MUSIC REVIEWS

---

THE MERCY NOW
Self Control
(independent)
Anticipation runs high for this first outing by vocalist/bassist Russell Fernandes since the demise of his soul-slathered rock outfit Shikasta, but thankfully he rises above all expectations on this stunner. Fernandes brings all of his Wilson Pickett rasp and wail but also reaches for the top shelf with some serious Prince-style falsetto crooning. Fernandez’s band are hardly slouches either, keeping the groove relentless and inventive, but also delivering some seriously catchy numbers that are, dare I say, almost poppy. If there is a better current rock band in Canada, I’ve yet to hear them. 8.5/10 Trial Track: “Mercy” (Johnson Cummins) With Biblical, the Dry Heaves at Casa del Popolo, Sat., Dec. 4, 9 p.m.

---

TANYA DAVIS
Clocks and Hearts Keep Going
(independent)
On her third album, produced by Jim Bryson and engineered by Dave Draves, this award-winning Halifax poet/folkie continues to develop sonic and melodic skills that nearly match her penmanship. Davis treads lightly on heavy terrain (mourning lost love and loved ones), hitting morose and hopeful notes, backed by economical arrangements of guitars, banjo, harmonica, keys, horns, piano and/or percussion. 8/10 Trial Track: “Eulogy for You and Me” (Lorraine Carpenter) With O the Fool, Fraser Gielen at Casa del Popolo, Sun., Dec. 5, 9 p.m.

---

THE RUSSIAN FUTURISTS
The Weight’s on the Wheels
(Upper Class/Red Eye)
Ending a five-year hiatus, Soviet fetishist Matthew Adam Hart’s hammers, sickles, submerged vocals, sing-along melodies, kaleidoscopic keys, subtle strumming and bobbing beats are back. Though his boyish, Ben Gibbard-esque vocals and cloying tunes threaten to overwhelm the record, his pop songwriting skills are tight, as is his submerged synth-pop aesthetic, kicked up here by producer Michael Musmanno (OutKast). 7/10 Trial Track: “Hoeing Weeds Sowing Seeds” (Lorraine Carpenter)

---

THE SECRET
Solve et Coagula
(Southern Lord)
As the Hydra Head label’s metal spreads into more and more subgenres, you have to wonder just how much heavier things can get. Well, these Italian black-metal merchants are most def­initely pushing the envelope of heaviosity, but also plant their feet firmly on traditional ground. This is epically driven aggression of the highest order with the producer, Converge’s Kurt Ballou, delivering his most searing sonic performance yet. The near-genius crescendo of record opener “Cross Builder” is alone easily one of the heaviest and most dramatic things you’ll ever hear. 9/10 Trial Track: “Cross Builder” (Johnson Cummins)

---

RAGGEDY ANGRY
How I Learned to Love Our Robot Overlords
(Synthetic Sounds)
The future is here and yes, the robots have won. They’re the ones responsible for half of Raggedy Angry’s sound, adding synths and samples to this Toronto outfit’s syncopated met­al. The human half is helmed by industrial godfather Dave “Rave” Ogilvie, whose production dirties Angry’s dark sound. Digital mayhem throbs in the periphery while crushing riffs drive home Angry’s themes of destruction, chaos within and without and, of course, robot overlords. PS: Killer album cover. 7.5/10 Trial Track: “Easter Island Radiation” (Lateef Martin)

---

BLACK EYED PEAS
The Beginning
(Interscope/ Universal)
BEP mastermind will.i.am has the market cornered on insipid closing-time ragers. Every DJ has a guilty pleasure they’ll break out at the end of a set, one everyone knows the lyrics to but wouldn’t dare acknowledge in the light of day. The Beginning isn’t for the sober, but in a drunken/sexed-up stupor, you’ll concede that tonight was in fact, a good, good night. 3/10 Trial Track: “Don’t Stop the Party” (Erik Leijon)

---

CADENCE WEAPON
Tron Legacy: The Mixtape
(Upper Class)
Edmonton’s poet laureate takes time out from public service to rap about everything but the upcoming Tron remake. Roland Pemberton is at his subversive, absurdist best here, his lethargic pacing belying his sharp wit. Accessible beat selection, including Arcade Fire’s “The Suburbs,” but the scene stealer is “On With a +1,” a music-biz putdown with Derek from Northcliffe (fomerly D-Sisive) providing a deliciously acerbic verse. 8/10 Trial Track: “On With a +1” (Erik Leijon)

---

GANGRENE
Gutter Water
(Decon)
Yes, this joint beats-’n’-verses collaboration between sanctified Cali underground vet Alchemist and ever-evolving progeny of Stones Throw and tha Ox, Oh No, is exactly as sick as it sounds like it should be. Sicker than the dank, fetid, bubbling puddle of emerald bong-stank their name implies. Sicker than the tinnitus ward at the mental hospital for former cuckoo-clock factory workers. Children of Chernobyl, unite. 9/10 Trial Track: “From Another Orbit” feat. Roc C (Darcy MacDonald)

---

NE-YO
Libra Scale
(Universal)
Ne-Yo’s still best known for his hits for other artists like Rihanna and Beyoncé, but his latest is a solid attempt to rectify that, boasting a succinct mix of well-constructed mid-tempo (“Know Your Name”) and higher-energy (“Cause I Said So”) tracks. And on “What Have I Done,” he echoes the musical and vocal style of his idol, Michael Jackson. 8/10 Trial Track: “Champagne Life” (Gerard Dee)

---

GORD GRDINA TRIO WITH MATS GUSTAFSSON
Barrel Fire
(Drip Audio)
The guitar/sax front line of Gord Grdina and Mats Gustafsson mines the same mind-melting territory as Last Exit. Rhythmic support from Tommy Babin and Kenton Loewen is fleeter than Exit’s heavy bottom end, raising a spirited free-jazz ruckus. “Burning Bright” starts with lightning-quick guitar skronk, sneaks into a sea shanty melody channelled through Sharrock’s “Peanut” and ends with the band repeating the theme at full throttle. Iraqi trad piece “En Shakoota,” played on oud, provides an exotic respite in this live recording from the Vancouver Jazz Festival. 9/10 Trial Track: “Burning Bright” (Lawrence Joseph)

---

MINI REVIEWS

EARTH A Bureaucratic Desire for Extra-Capsular Extraction (Southern Lord) This—ahem—unearthing of the trio’s 1990 debut is no Earth 2 but still kills the current crop of so-called pow­er droners. Trainspotters should note that Kurt Cobain sings on the almost-poppy “Divine and Bright.” 9 (JC)

K.C. ACCIDENTAL Captured Anthems for an Empty Bathtub + Anthems for the Could’ve Bin Pills (Arts & Crafts) The entire, 12-song discography of Kevin Drew and Charles Spearin’s pre-Broken Social Scene project, gorgeous orchestral synth rock instrumentals that nearly outclass the bulk of BSS. 8.5 (LC)

REVERSING FALLS Recoder EP (Independent) Longer isn’t always better—this Montreal trio’s EP proves tightly packed, bite-size hard rock anthems are just as filling. 8 (EL) At Cabaret Play­house tonight, Thurs., Dec. 2, 9 p.m.

THE ORDER OF GOOD CHEER Tanto Monta/Monta Tanto (independent) The fun-loving bar-rock soundtrack to your secret male society’s weekly stein hoist. 7 (EL)

KID ROCK Born Free (Atlantic/Warner) So if we simply follow the formula, and replace “Kid” with “Grownup,” and change “Rock” to “Suck,” and then carry the Rick Rubin, that should equal about…1 (DM)

Short URL: http://www.montrealmirror.com/wp/?p=16858