MUSIC REVIEWS
by MIRROR MUSIC
March 3, 2011
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
MIKE WATT
Hyphenated-Man
(Clenched Wrench/ORG)
As impressive as bassist Watt’s solo output has been, this now full-time Stooge really electrified in his days with Minutemen. This final installment in his three-part opera is easily the closest he’s come to the brilliance of Minutemen’s 1984 opus, Double Nickels on the Dime. With 30 songs squeezed into 45 minutes, Watt is indeed jamming econo here—comparisons to his early Minutemen days run rampant. This will truly whet the appetite for when he breezes into town next month. 9/10 Trial Track: “Shield Shouldered Man” (Johnson Cummins)
BEADY EYE
Different Gear, Still Speeding
(Beady Eye/Maple)
The feuding Gallagher brothers have split for good this time and singer Liam is choosing to look back in anger, Beady Eye being his futile attempt at showing songwriting sibling Noel he’s peachy post-Oasis. This rebound record thus feels sloppy and rushed, but Oasis’s most ardent defenders can take solace in knowing a triumphant reunion at Glastonbury 2020 is only about 16,425 pints of Boddington away. 3/10 Trial Track: “Bring the Light” (Erik Leijon)
JAMAICA
No Problem
(V2/Warner)
It’s not surprising that a French roque-et-rolle duo would sound like Justice with guitars, or Phoenix with sound effects, but Jamaica’s pop hooks are as infectious as anything their fellow citoyens have done. Justice’s own Xavier de Rosnay produced and arranged No Problem, and beyond using a few of his own band’s stock sounds, has helped construct a crisp, loud cherry bomb. 8.5/10 Trial Track: “Jericho” (Erik Leijon)
RABBITS
Lower Forms
(Relapse)
Damn, the Pacific North West is exploding with superior sludge right now. Rabbits keep their guitars tuned low and their fuzz pedal controls set for the heart of the sun, but this seems oddly more in tune with the glorious yesteryear of noise rock label Am Rep than the metal-as-fuck Relapse. If Electric Wizard got amped up on bathtub crank instead of sticky bud, it very well could sound as awesome as this. 8.5/10 Trial Track: “Duck, the Pigs” (Johnson Cummins)
BRIGHT EYES
The People’s Key
(Saddle Creek)
Opening with the alienating “Firewall” (part sampled conspiracy-nut speech, part whiny Nirvana pastiche), this latest record by Conor & co. shifts abruptly into cloying mid-’80s pop (REM meets Bryan Adams). The record soon takes on more familiar shapes, retaining the synths and catchy melodies but incorporating the folky strains, “alt” sounds and impassioned, provocative screeds we’ve come to expect from Bright Eyes. 6/10 Trial Track: “A Machine Spiritual (in the People’s Key)” (Lorraine Carpenter)
MONOGRENADE
Tantale
(Bonsound/ Select)
They may not deliver the concussive impact their name suggests but local quartet Monogrenade nonetheless make room for themselves in Quebec’s art rock/chamber pop firmament with their debut full-length. Delicate, cyclical keyboard motifs intertwine with rootsy abstractions (“Ce soir”), spiky electro sparks (“Obsolète”) and lush panoramas (“D’un autre oeil”). “M’en aller” demonstrates the scope of their inspiration, switching from gentle robo-narcosis to strings that ache and surge fiercely. 8/10 Trial Track: “M’en aller” (Rupert Bottenberg) CD launch at Casa del Popolo tonight, Thurs., March 3, 6 p.m., free
JEF BARBARA
Contamination
(AMDISCS)
Jef Barbara makes being a gay, black, Québécois synth-pop artist sound (and look) easy—please see his kind-of-awesome low-budget YouTube videos. Following a succession of singles, this LP renders his ’80s-styled electro lounge groove with gauzy synths, salacious bass, talky vocals (and largely French lyrics) and one hilarious guitar solo. Though a couple of the songs seem slight, the record points the way to potential greatness. 7/10 Trial Track: “Wild Boys” (Lorraine Carpenter) With DJ Heidi at Club Lambi, Fri., March 4, 10 p.m., $10
D-SISIVE
Jonestown 2: Jimmy Go Bye Bye
(Urbnet)
