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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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Cake
Pressure Chief
(Columbia)
B-
Website: www.cakemusic.com
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Cake has a way of
making quirky, slacker pop-rock sound even more lazy and effortless
than... ah, you finish the metaphor... or comparative... or
whatever. As lazy as it may seem, there’s really nothing
careless about Pressure Chef, the fifth album from this geeky
Sacramento crew. Using synths, horns, effects and the spoken-word
delivery of John McCrea, Cake once again creates the simple,
wry, nerd-funk that fans have come to expect. Nevertheless,
some of the band’s signature whimsy seems lost. Carbon
Monoxide and Dime come close to capturing the smug energy
of previous releases, but there’s no Short Skirt/Long
Jacket or Comfort Eagle here, and Pressure Chef just feels
somehow darker. McCrea’s gift for lyrics and delivery
is still very much apparent, particularly on Wheels, but after
10 years, this Cake is in danger of getting a little bit stale.
Mike Warkentin
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Interpol
Antics
(Matador)
A
Website: www.interpolny.com
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You can’t open
a newspaper or magazine without Interpol being shoved down
your neck right now. Listen to Antics and it’s clear
why — you’ll want to take this album to bed, stroke
it lovingly then take it out downtown and show it off. This
glorious, über-cool second release from the New York
band is emotional and dark and will have you reaching for
your black eyeliner and shimmying Goth-like around your apartment
(following the dose of TLC). Antics is packed with intense
tunes, steeped in a big cup of early-’80s new wave.
The songs here are so stylishly crafted you might want to
buy yourself a new outfit to listen to them in. This is a
first-class album that deserves heaps of attention and plenty
of listens on your CD player. Highlights come in abundance,
but check out Narc, Take You on a Cruise and C’Mere.
Liz Hover |
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William
Shatner
Has Been
(Shout!)
A+
Website: www.shoutfactory.com |
Everyone remembers
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds from 1968’s The Transformed
Man, and no one takes Bill Shatner seriously anymore. The
thing is, Shatner doesn’t take himself seriously and
has been happily heaping abuse on himself for years. Nevertheless,
in some bizarre twist of fate, Has Been is as brilliant as
a supernova off the port bow of the Enterprise. Produced by
Ben Folds and featuring appearances by Henry Rollins and Joe
Jackson, this album defies categorization. Alternating between
hilarious camp (I’ll Have Time) and shocking honesty
(What Have You Done, about the 1999 drowning of Shatner’s
wife), Shatner’s spoken-words and Folds’ arrangements
are oddly compelling — dammit Jim, they’re almost
magical. The best track on the album is an amazing cover of
Pulp’s Common People. Get this album — it’s
a broken clock that is for one stunning moment telling the
right time.
Mike Warkentin |
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Kaskade
In the Moment
(Om Records)
B+
Website:
www.kaskademusic.com
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Was it the seemingly
overnight success that limited Chicago-born Ryan Raddon to
come up with a proper alias? I’ll lay off the lame moniker
Kaskade has chosen for himself since this album is pretty
smokin’. With its lineup of house music all-stars Mark
Farina, Fred Everything, Juan Atkins and others, the Om label
rarely disappoints. Just mix this CD with some red wine and
your ultra-cool dinner party guests will forget all about
the undercooked meal as they dance the night away. Featuring
nine vocalists, this disc really leaves no room for boredom
— especially with the funky basslines of Steppin’
out and, my favorite track, Move, which will make you do just
that.
Shannon Ander
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The
Clash
London Calling: 25th Anniversary Legacy Edition
(Epic/Sony)
A+
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In the autumn of 1979,
14-year-old John Kendle was seriously pissed that London Calling
was not released in North America until January 1980. Thankfully
Sony has not insisted on this delay 25 years later. So what’s
so special about this package? It contains the long-lost Vanilla
Tapes, a selection of demos and rough mixes made while The
Clash prepped to record their greatest album. Fans will marvel
at lyrical changes and rearrangements while musos will relish
the sound of a band at work. Even more fascinating is the
interview footage on the accompanying DVD. Shot at the same
time as Westway to the World, this film gives the floor to
Clash PR man Kozmo Vinyl, who faithfully tells the tale of
the recording, interspersed with quotes from band members.
