The Sadies
Favourite Colours (Outside)
While some bands shoot their wad prematurely, never to match the passion and simple beauty of their maiden disc again, the Sadies have only eased into their sound, a winning fusion of country, psychedelia, rock and surf that washes up like a tide of perfectly aged wine. The T.O. foursome's fifth album flies by like a crack high, leaving traces of the Good brothers' sublime harmonies, limber guitars and shades of the Byrds and the Dead resounding in your noggin just as they register. The band seamlessly incorporates their influences and guests, including Blue Rodeo's Greg Keelor, the Goods' parents Bruce and Margaret and Robyn Hitchcock, co-author and singer of the bittersweet finale that arrives all too soon. 9.5/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

Sahara Hotnights
Kiss & Tell (RCA/BMG)
Spouting broad pop hooks, Hubba Bubba punk and new wave trimmings, Sweden's hottest rock chicks have lightened the guitar load and added sugar to their formula for round three. Though rife with catchy tunes, there's an obvious absence of bold, biting tracks like "Keep Up the Speed," the Stooges-esque number off the band's striking 2002 album, Jennie Bomb. "Nerves" comes closest, a kerosene-driven antidote to the awkward pop cooing of songs like "Stupid Tricks," which may please the set nostalgic for Mini Pops but will only disappoint listeners looking for a few powerful grrrls. 7/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)

The Black Keys
Rubber Factory (Fat Possum/Epitaph)
As punk rock continues to learn about the blues through bands like the White Stripes and Soledad Brothers, the Black Keys prove to be the real masters. This Ohio duo can pen a song with the best of them, but when they're truly on fire is when they're smacking blues retreads upside the head with ballsy punk attitude. Album opener "When the Lights Go On" is a great drone with a hypnotic John Cale viola anchoring things, but when they get down to some Muscle Shoals/Stax soul shake on songs like "All Hands Against His Own" and a scaled down Meters groove on "The Desperate Man," they are unstoppable. 9/10 (Johnson Cummins)

Mark Lanegan
Band Bubblegum (Beggars Banquet/ Select)
Lanegan, once of Screaming Trees and Queens of the Stone Age, could sing his shopping list and bring you to tears. Now that he's away from QOTSA's crushing volume, Lanegan lets his lyrics out for a walk and delivers his best piece of work yet. All the usual suspects show up here as well - Josh Homme, Nick Oliveri, PJ Harvey, Chris Goss and even Izzy Stradlin and Duff McKagan. Make no mistakes, though, this is Lanegan's show all the way down the line. The understated self-production is replete with buzzing amps and cheap drum machines, but these lo-fi trappings only make Lanegan's urban tales of despair and destitution hit home that much harder. One of America's best living songwriters right now. 9/10 (Johnson Cummins)

King Cobb
Steelie Destroy All Codes (Outside)
After fully a decade and a half, Guelph, Ontario's King Cobb Steelie are still at it. Whittled back down to founding duo Kevan Byrne and Kevin Lynn (plus guests as necessary), the band's sound has likewise been distilled to its essence. Largely instrumental this time, the KCS formula of math punk, deep dub rinse-out and thinking person's funk comes off rougher, tougher and tighter than the nervous dream-states of older releases. There are mellower moments, too mellow in the case of the go-nowhere "Membrane" or the trip hop manqué of "Hello Everything." But "Punished by Funk" (think the Meters meet Ms. Pac-Man) or the timely disco-punk of "Sound Baffle" even the score. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

Various
Channel 3 (Output/Fusion III)
They say good things come in threes, and the third comp from Trevor Jackson's hugely successful post-punk-electro-disco-pop label Ouput is proof positive. The overdriven, minimal electro garage of New York (via Helsinki) duo Dead Combo tears it up while Trevor Jackson's reworking of the Rapture's "I Need Your Love" turns the track into a bleepy, early '90s U.K. house voyage. Other notable tracks include the Linus Loves remix of Rekindle's "Ice Skating Girl," a clinical, guitar-driven dub of Euro-pop that brings to mind a bubblegum version of Factory Records, and Vancouver native Circlesquare's "Fight Sounds," a darkly introspective electronic goth ballad that chugs ahead with digital precision. 8.5/10 (Raf Katigbak)

Kaptein Kaliber
LP! Digitalt Remastret (Telle/Fusion III)
As can be expected from the label that's already put out wax by Royksopp and Kings of Convenience, there's plenty of Nordic cool on Telle's latest offering. Culled from the Tromsø duo's picture-disc trilogy Pop Ultra, LP! are 11 tracks of playful yet ghostly downtempo and quirky, spacey Casio-core. While the vintage organ sounds and the simple sputtering drum beats bring to mind the brilliant weirdo-electro-pop of Felix Kubin, there is a quiet introspection that has arctic frostiness of the north written all over it, a must for serious synth pop bands who like not-so-serious music. 7.5/10 (Raf Katigbak)

