MUSIC REVIEWS
by MIRROR MUSIC
March 10, 2011
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
LUPE FIASCO
Lasers
(1st & 15th/Warner)
Have you ever wondered what it would sound like if the Black Eyed Peas didn’t suck? Lupe may be telling anyone who will listen that his label is a jerk and that this is not the album he wanted to release but damned if it didn’t come out just that much slicker than ever. Losing the concept angle of the previous two LPs and trimming down some of the fat leaves you with 12 chunky, shiny, trippy songs that are not identifiably pop, rock or hip hop at any given time, cleverly welded together by a unique creativity that could potentially move radio audiences to ask what the hell all that other noise was. 8.5/10 Trial Track: “The Show Goes On” (Darcy MacDonald)
LES BREASTFEEDERS
Dans la gueule des jours
(Blow the Fuse/Select)
Montreal’s very own garage stompers les Breastfeeders prove the third time is indeed a charm with this killer piece o’ plastic. While retaining their slash-and-bash guitars and infectious melodies that have earned their place in our hearts, the band shake a bit of their influences loose this time around with some expert, dense production work, as masterfully illustrated in the gorgeous orch-pop track “Betty Lou.” Good on ya! 8/10 Trial Track: “Betty Lou” (Johnson Cummins) CD launch at la Tulipe tonight, Thurs., March 10, 9 p.m., $11.50
DESTROYER
Kaputt
(Merge)
Aside from the vocals, handled by head Destroyer Dan Bejar and a back-up singer that just oozes cheese (more shades of Leonard Cohen), this album consists entirely of reproduced ’80s textures, from the plastic beats and woozy synths to the reverb-steeped guitars, drums and excessive sax. The sounds are at times shaped and piled artfully, and in ways that serve Bejar’s cruising melodies and nearly serious narratives. But too often, the songs seem slight, and threaten to overwhelm the senses with kitsch. 7.5/10 Trial Track: “Poor in Love” (Lorraine Carpenter)
DEVOTCHKA
100 Lovers
(Epitaph/FAB)
Best known for their Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack, this Denver-based chamber-rock quartet continues to conjure grandiose neo-gypsy anthems dominated by the soaring, spell-binding voice of Nick Urata. The band once again infuses world beats and even goth elements into their arrangements, but the multicultural approach fails to animate a clutch of middling, middle-of-the-road songs, not to mention the surprising stinker “100 Other Lovers.” 6/10 Trial Track: “All the Band in All the Sea” (Lorraine Carpenter)
SKIP JENSEN
The Spirit of the Ghost
(Red Lounge)
Jensen has always been a jewel in Montreal’s garage/roots crown but this new blaster launches him into a whole other realm. Jensen’s true talent is the ability to drive his blues boogaloo, which could’ve fit snug on the Fat Possum label in its prime, to a primal dirge that could make Kid Congo Powers and Tav Falco blush crimson red. In a world of slumming trust-fund brats armed with pawnshop guitars, Jensen remains the real deal. 8/10 Trial Track: “Crows” (Johnson Cummins) Record launch at Quai des Brumes tonight, Thurs., March 10, 9 p.m.
R.E.M.