Most exciting are the grainy, black-and-white images of producer
Guy Stevens, a madman who literally bullied the band into
its once-in-a-lifetime performance.
John Kendle |
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Duran
Duran
Astronaut
(Epic)
D
Website: www.duranduran.com
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The idea of the original
Duran boys reuniting should have remained a fantasy and never
a reality. Astronaut is a middle-of-the-road, soft rock effort
with shiny production and a distinct lack of hits. Opening
track (Reach Up for the) Sunrise is poppy enough but omits
all the magic of the boys in their heyday, and Le Bon’s
shocking rapping on Bedroom Toys is enough to make you wonder
why you ever fancied the singer in the first place. Every
other song is instantly forgettable and makes for bad album
filler. While the group could have jumped on the ’80s
revival bandwagon by capturing the infectious, pretty pop
they once churned out, it chose a different and ultimately
lacklustre path. The best advice would be to stick your dog-eared
copy of Rio on the turntable and reminisce.
Liz Hover |
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Willie Nelson & Friends
Outlaws and Angels
(Lost Highway)
B+
Website: www.universalcountry.ca
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Here’s another
duets album from Willie, this time under the full-coverage
media umbrella of a television special. There are some great
matchups on this 19-track album — while a few others
are just plain dumb. Obviously Willie can blend his rustic
yet righteous talents well with old schoolmates such as Merle
Haggard and the Holmes Brothers. Keith Richards, Toots Hibbert,
Rickie Lee Jones and Los Lonely Boys up the ante considerably
with fine renditions of well-known songs done Nelson-style.
Willie fans will even tolerate the grizzled Texan being matched
with contemporary country lesser lights such as Toby Keith,
Lee Ann Womack and Shelby Lynne. Tossing in Kid Rock is just
a bad idea — his brand of ironic, white trash boogie
(wasn’t he a rapper once?) will soon be forgotten no
matter how many actresses he dates and dumps.
Jeff Monk |
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Various
Artists
Por Vida: A Tribute to the Songs of Alejandro Escovedo
(Or Music)
A
Website: www.ormusic.com
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This album, a living
tribute to the ailing U.S. roots-rock kingpin Alejandro Escovedo,
comes up aces all around. The two discs here are packed with
offerings from the brightest lights in alternative roots-rock
today. From the square (Bob Neuwirth, Jennifer Warnes) to
the currently hip (Calexico, Son Volt, The Minus 5, Steve
Earle) to the legendary (John Cale, Lenny Kaye, Ian Hunter,
Charlie Musselwhite), they gang’s all here. Escovedo’s
songs have really never sounded better, benefiting from the
varied readings they receive at the hands and voices of this
massive pool of talent. There are a few bummers, of course,
but they are surrounded by such excellence that you may hardly
notice how weird Howe Gelb is. If you own no Alejandro Escovedo
albums but really dig rocking roots music, you need this.
Jeff Monk |
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Tiesto
Just be
(Nettwerk)
B-
Website: www.tiesto.com
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In his second disc
of original work, the world’s top trance DJ puts his
decks aside to show how he would do things himself. The first
track on Just Be eases in with classical sweeping strings
before hitting with Tiesto’s signature uplifting trance.
There are some excellent dance tracks but it’s easy
to envision confused club kids as they listen to some of the
more down-tempo tracks, wondering just what to do with their
whistles and glow sticks. This is Tiesto’s attempt to
branch out from his signature sound, but it comes across as
choppy when slower tracks are interspersed with the soon-to-be
club-land favorites. All in all, Tiesto’s second artist
album is a well-produced electronic epic and is a must-have
for his fans — but die-hard trance lovers should stick
to his mixes.
Shannon Ander |
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