MUSIC REVIEWS
by MIRROR MUSIC
July 14, 2011
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
CORPUSSE
Honey & Locusts
(Hi-Hat)
Finally, another slab of genius from one of Montreal’s most bizarre acts. The big galoot starts things off with the “Stairway to Heaven” of his career, a revamped version of the classic “Pretty Flowers,” and basically doesn’t take the foot off the gas over the following 11 misanthropic missives. Just further proof that Corpusse is still one of Montreal’s greatest. 8.5/10 Trial Track: “Pretty Flowers” (Johnson Cummins) Corpusse performs following a screening of the doc Surrender to the Passion at Casa del Popolo, Fri., July 15, 8:30 p.m., $8
THE HANDSOME FURS
Sound Kapital
(Sub Pop/ Outside)
Looking for a reason to buy some music the old-fashioned way, and to support your local scene? The vinyl version of this third LP by MTL-based power couple Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry has a slight edge in the audio department, but the CD’s packaging rules. Packed with photos of sunny Asian resorts, each contrasted with grimy nighttime shots of local highway underpasses (and nods to Echo and the Bunnymen’s Crocodiles art), the CD booklet is a great browse, even while dancing to HF’s invigorated electro-punk-pop anthems. 8/10 Trial Track: “No Feelings” (Lorraine Carpenter)
CAVE IN
White Silence
(Hydra Head)
Although hardly a prolific band, with their output being spotty at best, Cave In once again prove that good things indeed do come to those who wait. As expected, these Boston bruisers deliver a monster of a record that is as much about ballast-blasting as it is about clever psych and, dare I say, occasional pop hooks. Not for the faint of heart or the closed-minded. 8/10 Trial Track: “White Silence” (Johnson Cummins)
WU LYF
Go Tell Fire to the Mountain
(L Y F)
This quartet of Mancunian lost boys step into just about every indie rock beartrap imaginable, from an online presence shrouded in anonymity to a debut album recorded in a church with celestial organs, guitar interplay obscured in reverb, a howling frontman and well-paced crescendos. Such dangerous treading could cost them a limb, but the album is all heart anyway: an intimate-yet-cryptic balancing act that exceeds its own conventionality. 8/10 Trial Track: “We Bros” (Erik Leijon)
THE COOL KIDS
When Fish Ride Bicycles
(Green Label Sound/C.A.K.E.)
I used to think I’d like the Cool Kids when pigs fly, or maybe when hell freezes over. Serve me the cold platter of spicy wings ’n’ ribs. Premature buzz over the duo’s early charm, largely attributed to a slacker non-work-ethic and throwaway, jokey wordplay, matures into a full-force drone with a first LP, stinging the recession-era hive-mind still wanting something real, secondhand deals and top-notch counterfeits notwithstanding. Knock off early and have this party on yer’ Zune this summer. 8/10 Trial Track: “Get Right” (Darcy MacDonald)
SBTRKT
self-titled
(Young Turks)
Steamy Little Dragon-assisted single “Wildfire” is the perfect dubstep crossover hit that the tribal-mask-wearing London producer clearly strived to achieve. The rest of his eponymous debut has similar ambitions, pairing soulful vocalists with his drum loops and fat bass, to less immediate effect. It’s too docile for the dancefloor, as it’s tailored to fit the tender-voiced guests. Call it sbtrktion by addition. 5.5/10 Trial Track: “Wildfire” (Erik Leijon)
SHABAZZ PALACES
Black Up
(Sub Pop)