DKD
Future Rage (Bitasweet)
With this stellar collaboration between 4Hero's Dego MacFarlane and Bugz in the Attic alumni Kaidi Tatham and Daz-I-Que, the bar for left of centre grooves has been raised to heavenly heights. Following the "Future Rage"/"The Gravitational Pull of Her" 12-inch of a while back, this remarkably soulful LP took its time in blessing us with the syncopated masterpiece that it is. While Dego and Daz split the drum programming and bass, Kaidi swims through on keys and percussion, with the guest vocalists bringing home the gold. Required listening. 9/10 (Scott C)

N8E
"Rock On"/"Brainstorm" 12" (Kajmere/KSD)
Happened upon this gem in the West, with N8E doing some introspection on "Brainstorm" and teaming up with Medusa and Crown City Rockers MC Raashan for the strong A-side. N8E plays the sub-dude, with a relaxed, whisper-like flow that works when he's alone, but pales in comparison to Medusa's big tings and Raashan's presence. The beats are great, thanks to a guy called Jon B, making this a sweet Bay Area find. Look for N8E's full-length LP in the near future. 8/10 (Scott C)

Various
Undercover (Hip Bop/Fusion III)
Through myriad contemporary styles, some of the most vital gems in jazz, rock, soul and urban music are given an ambitious tinkering. Veteran fusion drummer Lenny White rat-tat-tats his way through a hip-hoppish rendition of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir," and absolutely tears up Sting's "Tea in the Sahara" with Chick Corea. Pop R&B trumpeter Tom Browne contributes glossy interpretations of U.K. soul classics "Back to Life" and "Hanging on a String," but also shows that you don't cover Miles Davis, you only try to. Sure, there is a lite-FM overload, but when Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker give "Sunshine of Your Love" another twirl, the listener becomes impervious to any shortcomings. 7.5/10 (Peter Lightburn)

Various
World 2004 (Wrasse)
Given the absence of anything from India, Asia or South America (other than Brazil) here, the title's misleading. But the two CDs' worth of stuff that Charlie Gillett, host of BBC Radio's The Sound of the World show, has gathered shows exceptional judgement regardless. This isn't exactly a dance comp (but go ahead if you want), nor is it a cataloguing of obscure folk styles for its own sake, but something in-between - and stronger for it. Notable numbers come care of Brazilian reggae-istas Fat Marley, Franco-Algerian chanteuse Souad Massi, rockin' Iraqis Aïwa, Turkish hip hoppers Wax Poetic, raspy Neapolitan Pietra Montecorvino and ex-Special Terry Hall's Middle Eastern excursion. 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)

The Blind Boys of Alabama
I'm a Soldier in the Army of the Lord (EMI)
The Blind Boys have never been more popular than they are now, thanks in large part to their two Grammy-winning albums, 2001's Spirit of the Century and 2002's Higher Ground. Now this 1982 release, which finds the Boys blending soul into their gospel mix, is reissued with six bonus tracks. With much of the set produced by the legendary team of Gamble & Huff, it's small wonder that cuts like "Love Lifted Me" and "God Is Movin'" sound like they rolled right out of the Philly soul machine. Not to worry, the album still has a whole lot of the spiritual energy that made the group so popular in the first place. 7.5/10 (Gerard Dee)

Duke Ellington
Blues in Orbit (Columbia/Sony)
Duke Ellington
Piano in the Background (Columbia/Sony)
Duke Ellington
Piano in the Foreground (Columbia/Sony)
Three important reissues by one of the great composers of the 20th century, the first two by the full band while the latter is a trio outing with drummer Sam Woodyard and bassist Aaron Bell (replaced on the bonus tracks by Jimmy Woode). All three are made even more valuable by the bonus tracks, the first including "Sentimental Lady," the second items by Billy Strayhorn and Gerald Wilson, the third a pair of looks at "All the Things You Are." The first-rank soloists include Johnny Hodges, Paul Gonsalves, Clark Terry, Ray Nance, Britt Woodman and Lawrence Brown and the sound is top notch - all three are worthy additions or updates to any serious jazz collection. All 10/10 (Len Dobbin)

Mini CD Reviews

Jason Crawford And the Day Came (SEMM) The leader is a Canadian eight-string guitar player in the Lenny Breau mould, heard with just a drummer on originals, standards and a pair from Wes Montgomery. Impressive. 8.5 (LD)

Quebec Connection Smile & Dial (ProtoMusik) Local act produces electro's inevitable ironic paean to telemarketing and two extra slices of synth heaven on their debut EP. 8.5 (LC)

Removal The Strong Silent Type (Removal) These instrumentalists let the samples do the talking. The version of "Frankenstein" even blows away ol' Edgar's. 8 (JC)

Christian Marclay DJ Trio (Asphodel) Marclay and guests move turntablism away from the wicky-wicky predictability of hip hop hacks, into the random sound collage and sonic abandon of avant-garde electroacoustics. Fascinating. 7.5 (RK)

Tanya Donelly Whiskey Tango Ghosts (4AD/Select) Daiquiri Slow Dance Sprites would be a more suitable title for this set of adult acoustic love lullabies. 7 (LC)

R.L. Burnside A Bothered Mind (Fat Possum/Epitaph) It doesn't get more blues than Burnside singing "Stole My Check," but guests like Kid Rock and the electronic dance treatment are too much. Big disappointment. 6 (JC)

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