Converge
You Fail Me (Epitaph)
Okay, this is just sick. Along with bands like Knut and Isis, Converge have always cut the path for heaviosity, but this new one hits even more to left of centre without ever sacrificing any of the white-hot rage. Jake Bannon's caterwaul has never been more devastating, while musically, these Bostonians obliterate with precision. The electronic treatment in the title track "You Fail Me" would give Isis a run for their money, but again it's Bannon's gut-wrenching scream and guitarist Kurt Ballou's cacophony that show Converge as inspired as ever. The acoustic strum on "In Her Shadow," complete with some Blixa Bargeld slidework, pulls no punches and packs in even more dynamics than Neurosis on their best days. You need to own this record because it just doesn't get any heavier than this! 9.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)
Mike Watt
The Secondman's Middle Stand (Columbia/Sony)
Fresh from his stint as the Stooges' bass player, Mr. Thunderbroom is back with his most personal record yet. The central lyrical theme is the near-death experience that Watt miraculously survived. It's broken up into three parts - illness, recovery and his triumphant return, playing with his favourite band, the Stooges. His trademarked dear-diary lyrical style lays it down with brutal honesty and his signature bass playing anchors everything. Long gone are the guitars, now a Hammond B3 hovers over Watt's bass playing. Always overshadowed by his incredible bass skills, which have never been better, Watt's lyrics reach their zenith here. 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)
M83
Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts (Mute)
With last year's Talkie Walkie, it seemed that orbital decay had set in for Air. Who, then, to take the torch of French stargazer womb-pop and run with it? The task falls to the young Anthony Gonzales and Nicolas Fromageau, and they shoulder it well. Guitars, synths and vocal harmonies are atomized into a billion intermingled motes of cosmic dust amid which, like one of those stare-real-hard, 3D hidden-picture deals, lurk stunningly simple melodies. There are certainly sour moments (note to M83 re: "Gone" - U2 want their Joshua Tree back), but even NASA had its Apollo 13. 8.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) With Ulrich Schnauss at Cabaret, Wed., Sept. 15, 9 p.m., $16
Julie Doiron
Goodnight Nobody (Endearing)
Taking after Bob Dylan's hit and run technique, Doiron recorded her sixth post-Eric's Trip album in a flash (eight of its dozen tracks were laid down in one day), leaving little time to second-guess her intimate, introspective compositions. Acoustic guitars, fragile vocals, apologies and laments remain integral, but motherly love and modified arrangements enliven the formula, particularly on the record's less sparse second half. With reports from the homefront and hints of electric guitar, vibes, ukulele and banjo, Doiron's upbeat, upward mobility suits her well. 8/10 (Lorraine Carpenter)
The Blue Seeds
self-titled EP (Sale Cabot/Local)
Imagine what Portishead would have sounded like if their key members had been Québécois and had met at Barfly's bluegrass night. Cue this new local quintet, the brainchild of songwriter François Dufault, whose glamorous guitar lines reverberate languidly across the sonic landscape, sometimes wobbling drunkenly towards their destination. Singer Amélie Laflamme narrates the band's mini-epics, which unite downhome instrumentation with seedy downtown overtones. As the band's first product, this EP is imperfect but impressive, effectively foreshadowing great things… 8/10 (Lorraine Carpenter) CD launch at Quai des Brumes tonight, Thurs., Sept. 9, 5 p.m.
Junkie XL
Junkie XL Radio: A Broadcast From Computer Hell Cabin (Roadrunner)
With "A Little Less Talk," the Elvis remix you've all heard, Junkie XL (aka Tom Holkenborg) gave the mainstream a taste of his seasoned talents. This time he still brings on the big beat but switches it up with house anthems and techno, trip hop and funky breaks, making for a diverse album with a little something strange. That would be the choice of vocalists, but it definitely works, with the Cure's Robert Smith, Chuck D, Depeche Mode's David Gahan, Gary Numan, Saffron from Republika (remember them?) and more. Backed by relentless beats, the guest vocalists get a chance to do something different than what they're used to. 7.5/10 (Lateef Martin)
Masta Ace
A Long Hot Summer (M3/Studio)
For a dude who's been keeping fake gangsters and wannabe thugs consistently in check since the early '90s, it's a surprise that Masta Ace has been flying under the radar for so long. Capturing the rise of an underground rapper on the mean streets of Brooklyn, this conceptual record falls right in line with 2001's Disposable Arts, mixing soulful, jazzy productions with well-crafted skits and Ace's smooth and reflective flow. Apparently he plans to retire after this LP, but by the sounds of it, he's still got a lot of great music to share with the likes of us. This somewhat jaded MC still knows how to look at the industry with an all-seeing eye. 8/10 (Scott C)
Ill Bill
What's Wrong With Bill? (Psycho-Logical)
