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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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Young Heart Attack
Mouthful of Love
(XL Recordings)
B+
Website: www.youngheartattack.net
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This release from
six-piece Texan outfit YHA is rock in full throttle. Packed
with snarling guitars and gigantic, ear-popping energy that
lasts a mere 34 minutes, this disc is akin to AC/DC and Joan
Jett pogoing in a packed and sweaty nightclub fuelled by amphetamines.
This is foxy rock and full-on guitar masturbation. Yikes!
Not for the fainthearted. And how apt their name seems —
pulses will certainly race. Title track Mouthful of Love,
whilst a petrifying concoction of spine-chilling vocals and
screeching guitars, is one kick-ass, rip-roaring way to open
a debut album. YHA also cover MC5’s Over and Over with
the enthusiasm of true rock lovers. This is the kind of music
that gets TV’s thrown out of hotel windows. Strap yourself
in if someone sticks this in the CD player — you’re
in for one hell of a rock roller coaster ride.
Liz Hover |
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Social
Code
A Year at the Movies
(Interscope)
C
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Social Code recalls
Our Lady Peace — both the ballsy guys who made Naveed
and the sissies who have made most of the records since OLP’s
debut. This Edmonton post-grunge/nü metal group similarly
shows two sides on this disc, opening with four heavy, hook-filled
anthems before shifting into by-the-numbers Canadian post-grunge
for the rest of the disc. Travis Nesbitt’s voice is
edgier than Raine Maida’s ever was, and he brings some
grit to a disc that only sometimes shows flashes of cutting
the production strings. Nevertheless, despite being catchy
at times, this disc is above all else a radio-ready effort
perfectly suited to fit between Nickelback and Default on
Power 97. Tracks such as Miss You, Perfect Grave and I Was
Wrong are clearly manufactured and ruin the overall character
of this effort.
Mike Warkentin |
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Bad
Religion
The Empire Strikes First
(Epitaph)
A
Website: www.epitaph.com |
Veteran punk rock
band Bad Religion is back with another instalment of political
criticism and social commentary — just in time for upcoming
elections in both Canada and the U.S. Whatever fuels this
effort — zeitgeist or the creative genius of Brett Gurewitz
(who rejoined the band in 2001) and Greg Graffin — The
Empire is a polished and hook-filled punk masterpiece. The
rhythms are driving and frantic, the layered vocals are tight,
and the guitars are crackling and relentless. Solid throughout,
this disc shines in the middle stages on the strength of a
trio of true modern punk gems. The melodic Los Angeles is
Burning is unbelievably catchy and uses the siren screams
of a Hammond B3 to maximum effect; Let Them Eat War is a brilliant
and inspiring anti-Bush anthem; and God’s Love showcases
the solid vocal harmonies BR is known for. Pick up this disc,
put a fist in the air and go cast your vote.
Mike Warkentin |
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Gene
Simmons
Asshole
(Sanctuary)
C
Website: www.genesimmons.com
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It would seem that
the whole of KISS is more than the sum of it’s parts.
Gene Simmons kicks off this strange disc with the wide open
and rocking Sweet and Dirty Love, then follows it up with
a rocked up version of Prodigy’s Firestarter. Both of
these tracks show some promise, but the God of Thunder’s
stamina is sadly lacking throughout the rest of this 13-track
album. Simmons slows things down a little on the piano tune
Waiting for the Morning Light (co-written with Bob Dylan),
turns loungy on Beautiful, and seems to be trying for an unholy
Beatles vibe on Now That You’re Gone. The title track
offers lyrics so stupidly hilarious that they might be the
only reward for those who buy this disc. Simmons puts a six-inch
heel in your ass with two tracks, but the rest of this album
just doesn’t hold together in its odd musical journey.
Mike Warkentin |
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Merle Haggard
Like Never Before
(Hag Records Inc.)
A
Website: www.merlehaggard.com
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Merle Haggard is no
spring chicken. The Hag tips his stetson to his dental surgeon
on the sleeve of his new 11-track album, and if you saw him
play the Centennial Concert Hall recently you know he and
his band move pretty easily. It really makes no difference,
especially when Haggard has been performing at pretty much
the same medium tempo his whole life. Like Never Before is
full of solid songs fashioned in the classic honky tonk style
and instrumentation. Old Merle has strayed only slightly from
his Western swing bent of late into a more classic Country
& Western mode. The sole cover (Woody Guthrie’s
Reno Blues) with guest Willie Nelson is as sweet as can be.