Collapse Into Now
(Warner)
R.E.M. rock hard, as they did on their last record, yet the decline from thinking man’s rock band to soulless soundalikes continues. You can imagine Michael Stipe addressing a sold-out stadium, prefacing these new songs with warnings: “You liked Monster? You’ll love ‘Discoverer!’ Hey, ‘E-Bow’ fans, we brought Patti Smith back! We’re R.E.M., just like you remember!” 5/10 Trial Track: “Walk It Back” (Erik Leijon)
THE BASEBALL PROJECT
Volume 2: High and Inside
(Yep Roc/Outside)
It’s spring training, the Giants are the World Series champs and Jackie Robinson’s Montreal apartment has been forever immortalized. It’s a good time to be a baseball fan, a point all the more driven home by the all-star musical line-up, including Steve Wynn and R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, taking the field for a second inning of straight ahead rockers and unexpected curveballs dedicated to a game not lacking for compelling stories worthy of song. 8/10 Trial Track: “Panda and the Freak” (Erik Leijon)
GEOFF BERNER
Victory Party
(Mint/Outside)
Produced by our own oddball klezmer innovator Socalled, Berner’s Mint debut finds his fiery, acerbic blend of klezmer and comparable Eastern styles more fully fleshed out, and more inclined to stray from the shtetl (“Oh My Golem” goes all weirdo electro, for instance). What’s intact is Berner’s defiant punk ethos (Yiddish lesson: “Daloy Polizei” = “down with the cops”) and a streak of humour black as a crow’s turd. A round of raucous applause as well, please, for the album artwork by Toronto’s Balkan surrealist aces, Tin Can Forest. 7.5/10 Trial Track: “Daloy Polizei” (Rupert Bottenberg)
SKRILLEX
Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites EP
(Mau5trap/Warner)
Although Skrillex’s dubstep can bash brutally with the brashest of them, the house beats are his ace in the hole, the big bad wolf’s shortcut through Nightlife Forest for all the weekend-warrior Red Riding Hoods. For the not so-innocents, Skrillex accents this EP with that classic trance-jungle ear candy. All the burnt-out tweakers will be hurtled back to twitching on the floor and drinking scalding hot water while seizure-inducing lights mirror Skrillex’s frenetic sound. 8.5/10 Trial Track: “Kill Everybody” (Bare Noize Remix) (Lateef Martin)
VARIOUS
Funkytown
(Universal)
The soundtrack to this Montreal-in-the-disco-era movie uses a blend of remakes and originals to set the tone for the film. For the most part, the originals outshine the updated versions, with the exception of a few tracks including Jully Black’s faithful cover of “Young Hearts Run Free” and Kim Richardson’s glorious “Waiting for Your Touch.” 7/10 Trial Track: “Waiting for Your Touch” (Gerard Dee)
VERTICAL SQUIRRELS
Hold True (Accroche-toi)
(Ambiances Magnétiques)
The Squirrels gnaw out a unique brand of in-the-moment improvisation on this debut CD. Based in Guelph, ON, these multi-instrumentalists’ wide tonal palette is held together by trance-like, chiming percussion from Rob Wallace. “Ah/Ha!” could be a long-lost late-’60s Can track, while “Leaps of Faith” reveals a Fripp influence from guitarist Daniel Fischlin and “Amnesiaville” exhibits the free-jazz tendencies of pianist Ajay Heble. Despite these recognizable roots, Hold True is an unclassifiable blast of fresh air. 9/10 Trial Track: “Nomads, Sparrows & Machines” (Lawrence Joseph)
MAHMOUD AHMED & IMPERIAL BODY GUARD BAND
Ethiopiques Vol. 26: 1972-74
(Buda Musique)
Legendary Ethiopian singer Mahmoud Ahmed has found recent fame touring, sharing musical gems from the brief yet incredibly wonderful era that coincided with the few years before the fall of Emperor Haile Selassie. The Ethiopiques series has featured Mahmoud in the past—this album contains tunes from his time as vocalist for the innovative and amazing government band. With tracks that contain bits and pieces of funk, pop, jazz and, to this listener, even a titch of reggae, this is yet another part of the Ethiopiques picture to be savoured and treasured. 10/10 Trial Track: “Wubetwan Alesma” (Erin MacLeod)
MINI REVIEWS
WEEDEATER Jason… the Dragon (Southern Lord) The kings of Southern sludge can still show how it’s truly done. 8.5 (JC)
CHINATOWN Tant Pis Pour Moi 7” (Tacca) A knees-up, handclapping pop tune about self-pity (play at 33 RPM for sadder vibes), produced by Gus Van Go. 8 (LC)
FIVE ALARM FUNK Anything Is Possible (independent) Highly flammable, hard rocking psychedelic funk firestarters from Vancouver, 10 members strong. 8 (EL) At le Belmont, Tues. March 15, 8:30 p.m., $12
LUCIANO Write My Name (Footprintz) The strains of the Messenjah’s voice are as strong as ever, but this record is missing the sweet sounds of Dean “Cannon” Fraser’s sax. 8 (EM)
THE BLACK WATCH Led Zeppelin Five (Eskimo) Not the missing link between IV and Houses of the Holy, although these mid-tempo fuzz rockers from L.A. are more than an awesome album title. 6.5 (EL)
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