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Check
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around Winnipeg tonight! |
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Check
out this week’s
online CD reviews by our
music staff |
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A
Static Lullaby
And Don’t Forget to Breathe
(Ferret Music3)
A-
Website:
www.astaticlullaby.com
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Screamo? Emo-core?
Does the increasing categorization of music even mean anything
anymore? Probably not. Unfortunately, California’s A
Static Lullaby will probably always face it. Here’s
the band’s major problem: while its debut record, And
Don’t Forget to Breathe, is a surprisingly solid dose
of wicked hardcore stylings, clean emo melodies, and throat-shredding
screaming, ASL seems like the bridesmaid to Alexisonfire’s
bride. But A Static Lullaby is more abrasive, borrowing riffs
from Maiden (“A Sip of Wine Chased With Cyanide”)
and then throwing it all through an At The Drive-In-styled
grinder. The result is smashingly conceived, rich in texture
and vicious in its assaults. Even the Linkin Park-esque verses
of “We Go to Eleven” are engaging, before they
resolve in delicate soundscapes.
Melissa Martin |
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Big
Star
Big Star Story
(Ryko)
A+
Website:
www.rykodisc.com |
Any self-respecting
popular music fan probably owns at least one Big Star album.
The band, led by Alex Chilton, has influenced countless power-pop
and mope-rock bands since its brief existence in the early
’70s. Those who focus on the more fragile, unsettling
side of this doomed quartet totally miss the near-perfect
rock abandon Chilton and crew easily mastered. This 18-track
compilation wanders through the entire BS catalogue (all of
three albums thick) cherry-picking examples of a band at its
creative zenith. That Big Star was absolutely unsuccessful
during its life speaks more to record company incompetence
than lack of truly wonderful songs. The classic “September
Gurls” opens the set and for the uninitiated what follows
can only be described as unalloyed pop bliss. With any luck,
another generation of would-be pop stars will open their ears
and minds to this majesty.
Jeff Monk
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Jim
Bryson
The North Side Benches
(Orange Record Label/Universal)
A
Website: www.jimbryson.org |
While the debut solo
album from Ottawa singer-songwriter Jim Bryson was an impressive
transition from his former role as rocker with pop-punk quartet
Punchbuggy, it featured the occasional dud track. The North
Side Benches has no such lapses – it’s jam-packed
with beautifully realized tunes, all augmented by just the
right rootsy instrumental touches and topped off by Bryson’s
brushed-flannel voice. Whether it’s the sweet shuffle
of “The Lost Occasional,” the moody pulse of “Fleetwood,”
the scrappy, shit-kicking cow-punk of “Mean Streak,”
or the eerie, atmospheric “Broken Fingers,” Bryson
– who plays guitar, keyboards and harmonica and produced
the album with Ian LeFeuvre – crafts compelling choruses,
and exhibits admirable restraint, never overselling the song
with too many bells and whistles. Low-key and lovely, this
is quietly stirring stuff, a sleeper album of the best kind.
Jill Wilson |
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Nebula
Atomic Ritual
(Liquor & Poker)
B
Website: www.liquorandpokermusic.com |
On its fourth full-length
recording, California’s Nebula smacks down a weighty
dose of thumping, often mind-expanding, hard music. There
have been some lineup changes of late but the core of guitarist/vocalist
Eddie Glass and drummer Ruben Romano has remained to ably
bring the noise. Since guitar pyrotechnics are what usually
determine the worth of these kinds of groups, suffice it to
say that Mr. Glass has a tight handle on some explosive riffs.
There’s plenty of ’70s-informed Black Sabbath
worship and a dollop of speed metal mixed in with the typical
stoner-rock pseudo-psychedelia. The band gets big points for
mixing things up and Masters of Reality mainman Chris Goss
deserves a pat for his genre-defining production.