The Reverend Jim Jones only had enough charisma to fool them once, but Derek From Northcliffe shows no shame in serving seconds from his poison pitcher. The sequel brings us back to a jungle that anyone who visited once never really left behind, muddling hindsight and flashback to deliver us a familiar perspective born anew. Toronto’s Muneshine spikes the punch, handling the lion’s share of the production and helping knit a follow-up that’s equally deserving of classic status, minus the cult. D-Sisive sets it free, again, at tinyurl.com/ 4qlpn6r. 9/10 Trial Track: “No More Words” (Darcy MacDonald)
VARIOUS
T.O. vs. MTL Vol. 2
(TopLeft/ Morburn)
Everybody wins with part two of a project that is less about proving who’s hotter and more about juxtaposing emerging and deserving rap talent from both cities against a storied background beef, so the only “verses” really happening here are from the mouths of the Montrealers and Torontonians who made the cut this time around. The continued quality cements this emerging series’ taste-making potential for Canadian hip hop west of the Maritimes. Get it for sweet nothing, mixed and/or unmixed, at tinyurl.com/4dk6w6j. 8/10 Trial Track: L.E.S feat. Loss One, SRH & DJ Crowd, “Lion’s Den” (Darcy MacDonald)
PATRICK LEHMAN
The Electric Soul Kitchen Vol. 1
(Justin Time)
Lehman’s musical influences are crystal clear here. But rather than bowing to one genre at a time, the Montreal native displays a blend of soul, rock and jazz on each track. And he does a lot with a little, getting his groove on (“Pain Free,” “Paper”) and then getting intimate (“I Could Be”), all before this six-track EP runs its course. 7.5/10 Trial Track: “Paper” (Gerard Dee) CD launch with Lady Katalyst, Sule at Club Lambi, Sat., March 5, 9 p.m., $7
AEROPLANE TRIO
Naranja Ha
(Drip Audio)
Veterans of the Vancouver improv/jazz scene, JP Carter (trumpet), Russell Sholberg (bass) and Skye Brooks (drums) fly through two sets of alternating funky and freer-metered tunes. As they state in the accompanying interview, the band is looser in concert, evidenced here by the extended tracks on the live DVD, compared to the more tightly structured CD studio pieces. While some moments soar to dizzying heights and others are packed with rarified beauty, this Aeroplane needs to wing through less charted, riskier territories. 7.5/10 Trial Track: “Lucky Loonie” (Lawrence Joseph)
KODO
Akatsuki
(Otodaiku)
Celebrating a full three decades of activity this year, Japan’s preeminent ambassadors of folkloric music specialize in powerful, energetic taiko—a driving thunder thumped out on drums as big as the fearsome, 900-pound o-daiko—but branch out to mellower folk songs, accompanied by archaic stringed instruments. On this anniversary album, they reach out with Brazilian and Celtic fusions (“Stride” and “Sora,” respectively), while conversely, a bonus DVD tours scenic Sado Island, the cultural sanctuary they call home. 8.5/10 Trial Track: “Honoka” (Rupert Bottenberg) At Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Place des Arts, Fri.–Sat., March 4–5, 8 p.m., $46.88–$71.88
MINI REVIEWS
JAHDAN BLAKKAMOORE Babylon Nightmare (Lustre Kings) As soulful as he is conscious, Jahdan showcases an effortless ability to merge dancehall with roots, R&B and hip hop. 9 (EM)
BETTY BURKE Dirty Mouth of the St. Lawrence River (Blocks) Roughly produced, and even more roughly sung, moments of pop beauty, punk bluster and positivity elevate the debut EP by this folky all-grrrl TO trio (feat. Maggie MacDonald). 7 (LC)
KIM CHURCHILL self-titled (Indica/Outside) Earthy Australian acoustic folk. Musically much more than mere sticks and stones. 6 (EL) At Divan Orange, Mon., March 7, 10 p.m.
SLIM CESSNA’S AUTO CLUB Unentitled (Alternative Tentacles) Every city has a band made up of eccentric, party-hearty gypsy misfits. Even Denver. 5.5 (EL)
LA SERA self-titled (Hardly Art) This Vivian Girl absolutely brutalizes with boredom here. Would somebody drop a bomb on Williamsburg already? 4 (JC)
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