MUSIC REVIEWS

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DAVID LYNCH
Crazy Clown Time
(Sunday Best/MapleMusic)
Oh David Lynch, you old kook! If you’ve listened to his films, you’ll recognize the sleazy rock ’n’ roll vamps, heartbreaking balladry and bursts of mecha-beats here, a sonic reflection of the red curtains, flaming matches and terrifying faces that populate his visual tableaux. His voice is also unmistakable, even beneath piles of effects, and while the music doesn’t equal the soundtrack material he’s co-written with Angelo Badalamenti, there’s enough substance here to amuse and distract his fans as we await the next cinematic installment. 7/10 Trial Track: “Pinky’s Dream” (feat. Karen O) (Lorraine Carpenter)

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HONHEEHONHEE
Shouts
(independent)
They haven’t honed in on a sound that’s wholly theirs just yet, but unpredictability suits the rambunctious indie rock locals just fine. The trio squirrel about some pretty familiar alterna-rock con­ventions with great enthusiasm, but do so in a slapdash manner that’s hard to ignore. The guitars effectively jangle, the synths are simple and fun, and the vocals come in the form of energetic group yelps. All in all, an effective introduction. 7/10 Trial Track: “Jump Start My Heart” (Erik Leijon) Album launch with Goose Hut, Eric Lind & the Orchard at Club Lambi, Fri., Nov. 18, 9 p.m., $10

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DEAD TO ME
Moscow Penny Ante
(Fat Wreck Chords)
At this stage in the game, melodic punk rock is a tricky one to pull without sounding retro, tired and clichéd, and although Dead to Me hardly reinvent the wheel here, their call-to-arms anthems still strike a chord. There are echoes of the usual suspects like the Clash, Stiff Little Fingers and Against Me here, but there is no denying perfect power poppers like “Reckless Behavior” and the piss and vinegar of “The Evolution Will Be Tele-visualized.” 7/10 Trial Track: “Reckless Behavior” (Johnson Cummins)

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JOE HENRY
Reverie
(Anti-)
This Grammy-winning producer steps out to the other side of the glass and delivers some tender ballads that should reduce even the most callous to a puddle. Henry most definitely carves out his own signature here, with crooners that paint pictures of long-forgotten times and uncertain futures. He keeps the pace at a crawl as his pearls burst through the sparseness, grabbing you by the spine while plucking on your heartstrings. 7/10 Trial Track: “After the War” (Johnson Cummins)

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DRAKE
Take Care
(Young Money/ Cash Money)
First of all, the intros and sample hooks to almost every song here sting saccharinely like epic conclusions to some romantic movies that I missed the entire beginning of. Secondly, as with his debut, when Drake is not crooning a hook or punchline, stutter-rapping like a grad from the William Shatner School of Overly Dramaticized Pause Method of Elocution, his flow sounds like Stephen Hawk­ing through a vocoder. Would someone stuff him with tissue already? 4/10 Trial Track: “Headlines” (Darcy MacDonald)

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CEASROCK
The Exception
(independent)
Sometimes when shit feels like you’re going through a nightmare, you just gotta snap your fingers and either wake up or take control of the dream realm altogether. NDGeographer CeasRock’s full-length debut maps out the subconscious maze that leaves most of us twisted daily and nightly, accessing the audibly tangible truths we can almost touch in our deepest slumber here for waking life. 8/10 Trial Track: “Where We At” (Darcy MacDonald)

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TROMBONE SHORTY
For True
(Verve/ Universal)
It’s clear from Shorty’s sophomore effort that the New Orleans jazzman is at the top of his game. He not only handles vocals and trombone here, but also trumpet, organ, drums, piano, bass and percussion. Still, he’s not a one-man band, enlisting other top notch musicians and artists like Jeff Beck, Ledisi and even Kid Rock, to make this ultra-funky set cook with even more juice. 9/10 Trial Track: “Roses” (Gerard Dee)

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MISTABISHI
Trip
(Hospital)
Drop, Mista-bishi’s first record, was released in 2009 to acclaim. Here was someone drawing from drum & bass and making it sound nostalgic but new. This record, unfortunately, leans more towards nostalgia with random dubstep wobble tossed in haphazardly. The sweeping, uplifting melodies are contrived and the bits of lyrics are grating: “My God is Bigger Than Yours” is a par­ticularly cringe-worthy example. The world needs more drum & bass; Mistabishi needs to return from this trip and make some. 5/10 Trial Track: “Dorothy” (Erin MacLeod)

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PASCAL MARZAN & JOHN RUSSELL
Translations
(Emanem)
The void left by Derek Bailey’s passing in 2005 is amply filled by the duo of Marzan on nylon classical and Russell on steel acoustic. Bailey’s abstractions revealed his jazz background through complex chords and a spastic swing. This music is more mechanistic, the guitars prepared, manipulated and struck so as to obliterate all the usual timbres.  Despite clicking and ticking like the inside of a grand­father clock, the music remains continuously engaging. 8/10 Trial Track: “Don’t Tease Your Cat” (Lawrence Joseph)

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MATT HAIMOVITZ AND CHRISTOPHER O’RILEY
Shuffle.Play.Listen
(Oxingale)
The cellist and pianist play Bernard Hermann (Vertigo), Stravinsky, Janacek, Martinu and Piazzolla, as well as Arcade Fire, Blonde Redhead, Cocteau Twins, A Perfect Circle, Radiohead (which O’Riley has interpreted before) and John McLaughlin. Why mix up well-known indie rock and film soundtracks with underground alt, avant garde and contemporary classical? Merely to “blur the boundaries,” they say, and they tackle all the material with equal gusto. That said, familiarity with the originals helps the rock half considerably. 7.5/10 Trial Track: “Empty Room” (Lorraine Car­penter)

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MINI REVIEWS

BAD VIBRATIONS Black Train (Brotherhood) Wow! Blazing out of Halifax, this lo-fi psych/punk/grunge surge is sure to appeal to the peeps still pining for the days when the Fastbacks and the Fluid ruled the roost. 8 (JC)

MAD PROFESSOR Dub Me Crazy 11: Hi Jacked To Xaymaca (Ariwa) This ain’t no smoked-out laid-back dub—this is upbeat, bassy, interesting stuff, demonstrating that Mad Professor still has lessons to spare. 8 (EM)

ARTHUR H Baba Love (Polydor/DEP/Universal) French singer, songwriter and piano man waxes pop-poetic about love (and Basquiat etc) with guests including Saul Williams. Shades of Gains­bourg, albeit at his least sleazy. 7.5 (LC)

STILL CORNERS Creatures of an Hour (Sub Pop) Imagine Nouvelle Vague vocals drowning in gauzy, vaguely vintage pop abstractions. The songs are barely there but the vibe has its allure. 7 (LC)

VARIOUS T Bone Burnett Presents the Speaking Clock Revue (Electro Magnetic Corporation) T Bone’s Midas touch is apparently on the wane. Zzzzzzzz. 5.5 (JC)

TEN SECOND EPIC Better Off (Black Box/Fontana North) An unusually aggressive, screamy album opener for the Edmonton pop-punkers, followed by the same old, same old. 5 (EL) With Acres of Lions, These Silent Waves at la Sala Rossa, Wed. Nov. 23, 8:30 p.m., $15

SAN SEBASTIAN Relations (Last Gang) The lesser Canadian Strokes-equivalent 10 years too late. Somewhat catchy and utterly transparent. 5 (EL)

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