Lonesome Day and Garbage Man swing along breezily, lifted
by steel and fiddle juice, while The Downside is shot full
of heart-wrenching insights. The Hag renaissance continues.
Jeff Monk |
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The
Icarus Line
Penance Soiree
(V2)
A
Website: www.theicarusline.com
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This right here is
some solid music from the school of indie rock, punk revival
and psychedelia. Hell, The Icarus Line might be teaching the
classes in that school. Lessons would include max distortion,
vocal static, feedback, the divine art of noise, trippy album
art and general druggy amibience — all of which TIL
shows mastery of on this sophomore album. This 13-track disc
simply oozes with character that smells vaguely of chemicals
and brings an unconscious sneer to the lip. Joe Cardamone’s
vocals wander aimlessly over solid guitar grooves and prove
the Tolkien adage “Not all who wander are lost.”
Check out Up Against the Wall for some bass-heavy retro-punk
and Virgin Velcro for screeching walls of sound that offer
blissful confusion. Listening to this disc, you just know
TIL trashes a lot of instruments at the end of a show.
Mike Warkentin |
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Duke Robillard
Blue Mood — The Songs of T-Bone Walker
(Stony Plain Records)
B+
Website: www.stonyplainrecords.com
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Late Texas musician
T-Bone Walker is regarded as the guitarist who had the most
influence on the early urban blues players. His thick sound
and flashy playing style (he soloed behind his head decades
before Hendrix) can be tracked easily through to cats such
as Chuck Berry, and any Texas bluesman worth his weight in
armadillo chili knows the T-Bone Shuffle or Stormy Monday
Blues backwards and forwards. While Duke Robillard may not
hail from the Lone Star State he sure knows his ’Bone
business. This concept album — of sorts — works
perfectly for Robillard; he’s been playing this way
for years and seems pleased to be paying tribute in this cool
way. The album has almost a big band feel to it with the Duke
reeling off tasty solos throughout. A history lesson and a
great listen in one jumping package.
Jeff Monk |
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Electrelane
The Power Out
(Too Pure)
C-
Website: www.electrelane.com
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Hailing from Brighton,
England, Electrelane was formed in the aftermath of the Riot
Grrrl movement. While Brighton has successfully spawned a
number of acclaimed U.K alternative acts, it’s a shame
then that Electrelane isn’t amongst them. On The Power
Out, this all-female quartet is at best varied and at worst
dull. Singer Verity Susman squawks and wails her way through;
she sings in monotone in four languages and is, for the most
part, a bit pretentious. Produced by Steve Albini, this album
does offer the quite beautiful, down-tempo The Valley, which
features some very effectual male/female harmonies. Most tracks,
however, shuffle along with forgettable lyrics and drab, pained
vocals sometimes reminiscent of Stereolab. This Deed has a
bit more substance to it — despite the wailing —
and the synthy Love Builds Up is instrumental, so we’re
saved from the vocal assault. Overall, this is a disjointed
album that sounds a bit lost.
Liz Hover |
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Dexter Romweber
Blues That Defy My Soul
(Yep Roc Records)
A
Website: www.yeproc.com
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It seems kind of hilarious
that U.S. rockabilly stylist Dexter Romweber has officially
gone solo. His main claim to fame was as the guiding force
of Flat Duo Jets — a two piece band. Now that he is
on his ownsome, Dex is still throwing down the same brand
of pent-up trash rock as he ever was. Romweber has become
a sort of repository for bashed-up blues and snarling guitar
mess from another decade. Blues... is a head-spinning mixture
of spaghetti-western instrumental bawdiness (Nephretite),
loose and squirrely rockabilly (The 309, Rockin’ Dead
Man) and classic 1950s heroic croons (I’ve Lost My Heart
To You). The album is subtitled “Solo! Duo! Trio!”
which gives you a pretty fair idea of the sparse instrumentation
here. This album rocks, rolls and wiggles just perfectly —
and that is exactly what your soul needs.
Jeff Monk |
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