MUSIC REVEWS
by MIRROR MUSIC
January 13, 2011
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
OFF!
First Four EPs
(Vice/Outside)
Featuring Circle Jerks/Black Flag singer Keith Morris and rounded out by members of Redd Kross, Burning Brides and Hot Snakes, this goes far beyond the band’s obvious initial promise. Once the needle drops, these four seven-inch records are 20 minutes of pure punk rock bliss, 16 blasters right from the gut and out to draw blood. Simply put, this is probably the best punk rock I’ve heard since, well, Morris’s blistering caterwaul on the Flag’s 1978 piece of genius, “Nervous Breakdown.” If you don’t like this, you simply don’t like rock ’n’ roll—period. 9.5/10 Trial Track: “Darkness” (Johnson Cummins)
BRAIDS
Native Speaker
(Kanine)
Nearly as gripping in headphones as it is live, the sound of this local band—known in their first, Calgary-based incarnation as Neighbourhood Council—is not for the ADD-afflicted. But patience is rewarded as the band unfurls its fluttering, chiming keys and jangly, arpeggiated guitars, pitter-pattering drums and graceful, crackling ambience over an average of six minutes a song. At centre stage is the staggering voice of Raphaelle Standell-Preston, ranging from a girly, even squirrely coo to a towering wail that would shame your average town crier. Epic! 8.5/10 Trial Track: “Glass Deers” (Lorraine Carpenter) Album launch with the Pop Winds, Long Long Long at la Sala Rossa, Thurs., Jan. 20, 8:30 p.m., $10
GORILLAZ
The Fall
(EMI)
Made exclusively on an iPad while on tour, Damon Albarn’s latest doesn’t sound like a simple tech demo or stripped-down version of the stuffed, silly Plastic Beach. The new tech has made Gorillaz more human, allowing Albarn the opportunity to quickly transcribe his innermost thoughts on the road without the need of a studio or outside consultation. 8/10 Trial Track: “The Joplin Spider” (Erik Leijon)
STEVEN DROZD
The Heart Is a Drum Machine (the Score)
(Twinkle Cash Co.)
The woozy wonderpop of the Flaming Lips, in which Drozd is the guitarist, is amply echoed in his score for Christopher Pomerenke’s 2009 music doc. Other intriguing items arise—a chiptune/spacerock expansion on “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” and a correctly cosmonautical cover of Elton John’s “Rocket Man” with Tool’s Maynard James Keenan. The inner-versal excursions dotting the track list are tight, light and alright. Essential for Lips-o-maniacs. 8/10 Trial Track: “Get On” (Rupert Bottenberg)
NOVELLER/UNFACT
Bleached Valentine
(Saffron/Ox-Ghost)
This split from Noveller (aka Sarah Lipstate) and Unfact (aka Jesus Lizard’s bassist David Wm. Sims) is sure to satisfy the ear of the current drone/ambient/loop set. Lipstate starts things off with three pieces that expertly work in ethereal soundscapes, with recurring melodic passages that can both hover above and get tucked underneath. Sims takes up the b-side, using his bass as the chief signal generator and hitting with a bit more authority, but still steering his ship directly into your subconscious. 8.5/10 Trial Track: Noveller, “Bleached Beach” (Johnson Cummins)
TAPES ‘N TAPES
Outside
(Ibid)
Tapes ‘n Tapes songs always end better than they start. Like a rock band with a severe caffeine addiction, they jitter and shake nervously before eventually finding their comfort level. On their third album, the Minnesota quartet maintain their tradition of concluding each song with a formidable instrumental bang, but the build-ups feature their best straightforward songwriting yet. 8.5/10 Trial Track: “Outro” (Erik Leijon)
GHOSTFACE KILLAH
Apollo Kids
(Def Jam/ Universal)