Jeff Monk |
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Papas
Fritas
Pop Has Freed Us
(Minty Fresh/Fusion3)
B
Website: www.papasfritas.com
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Papas Fritas formed
at Tufts University in 1993, and released their self-titled
full-length debut on Chicago’s Minty Fresh label in
1995. This compilation of tracks spanning the Boston trio’s
10-year career in indie pop is a stellar indication of the
way a good pop song can transcend low-fi production. Unfortunately,
it’s sometimes an indication of how crappy recording
quality can sap the life out of a decent tune – and
the way indie fans were far more forgiving of off-key vocals
and sloppy playing in the early ’90s. But Pop Has Freed
Us (which also contains new material and a DVD of videos)
has more than mere nostalgic appeal to aging college-rock
fans. The group, led by Tony Goddess, may never have achieved
its goal of sounding like Fleetwood Mac, but it sure cranked
out some corking sunny pop tunes in its day.
Jill Wilson |
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Various
Artists
The Sound of
San Francisco
(Alive Records)
C+
Website: www.alive-totalenergy.com
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For those who need
to rock, San Francisco salutes you! This 17-tracker courtesy
of the BOMP! Records-aligned Alive label brings together the
cream of the current underground crop in the famous Bay Area
burg. Following in the proud tradition of most good scene
comps, TSOSF offers a narrow stylistic range represented by
some of the better bands available. Standouts include the
sassy chick-punk of Nagg, the Aktion’s heavy, Raging
Slab-esque thunder and the new-wave-on-speed tenderness of
the boss Boyskout. For those who dig such things there’s
even some rootsy, stoner-drudge by the Low Flying Owls and
The Hotwire Titans. As an extra bonus, the liner notes are
written by none other than Deviants founder and all-around
high-energy author Mick Farren. Expect some temporary and
some timeless sounds.
Jeff Monk |
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Various
Artists
Verve – Remixed2
(Verve/Universal)
B-
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With so many electronic
producers digging through dusty record bins looking for rare
jazz records or spending loads of cash on session musicians
to get an authentic sound, many labels are opening their vast
vaults and giving free rein to remix classic artists like
Dizzy Gillespie, Nina Simone and Ella Fitzgerald. In the second
instalment of Verve’s Remixed series, a diverse lineup
of producers, including Metro Area, Dan the Automator and
Fila Brazillia, take on the task with mixed results. The slow,
simmering, piano-driven remix of Oscar Brown Jr.’s “Brother
Where Are You” and Migel Migg’s laidback house
rework of Fitzgerald’s “Angel Eyes” are
the best of the bunch, while Felix Da Housecat and DJ Spinna’s
contributions don’t measure up to their potential. A
second disc featuring the original versions makes for an interesting
comparison.
Anthony Augustine
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Buck
65
Talkin’ Honky Blues
(Warner)
B
Website: www.buck65.com |
Prolific Halifax hip-hopper
Buck 65 will see his first five recordings re-released according
to the terms of his new deal with Warner – a sign the
label may be in for the long haul. That’s a good thing,
since Buck 65 conjures up visceral tales of psychological
discomfort and vivid images of gothic Canadiana, such as his
search for Sasquatch, armed only with a quart of whisky. Buck’s
raspy vocal delivery augments rather than overpowers his lyrics,
a trait that works best when he chooses atmospheric, bluesy
backing music rather than pump-up-the-volume production tracks
and samples. “Wicked and Weird” may end up being
the calling card from this album, but the real gold is found
in a recurring song-cycle (rap-cycle?) called “Riverbed.”
Downbeat and dark, it evokes images of dark and misty evenings,
abandoned mattresses, rusty old bicycles and this environment’s
ghostly denizens.
John Kendle |
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Various
Artists
Beautiful: A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot
(Borealis/Northern Blues)
B-
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Gordon Lightfoot’s
canon is an unassailable, essential part of ‘official
Canadiana.’ Lightfoot was a bona fide hitmaker who was
unabashedly Canadian, with songs such as “Canadian Railroad
Trilogy” and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”
It’s not surprising then, that a collection of Canucks
who grew up with Gord crackling on the AM radio have decided
to tackle some of his compositions. Most songs are altogether
too faithful to the originals, but at least four cuts are
given new life by inspired readings. Cowboy Junkies contribute
a spellbinding “The Way I Feel,” which recaptures
their haunting best; Blue Rodeo offers a decidedly spare “Go
Go Round” that sounds like I imagine Yorkville sounded
in the ’60s. The two best tracks are rocked-up versions
of “Summer Side of Life” by Blackie and the Rodeo
Kings and a muscular, threatening “Black Day in July”
by The Tragically Hip.
John Kendle
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