 |
 |
 |
Check out
what’s going on
around Winnipeg tonight! |
 |
|
 |
|
Check out
this week’s
online CD reviews by our
music staff |
|
|
|
 |
Badly Drawn Boy
One Plus One is One
(XL Recordings)
A
Website: www.badlydrawnboy.co.uk
|
Ever since the release
of his acclaimed 2000 debut, The Hour of Bewilderbeast, some critics
can’t decide if Damon Gough is a one-trick pony or a genius.
His charming style causes no such confusion for this reviewer.
Gough’s third album (or fourth if you count the About a
Boy soundtrack) is full of enchantment. True, he doesn’t
have a great voice, but Gough’s appeal lies in his honest,
no-frills approach and lucid lyrics. Less commercial than Have
you Fed the Fish, this album at times sounds like a child’s
music box and has Gough evoking some of the innocence found on
his debut. He loves to experiment with sound, littering the record
with trickling water, chatter, clink-clunk and sunny musical interludes.
Winnipeggers will no doubt relate to Summertime in Wintertime.
Other highlights include the beautiful This is That New Song,
the catchy Year of the Rat and Four Leaf Clover.
Liz Hover |
|
|
Reels
Reels
(Indie)
C+
Website: www.reelsband.com
|
This debut, eight-cut
offering from Halifax trio Reels is a brisk trip through several
different styles. Wandering between acoustic pop and alt-country,
Reels offers sparse instrumentation and silky-smooth textures
that result in dreamy, almost ethereal songs. In fact, this band
is at its best when it’s moving less towards country and
more towards near-psychedelic landscapes. Check out Clearer, Today
and Reel to Reel as the best examples of this. Craig Buckley’s
vocals are soft and melodic throughout, but perhaps could be a
little more robust and edgy on some tracks. In all, this isn’t
a bad effort from a band looking to find itself; these guys just
need to dial in a sound, then hone their craft a little.
Mike Warkentin
|
|
|
Gordon Lightfoot
Harmony
(Linus Entertainment)
B
Website: www.linusentertainment.com |
Dogged Canuck folk-music
legend Gordie Lightfoot very nearly had a 19-album career. Prior
to getting his 20th recording completed, the favourite son of
Orillia, Ont., burst an artery and nearly died. This album’s
backing tracks were built around Lightfoot’s earlier recorded
demos, and when he left the hospital his vocals were added afresh.
Harmony is a worthy addition to the legend’s body of work
— and there may even be some new classics hidden here. No
Mistake About It is a subtly twisted love song featuring the wizened
one’s trademark pinched nasal phrasing. The No Hotel finds
the bard turning a real-life experience in the Amazon into a grey
tale of regret. Tribute track Couchiching has a near-Eastern lilt
driving the simple yet descriptive lyrics. Twenty albums on and
the rustic Lightfoot still maintains his wonderfully pure Canadian
identity.
Jeff Monk |
|
|
Ghost of Science
Safe
(Indie)
B-
Website: www.ghostofscience.com
|
Heavily influenced by
Radiohead, these five guys from B.C. have more or less been together
since 1999 and are all about making honest and heartfelt music.
The best way to characterize this seven-track, pop-rock debut
is probably by saying that it’s patient. Ghost of Science
isn’t afraid to let things develop slowly, and this is the
band’s best quality. The music here doesn’t seem contrived,
and when the guys wander off into instrumental jams (as on This
is how It Comes), it feels as if they’re following the song
rather than forcing the issue. Singer Gilles Maillet boasts a
nice falsetto in places, and his softer moments are better than
his work on more aggressive tracks such as New. Mid-tempo and
melodic, this is a relaxing disc that showcases a careful, sensitive
band.
Mike Warkentin |
|
|
Hurricane Party
Get This
(Sanctuary)
B
Website: www.hurricaneparty.co.uk
|
You can stack Marshalls
higher than The Darkness and own more Gibsons than Angus himself,
but somehow it’s difficult to imitate the astoundingly simple
yet legendary hooks of AC/DC, Mötley Crüe and others.