Ghost’s ninth full-fledged studio LP remains as consistent as the output of quality hip hop the man has been responsible for since day one, weaving together a trim, fit 12 tracks of that stark reality fans remain thirsty for. Beats from Frank Dukes, Pete Rock and Jake One stand out, and complementing the usual array of Wu guest spots are Black Thought, Joell Ortiz and Busta Rhymes, to name a few. Hard to be booing this. 8/10 Trial Track: “Starkology” (Darcy MacDonald)
J. COLE
Friday Night Lights
(Roc Nation)
Mixtape number three from a talent with the rap world in the palm of his hands gives further evidence that J. Cole does not take his responsibilities as the incumbent lightly. No hollering DJs or $10,000 drops, no getting over just by making some wack MCs hot beat hotter—just a tightly conceived collection of tracks which, if considered in some regard as campaign promises, ring far truer than the average rap a-list podium rhetoric. 7.5/10 Trial Track: “Blow Up” (Darcy MacDonald)
R. KELLY
Love Letter
(Jive/Sony MBG)
The softer of Kelly’s constantly battling musical personas wins out on his latest set. Freaky sex romps, save for the enticing “Taxi Cab,” are few and far between here. Rather, ’70s soul influences permeate abundant romantic fare like the title track, “Just Can’t Get Enough” and the clever “Number One Hit.” It’s a welcome reminder of Kelly’s writing prowess. 8.5/10 Trial Track: “Radio Message” (Gerard Dee)
KREYOL LA
Evolution
(independent)
The rhythm of Haiti is very much the rhythm of konpa, a creolized, guitar-based version of merengue. It’s been around for over half a century, but one of the most famous of the modern konpa bands is Kreyol La. Here on their second album, there’s no hit like Carimi’s “Famn Sa Move,” but the smooth R&B style across the whole record is quite consistent, and consistently good, especially when there is a touch of Auto-Tune as on “Oui ou Non.” 7/10 Trial Track: “Map Boure” (Erin MacLeod)
SHAWN LEE’S PING PONG ORCHESTRA
Hooked Up Classics
(Ubiquity)
Irreverent studio geek Lee is no stranger to the well-crafted novelty disc. His collab with guzheng player Bei Bei last year, Into the Wind, served up Sino-kitsch sweet ’n’ spicy. Here, Tchaikovsky is dished out dub reggae style, Prokofiev masticated into Moog-pop and Grieg’s “Hall of the Mountain King” ground out as grimy garage rock. Lee’s funkification of Strauss’s “Also Sprach Zarathustra” can’t match Deodato’s ’73 Grammy-winner, of Being There fame, but death does become him—a pretty piano-jazz permutation of Chopin’s “Piano Sonata No. 2” (“Funeral March”) wraps up these dozen dalliances. 7/10 Trial Track: “Peter and the Wolf” (Rupert Bottenberg)
PINK SALIVA
self-titled
(& Records)
Montreal’s Pink Saliva are Ellwood Epps (trumpet), Alexandre St-Onge (bass, laptop) and Michel F. Côté (drums), here providing 12 miniatures spanning one to four minutes. Recognizable trumpet-trio textures alternate with ricketier soundscapes, bubbling bass and clattering percussion never far below the surface. Slippery trumpet squeezes out drones over soft-mallet-driven marching beats and rumbling bass on “Amour, Amour, Amour” as “Eros Turannos,” “Really Deadly Romantic” and “Debout les Morts” hint at dark, enigmatic love. 9/10 Trial Track: “Nachtmützen” (Lawrence Joseph)
MINI REVIEWS
ETANA Free EP (VP) The wonderful voice and conscious mind of Etana is, as usual, stunningly evident on this EP. 9 (EM)
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE self-titled (Ipecac/Records) This re-release of the Queens’ 1998 debut, probably their leanest and meanest moment, shows the band hopped up on krautrock and cheap crank. 8.5 (JC)
CAKE Showroom of Compassion (Upbeat/Warner) It’s hard to be jaded about just how jaded Cake are. The vibraslap is back. 7 (EL)
CHIKITA VIOLENTA Tre3s (Arts & Crafts) A Mexico City quartet that sings in English and sounds exactly like the rest of the bands on their Toronto-based label. 6 (EL)
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