The Pretty Toney Album is perhaps the weakest in the amazing Ghostface catalogue, it's still one of the best front-to-back LPs that I've heard this year. 8.5/10 (Scott C)

Future Sound of London
Amorphous Androgynous: The Otherness (Psychobaby)
Amorphous Androgynous is the alternative tag for FSOL's Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans, erstwhile overlords of proggy ambient techno. They should stick with it as there's little "future" present on this record, and less London than… I don't know, fucking Rivendell. An apocryphal follow-up to '02's The Isness (outtakes and remixes), its better moments are a mildly digitized pastiche of latter-day, Krishna-delic Beatles - opener "Elysian Feels" recalls "Tomorrow Never Knows," for instance. Often as not, though, it apes turn-of-the-'80s Pink Floyd with gassy synths, excruciating guitar solos and raspy non-lyrics, and nobody needs that. 6.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Various
Pacific Technics (Pacific Technics)
With all of the proceeds going to Amnesty International, Montreal-based DJ Noah Pred's latest mix could be the 2004 answer to "Tears Are Not Enough" (except without that creepy Paul Schaeffer guy). An interesting twist if you consider that techno is arguably the most apolitical music out there. But the beauty of this disc lies in the subtlety. From the banging, progressive openers by Tim Xavier and Montreal's Preach to the spacey Adam Jay track, the elastic chug of Canada's Rennie Foster and a dose of familiar minimal artists like Mike Shannon, Mateo Murphy and of course Pred himself, this disc has something for every four-to-the-floor tech-head out there. 8/10 (Raf Katigbak)

Maurice Joshua & Paul Johnson
Trax Records 20th Anniversary Collection (Trax)
With 20 candles on the cake, it's time for this fabled Chicago label to commemorate its hallowed place in underground dance music history. Through a vibrant array of DJs, producers, musicians and songwriters shepherded by Screaming Rachel and Larry Herman, Trax helped unleash the virus of house music on the world. In this three-disc musical scrapbook, illustrious, Grammy-winning remixer Maurice Joshua and current mainstay Paul Johnson chronicle the imprint's history with a bouncy, effects-laden mix. All the great Trax tracks are there, including Marshall Jefferson's "House Music Anthem" and Larry ‘Fingers' Heard's "Can You Feel It". 9/10 (Peter Lightburn)

Kimberly Locke
One Love (Curb)
The American Idol franchise has demonstrated that you don't have to be the last man standing to be a winner. Case in point, this debut by second season runner-up Kimberly Locke. Though she was clearly talented, Locke lacked distinction. This album does nothing to change that. The vocal prowess that carried her to the top is buried under lacklustre writing, programmed drum beats and predictable guitar riffs. Even songs where she shone during the show, "I Can't Make You Love Me" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," can't be salvaged. Locke still has the potential to be a star, but this debut is nothing to idolize. 5.5/10 (Gerard Dee)

Muddy Waters
Hard Road (Epic/Sony)
I'm Ready (Epic/Sony)
King Bee (Epic/Sony)
What a treat for Muddy fanatics. Epic has re-mastered and re-released Waters's final three recordings (which paired him up with Johnny Winter) and although these were his last testaments, he had quite a bit of kick still left in him. All three reissues include bonus tracks and extensive liner notes that further document each session. Along with his contemporaries like Howlin' Wolf, Muddy had a voice that just oozed hard blues and these swan songs show him as fierce as ever, right up until the end. Now if somebody would just give the same treatment to his early-'70s psychedelic/blues masterpiece Electric Mud. I'm waiting! Hard Road, I'm Ready 9/10, King Bee 8/10 (Johnson Cummins)

Mini CD Reviews

Joel RL Phelps and the Downer Trio Customs (Moneyshot) Phelps' gentle delivery crushes on this. 8.5 (JC)

Was (Not Was) Out Comes the Freaks (ZE/Fusion III) Before their 1989 silly-funk novelty hit "Walk the Dinosaur," these guys put out some of the funkiest, punkiest leftfield disco this side of Funkadelic and Liquid Liquid. 8.5 (RK)

Steffen Basho-Junghans 7 Books (Strange Attractors Audio House) Through unique tunings and incredible composing skills, Junghans takes the 12-string acoustic guitar to new heights on this double-disc set. 8 (JC)

Various L'age d'or de Tricatel (Tricatel/Fusion III) April March, High Llamas, Ladytron, controversial writer Michel Houellebecq and of course Tricatel boss Betrand Burgalat glitter on this comp from the coolest label in France. 8 (RB)

Various Hey! Where'd the Summer Go? (Humblebee) The Diskettes and Paper Moon are among Canada's contributors to this international nostalgic pop comp, a sound way to waste a hot, hazy day. 7.5 (LC)

Lil' Flip You Gotta Feel Me (Sucka/Sony) It's amazing how many songs you can record on the exact same beat. Amazing. 6 (SC)

Stirling Northern Light (popguru) Formed in Edmonton, solidified in T.O., this band weaves emotive rock anthems the U.K. way. 6 (LC) With Hush Hush and Madrid at Petit Campus on Fri., June 4, 9pm, $6

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