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Check out
what’s going on
around Winnipeg tonight! |
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Check out
this week’s
online CD reviews by our
music staff |
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Dan Reeder
Dan Reeder
(Oh Boy Records)
B+
Website: www.ohboy.com
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American singer-songwriter
Dan Reeder is one wacky guy. Not only has he
invented and built his own arsenal of so-called ³trash²
instruments, but he
uses them to lift his quaint songs to the realm of sublime specialness.
Reeder wrote, recorded and produced all 18 of these joyfully idiosyncratic,
folk-tinged tunes that feature such lovely lyrical tidbits as
³What do you
want?/I want food and pussy./How come? Cos that¹s the way
God made me.² This
work rolls out like a lazy afternoon with nothing to do but wander
around
wondering why the sky is blue. The sentiments in these songs are
universal,
whether it¹s the cultural angst of Little Bitty Pee Pee or
the back-porch
philosophizing of The Brain is Not The Mind, and Reeder captures
the basic
essence of being human in a cheekily humorous way. Homespun as
all heck and
worth picking up.
Jeff Monk |
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Despistado
The Emergency Response
(Jade Tree)
B+
Website: www.despistadomusic.com
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Straight out of Saskatchewan
and straight into the CD player < Despistado
delivers the indie rock/emo goods on the six-song EP. Whereas
emo can
sometimes (read often) come off as whiny and annoying, Despistado¹s
version
is a catchy and energetic mix that smacks of originality and movement.
A
Stirsticks Prediction kicks off this debut disc in a flurry of
loud guitars
and is immediately followed by the solid grooves of Can I Please
Have an
Order of Girl w/a side of Confused and Taste This Picture. The
vocal
interplay of Dagan Harding and Joel Passmore works well throughout,
and
jangly guitars and quick rhythms keep things loose and flowing.
This short
disc checks in at just over 20 frantic minutes and will leave
you wanting
more.
Mike Warkentin |
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Delays
Faded Seaside Glamour
(Rough Trade)
A+
Website: www.thedelays.co.uk |
This glorious, shiny debut
from U.K. group Delays offers up a soundtrack for
your summer. Simply put, these four pretty British boys make pretty
music.
It¹s nigh impossible not to be in love with their dreamy,
twinkling,
¹60s-inspired pop < or with the boys themselves for that
matter. Faded
Seaside Glamour is, for the most part, full to the brim with trippy,
happy
song-making. Having already made it to No. 1 on the U.K.¹s
independent
charts, Faded Seaside Glamour has spawned two U.K. singles: Nearer
Than
Heaven and Long Time Coming. Surprisingly though, this album manages
to
maintain this same momentum throughout. Most of the tracks (Hey
Girl in
particular) will leave you wanting to take friends and lovers
by the hand
and skip merrily through canola fields, flying a kite. With its
sparkling
guitars, angelic vocals and music to make you smile, this beautiful
album
will brighten up your worst day. Buy it now, or be depressed forever.
Liz Hover |
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Ministry
Houses of the Mole
(Sanctuary)
A-
Website: www.ministrymusic.org
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Ironically, the recent
departure of Al Jourgensen¹s long-time collaborator
Paul Barker appears to have re-ignited rather than diminished
Ministry¹s
energy. With a nihilistic grin and a thundering beat, Ministry
storms back
with a sonic vengeance on this new album that returns to the brilliance
of
1992¹s Psalm 69 < and Houses... never lets up (if you
disregard the really
lame experimental closing track). The entire album is saturated
with a
deliciously dark and sarcastic sense of humour where nothing is
sacred <
especially if you¹re George W. Bush. Sound bites taken from
such diverse pop
culture sources as Carmina Burana to Dubya himself are woven around
the
driving industrial beat with surprising effect. After a string
of uninspired
albums, Ministry¹s strong return is a pleasant surprise.
It¹s too bad it
took another Bush in the White House to get another decent album
out of the
group.