"God is an atheist/Why should I believe in religion?/I'd rather get my dick sucked and cook keys in the kitchen..." From where I'm sitting, this seems to be the same ol' Bill we know and love - a little bit sick and twisted, but by no means at a loss for words. Unlike Non-Phixion's debut LP, where they pulled out the production favours and featured friends, What's Wrong With Bill? keeps the music in the Psycho-Logical family with Necro on all the beats and help from Goretex, Sabac, Uncle Howie and Mr. Hyde. Bill is a serious lyricist who flexes power moves and punchlines steadily, and judging from his drug-riddled tales of porn, debauchery and murder, there's nothing wrong with him at all. 7/10 (Scott C)
Jake Fairley
Touch Not the Cat (Paper Bag/Outside)
It would be unfair to call Jake Fairley a copycat of techno shuffle-punk bad boy T.Raumschmiere. While there are similarities, T.Raumschmiere is content to pummel listeners into submission with brooding distorted basslines, playful micro-sound loops, pounding dancefloor kicks and overdriven vocals. Fairley's approach is to first coax listeners in with a hooky, melancholic chorus and bleak, Factory Records-era vocals, then crack their skulls with thick basslines, punchy drums and heaps of attitude that could power even the most reluctant of dancefloors. If music were a non-renewable resource, you can be sure the Bush administration would be tapping Fairley's high-octane ass in a nanosecond. 8.5/10 (Raf Katigbak)
Otto Von Schirach
Global Speaker Fisting (Schematic/Asphodel)
Von Schirach's dark, carnival take on experimental electronic music is not for everyone (read: most reasonable humans), but the production is tight and the sound all his own. With a style that has more hyphens than a feminist stitch 'n' bitch empowerment session, the 27-year-old Miami resident continues to perfect the avant-death-metal-circus-tango-gangsta-plunderphonic-ghettotek-IDM-noise-break genre. Flipping from silly speedcore send-ups ("Goat Sperm") to Kool Keith-style tirades against laptop "clicks and claps" and "bleeps and peeps" ("Flexible Static Neck"), Global Speaker Fisting's often perversely juvenile lyrics are underlined by some of Schirach's most rugged production to date. If your A/V collection sports both Venetian Snares and Takashi Miike, this will definitely be for you. 8.5/10 (Raf Katigbak)
Ms. Thing
Miss Jamaica (Sequence)
Ms. Thing sounds like a bratty 17-year-old who runs to the studio after school, untucks her uniform and records nasty ditties that appall her mother but impress the boys. The recent high school grad found fame looking for Beenie Man to do her in a van in the smash "Dude." Great production, interesting riddims, but Ms. Thing seems out of her league here. And auto-tuning can't take away the fact that she's awkward and pitchy as hell. Dirty words have been edited, but given the prevalence of raunch ("Muscle Tight" for one), that'll do little to ease Ma's mind. 6.5/10 (Erin MacLeod)
R. Kelly
Happy People/U Saved Me (Jive/BMG)
Kelly continues to be a prolific singer/songwriter despite his personal problems. This double disc divides his two musical motivations, the first concentrating on his party-man ambitions, the second on his spiritual struggles. Happy People expands the stepping groove from last year's Chocolate Factory into a fluid party vibe that finds Kelly successfully channelling diverse influences like Maze ("Love Street") and Marvin Gaye ("If I Could Make the World Dance"). U Saved Me is a gospel-inspired smorgasbord, the Sunday-morning sermon after the Saturday-night throwdown - sombre, remorseful and somewhat fulfilling, though perhaps not so much as to dampen the enthusiasm from the night before. People 8/10, Saved 7.5/10 (Gerard Dee)
Thelonious Monk
Monk 'Round the World (Hyena)
Here are some Monk quartets recorded live in California and various European venues in the '60s. It's an all-Monk program of seven tracks (six compositions), with Charlie Rouse's tenor heard throughout, joined by John Ore and Frank Dunlop on three, Butch Warren and Ben Riley on three and Riley and Larry Gales on one. As usual, the material is both musical and exciting and there's a bonus, a DVD of the latter quartet at the Marquee Club in London in 1965, doing "Rhythm a Ning," "Nutty" and "Criss Cross." 10/10 (Len Dobbin)
Mini CD Reviews
Bryn Roberts Ludlow (BMR) Pianist Roberts hooks up with Seamus Blake, Drew Gress and Mark Ferber for a great set recorded in Montreal. 9.5 (LD)
Willie Nelson The Troublemaker (Columbia/Sony) This re-release of this all-gospel record from '73 is guaranteed to have you shouting it from the mountain. 8.5 (JC)
John Mayall & the Blues Breakers The Turning Point Soundtrack (Eagle) Mainly acoustic, this '69 recording shows Mayall taking it back to the root. 7.5 (JC)
Various Boompa Volume 1 (Boompa) The Salteens, the Dirtmitts, ex-Grape of Wrath Kevin Kane and a slew of alt-Canadiana upstarts go Boompa in the night. 7.5 (LC)
Frivolous Somewhere in the Suburbs (Karloff) This Vancouverite turned Montrealer blends Latin, folk, disco, dub and danse sociale into a nicely flowing slice of deep and minimal techno. 7 (RK) CD launch at Laïka, Tues., Sept. 14, 5 p.m.
Phil Manzanera 6pm (Expression/Rykodisc) '70s rock maniacs will "creem" their pants over the guests (if not the songs) on this ex-Roxy Music guitarist's record: David Gilmour, Brian Eno, Chrissie Hynde, Robert Wyatt. 6.5 (LC)
Latte D. Kyd So Begins the Saga (Vanilla Queen) And so ends the saga. Weak rock-rap, with no originality in sight. 5 (SC)
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