Hurricane Party is the latest group to take its shot at the title,
offering up a five-song EP laden with wide-open chords, bluesy
basics and Bon Jovi/Sebastian Bach vocals. This U.K. band looking
to ride the wave of retro cool isn’t bad at all. The problem
is that HP is just such an obvious mish-mash of bands that it’s
tough to understand who these guys really are. The Darkness added
its own comic flare to Queen and AC/DC, but Hurricane Party seems
just a little lost in metal majesty. Get This rocks, but it’s
no substitute for original Crüe or Skid Row.
Mike Warkentin |
|
|
Charlie Mars
Charlie Mars
(V2 Records)
B
Website: www.charliemars.com
|
Call me shallow, but I
admit to being swayed by the good looks of this young singer/songwriter
from Mississippi. Fortunately, Charlie Mars’ material also
measures up. Mars’ style is equal parts mellow and melodic
rock. Lucky for him, a win at a casino one drunken evening left
the singer with $16,000 and the finances to continue songwriting
as a he waited for his big break. Then he struck a record deal
and thus this first major label release emerged — although
he’s self-released several others. Mars comes off all Stereophonics
on the opening track, with a bit of Bruce Springsteen and a touch
of Coldplay’s melancholy thrown in. Unlikely to be a classic
album of any proportions, this self-titled disc is still worthy
of a listen with its soaring string arrangements and lush harmonies.
Check out Gather the Horses — probably the best track here
— Close to Home and When the Sun Goes Down.
Liz Hover |
|
|
Various
Artists
Touch My Heart: A Tribute To Johnny Paycheck
(Sugar Hill)
A
Website: www.sugarhillrecords.com
|
It’s doubtful that
late country music singer Johnny (Donald Lytle) Paycheck will
be remembered by the casual country music fan for anything more
than his happy-hour classic Take This Job and Shove It. However,
this 16-track tribute album proves Paycheck was much more than
a one-trick pony. Hip alt-country dude Robbie Fulks put the word
out, and the resulting contributions by a crazy quilt of artists
reveal that the one-hit wonderfulness of Take This Job... was
no fluke. There are some breathtaking performances on this collection,
including Dallas Wayne’s take on the heart-wrenching I Did
The Right Thing and George Jones’ perfect honky-tonk reading
of She’s All I Got. Lloyd Green’s pedal steel guitar
is the star of nearly every track, providing the necessary juice
to make this album a truly touching tribute to an underrated artist.
Jeff Monk |
|
|
Prodigy
Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned
(XL)
A
Website: www.theprodigy.com
|
Prodigy’s fifth
album is not as instantly mainstream accessible as the group’s
1997 breakthrough, The Fat of the Land. The closest thing to Firestarter
on this disc is opening track Spitfire — after that we’re
getting into purer electronica straight from the mind of Liam
Howlett. Former Prodigy members Maxim and Keith Flint are out;
Noel and Liam Gallagher, Juliette Lewis and samples of Thriller
are in. The result is a dense and intriguing mix of samples and
sounds that throbs and pulses hypnotically. Always Outnumbered...
is a trippy disc, characterized by brilliant tracks Hot Ride and
Medusa’s Path and You’ll Be Under My Wheels. This
is not the Prodigy of The Fat of the Land fame — but that
shouldn’t stop you from picking up this disc and strapping
on your headphones for repeated high-volume listening.
Mike Warkentin |
|
|
The
Charlie Daniels Band
Essential Super Hits
(Koch/Blue Hat Records)
C
Website: www.charliedaniels.com
|
While the title of this
16-track set (with 5-song DVD included) may be a touch of an overstatement,
some folks may know at least one CDB ‘hit.’ These
re-recorded gems reveal the big fiddler’s strong commitment
to all things American. Daniels is one of those confusing near-jingoists
who believes Old Glory is the only way to go in this life. What
doesn’t fit under the all-encompassing protection of the
Stars and Stripes is regarded as a necessary evil by these types,
and Daniels’ most recent songs are full of national pride
and unvarnished patriotism. This Ain’t No Rag, It’s
a Flag stands fully erect next to wonderfully narrow-viewpoint
tracks such as In America, The Pledge of Allegiance and Still
in Saigon. Over-busy, progressive-country rock for the gun-rack-and-stetson
crew.
Jeff Monk |
|
|
Uptown
Magazine - Winnipeg's Online Source for Arts, Entertainment & News