Shrouded in mystery, Palaceer Lazaro (the latest artistic incarnation of rap schizo Ishmael Butler, aka Butterfly, of 90s boho-hoppers Digable Planets) won’t say much about his new group, leaving the music to speak for itself. Here’s what it says: “Conforming to mainstream hip hop standards is boring. Borrowing from dubstep is unconventionally appealing.” Sometimes, it’s right. Other times, it needs to shut up. 5/10 Trial Track: “Endeavors for Never (The Last Time We Spoke You Were Not Here I Saw You Though)” (Darcy MacDonald)
BEYONCÉ
4
(Sony)
Perhaps unintentionally, Beyoncé delivers yet another release like 2008’s I Am…Sasha Fierce, where her duelling personalities are on display. Her aspiring pop princess frontloads this set with mediocre tracks like “I Was Here.” But the best songs, delivered by around-the-way Beyoncé, seem almost an afterthought. Pity, because tracks like “Schoolin’ Life” and “Lay Up Under Me” are among her best. 7.5/10 Trial Track: “Countdown” (Gerard Dee)
VARIOUS
Electric Cowbell Records Presents 101 Things to Do in Bongolia
(Electric Cowbell)
This impossible to classify collection comes from Brooklyn-based label Electric Cowbell, an all-vinyl (until now) label who have been cranking out 45s for the past year or so. Jim Thompson, of GWAR and Bio Ritmo, simply wanted to capture his new band on vinyl. One single became a label. The range of styles and rhythms here is mind-blowing: from boogaloo to Ethiofunk to free jazz to salsa! 9/10 Trial Track: Debo Band, “Adderech Arada” (Kiddid Remix) (Erin MacLeod)
ANTHONY VON SECK
My Best Friends in Exile
(Experimental Farm)
The solo debut by Montreal’s Anthony Von Seck (of Shalabi Effect etc.) fits nicely in my collection of experimental rock. Washes of guitar and distant drums, soaring vocals and soundscape forays such as “War Is Boring” makes My Best Friends In Exile sound as grand and unreachable as its album art. The frantic violins of “Nightmares” is like Styrofoam twisted into your soul, while the strings and vocals of “Devil’s Lake” smoothes everything out. This heady mix of styles and more make for a varied and satisfying debut. 8/10 Trial Track: “Goodbye Happy Ending” (Lateef Martin)
JERRY GRANELLI TRIO
Let Go
(Plunge)
Saxophonist Danny Oore and bassist Simon Fisk team up with veteran percussionist Granelli for nine jazzy tracks that simmer and brood with a slow tempo swagger. Smokey melodic phrases reminiscent of 60s detective movie themes are accented by unconventionally voiced—often metallic—punches from Granelli. Early 80s Montreal punk scenester Mary Jane Lamond weaves her Gaelic vocals into the fabric on two tracks. A classic genre breathes with new life, nostalgic and fresh. 9/10 Trial Track: “Bones” (Lawrence Joseph)
MINI REVIEWS
NORMAN JAY MBE Presents Good Times 30th Anniversary Edition (Strut) Celebrate three decades of a legendary U.K. sound system. The soulful Good Times vibe lives up to its name. 9 (EM)
DECAPITATED Carnival Is Forever (Nuclear Blast) Just when you thought death metal was riding on the rims. 8.5 (JC)
TRISTEN Charlatans at the Garden Gate (American Myth) Credible, edgy, rootsy pop out of Nashville, if you can believe it. Check out “Eager for Your Love.” 7.5 (LC) With Thomas Dybdahl at Casa del Popolo, Mon., July 18, 9 p.m., $11
STONE COAL WHITE Self-titled (Cali-Tex) DJ Shadow’s label unearths these grimy demos from an all-but-forgotten post-Vietnam Dayton, Ohio soul outfit. Shadow likes it, and so will like-minded 70s groove junkies. 7 (DM) THOMAS DYBDAHL Songs (Universal) The latest from the Norwegian singer-songwriter is more developed than the title may suggest, although keeping things simple serves him well. 6 (EL) With Tristen at Casa del Popolo, Mon., July 18, 9 p.m., $11
IS TROPICAL Native To (Kitsuné France) If there’s a difference between retro and dated electropop, Native To can serve as the chalk divider. 6 (EL)
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