Karl Thomsen |
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Reverend Horton Heat
Revival
(Yep Roc)
B-
Website: www.reverendhortonheat.com
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"Red Ryder, this
is the Cotton Mouth in the psychobilly cadillac, the
Reverend is back in town, come on." The ninth disc from Texas
trio Reverend
Horton Heat is a 15-song, reverb-laden rockabilly romp tinged
with country
and just a little bit of swing. Jim Heath and co. have been doing
this for a
long time now, and they've certainly got the hang of things. The
Rev's
fingers are as nimble as ever on Revival, and this trio can really
move on
tracks such as Callin' in Twisted and Indigo Friends. RRH can
also slow
things down a little bit, with Heath sounding a bit like ol¹
Johnny Cash on
Someone in Heaven and Lonesome Man. There isn't a whole lot of
new here, but
if you're a member of Heat's congregation, you'll like this disc.
Amen.
Mike Warkentin |
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Two Dollar Pistols
Hands Up
(Yep Roc)
B+
Website: www.twodollarpistols.net
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North Carolina¹s
Two Dollar Pistols lay down the kind of classic honky-tonk,
Country & Western weepers and shuffles that make fans of this
gold quiver
joyfully in their pointy-toed cow-pie kickers. John Howie Jr.¹s
deep and
delicious voice is the centre of attention here < imagine Johnny
Cash backed
by Dwight Yoakam¹s band and you get the idea. Howie Jr. sings
mostly about
lost loves and lessons learned too late, all lifted to hog heaven
by potent
boom-chukka-lukka rhythms. Recording at Rick Miller¹s (Southern
Culture on
the Skids) Kudzu Ranch Studio seems to have added an authentic
timbre to the
sounds laid down here. Howie and the TDP can hang their stetsons
proudly
next to Bakersfield old-schoolers such as Merle Haggard and Buck
Owens. Not
to be confused with New Country hat acts, these cool cats are
the real
thing.
Jeff Monk |
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Secret Machines
Now Here is Nowhere
(Reprise Records)
B
Website: www.thesecretmachines.com
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This second release from
New York-based trio Secret Machines is pretentious
and self-indulgent. It even opens with a nine-minute track. But,
God damn
it, it¹s still good. Give them a chance and Secret Machines
sure know how to
do the big, drawn-out anthemic rock thing. Yep, Now Here is Nowhere
has an
otherworldly feel to it. Together with Pink Floyd engineer Jeff
Blenkinsopp,
Secret Machines have created an album of hypnotic, vibratory and
vaguely
cosmic rock. This collaboration is especially evident on Pharaoh¹s
Daughter,
with obvious echoes of the unmistakable Pink Floyd sound. These
guys sound
like they mean business and have probably spent far too long locked
away in
their bedrooms dreaming of becoming Oserious rock musicians.¹
They¹re tipped
for big things, and with their big songs, they probably won¹t
be dreaming
about success for much longer < they¹ll be living it.
Liz Hover |
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The Cure
The Cure
(Geffen/Universal)
B-
Website: www.thecure.com
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Surviving the exaggerated
rumours of its demise, The Cure returns from the
dead to deliver its first studio album in four years. Never straying
too far
from its trademark sound, the band¹s knack for beautiful
misery remains
intact. The lead-off single, The End of the World, is a pop-polished
slice
of sadness that sounds as good as anything Robert Smith and co.
have done in
the past. At the same time, the overall sound has taken on a cleaner,
rawer
feel that gives a greater emotional impact to many songs, especially
with
opening and closing tracks Lost and The Promise. Smith¹s
vocals sound
stronger and more focused than they have in a long time; unfortunately,
this
also means you can clearly hear how weak and uninspired the lyrics
are. It¹s
encouraging to see the renewed energy the band brings to its latest
recording, but ultimately this album is just not very satisfying.
The Cure
has done this all before < and better.
Karl Thomsen |
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Eleni Mandell
Afternoon
(Zedtone)
A-
Website: www.elenimandell.com
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Since the release of her
brilliant sophomore record, Thrill, Eleni Mandell
has been most regrettably under-recognized. But she is a rare
gem in a
crowded world of female singer-songwriters. Instantly distinctive
in form
and sound, Mandell¹s voice purrs with subtexts of sex and
even sarcasm. Her
accomplished melodies are at once naughtily captivating while
the boozy
roadhouse instrumentals blend blues, Americana and folk to satisfying
effect. Over her last two records (Snakebite and Country for True
Lovers),
Mandell has moved away from the music-noir of Thrill, travelling
into more
reflective and relaxed territory. On Afternoon, however, she brings
back
some of her husky depth and darker influences, prowling through
Just a Dream
and dreamily murmuring through the graceful I¹ve Been Fooled.
Melissa Martin |
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