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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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All-American
Rejects
Move Along
(Interscope)
B
Website: www.allamericanrejects.com
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Remember this? “Swing,
swing from the tangles of my heart, is crushed by a former
love.” Don’t even pretend you don’t…
you liar… That catchy little number from the Rejects’
first album was pretty much all I had heard from or about
these guys until this new album, Move Along. And to tell you
the truth, I’m impressed with this Oklahoma quartet.
These guys have the ability to write fun pop songs without
sacrificing lyrical content, and the music itself is tight
and well produced. I know it’s not everyone’s
cup of tea and might be a little slow and soft for some fans
of the genre, but after one listen to the pop-punk/emo hooks
on this album, you can understand why so many listeners have
been converted. Simply put, this is just good head-bobbin’
music. The Rejects know how to keep it light — but tight.
Brodie Sanderson
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Billy Corgan
TheFutureEmbrace
(Warner/Reprise)
B+
Website: www.billycorgan.com
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The former Smashing
Pumpkins frontman is really starting to look like a hairless
cat — but Billy can get away with it if he keeps putting
out quality albums such as this. TheFutureEmbrace, Corgan’s
first solo outing, finds him layering effects, samples and
drum loops to create a fuzzy, ethereal collection of melodic
tunes. “Ain’t I something’/I feel nothin’,”
Corgan sings on Dia (which features former Pumpkin Jimmy
Chamberlin on drums), and the line provides a pretty accurate
description of the entire album. Fans looking for the rock
of the Pumpkins will be disappointed, but those who can
appreciate almost experimental soundscapes will be more
than impressed by these 12 tracks. Corgan’s unique
voice provides a perfect balance for all the dreamy effects
and helps create the illusion that you’re swimming
in cotton balls. Meow, Billy. Very meow.
Mike Warkentin
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Britt Black
Blackout
(Her Royal Majesty’s Records)
C
Website: www.brittblack.com
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After playing guitar
in Live on Release, then filling in with Bif Naked’s
band, 20-year-old Britt Black has stepped to the forefront
on Blackout. With help from her daddy manager, Her Royal
Majesty’s Records (owned by Bif), and producer/writer
Todd Kerns, Blackout is a straight shot of rock ’n’
roll. The music is pure ’80s, Sunset Strip glam rock,
and Blackout pounds out the big choruses and cheesy power
ballads as well as all the Warrants in the world. The dozen
originals, all co-written by Britt, are pretty standard
fare. She tries for cred by covering The Cult’s She
Sells Sanctuary, but it falls flat. She should have gone
for an angry, Joan Jett kind of vibe.
Ashley McCurdy
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Various
Artists
Trojan Dub Massive - Volumes 1 & 2
(Sanctuary Records Group)
A
Website: www.trojanrecords.com
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It’s anyone’s
guess when the variegated vaults of the venerable Trojan
Records will finally loose their last roots-reggae jewel,
especially when you have knowledgeable cats such as respectful
muso Bill Laswell trawling through the stacks of wax.
The vaults obviously still have a few gems left, and Dub
Massive pure proof of that — it’s 36 stellar
deep-dub tracks spread across two discs, all threaded together
into what you might call a riddim suite by the talented
‘placer’ Laswell.
Using his own celebrated musical ear, Laswell brings this
project to the highest level of honour, combining brilliant
track after brilliant track into a cohesive piece that could
only be experienced better if you were living in Kingston,
Jamaica, in the mid-’70s.
Both sets represent the gold-standard rootsmen of the island
— dub-wise monster killers Sly & the Revolutionaries,
Lee Perry and the Upsetters, Prince Jammy, King Tubby, Ras
Michael and Augustus Pablo — all seamlessly blended
into a dreadlocked space journey that doesn’t quit.
Jeff Monk |
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Flotsam and Jetsam
Dreams of Death
(Crash/Fusion 3)
C
Website: www.flotsam-and-jetsam.com
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Left behind as Metallica
and Megadeth rose to prominence in the mid-to-late ’80s,
Flotsam and Jetsam has been toiling in semi-obscurity for
a long time. In fact, the band is sometimes best known as
“that group Jason Newsted played in before he got the
Metallica gig.” Nevertheless, Dreams of Death, F&J’s
ninth album, finds original members vocalist Eric (A.K.) Knutson
and guitarist Edward Carlson still holding the fort, even
if the high and mighty metal days are long past. Drummer Craig
Nielsen, bassist Jason Ward and guitarist Mark Simpson round
out the current lineup. This latest disc has the occasional
hint of ’86-vintage thrash (as on Look in His Eyes),
but as a whole it’s slower and more melodic. Tracks
such as Bleed tend to lumber along on heavy riffs with the
odd screaming guitar solo rising above it all. The musicianship
is precise but the bite is gone, and maybe these guys have
mellowed a bit with age. Dreams of Death just lacks a visceral
kick that would set it apart from the piles and piles of mediocre
metal produced by every dude with a detuned guitar and a Pantera
T-shirt. Stick with the classic 1986 Flotsam and Jetsam album
Doomsday for the Deceiver.
Mike Warkentin |
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Wolf Parade
Wolf Parade
(Sub Pop)
B-
Website: www.subpop.com
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Since the days of
grunge, we haven’t heard all that much from Seattle’s
Sub Pop. This new release is a self-titled EP by Montreal’s
Wolf Parade, and it’s typical of the label’s recent
interest in the new wave of indie rock. The disc — which
is a teaser for a full-length album due next month —
only contains four songs, and tracks such as Shine a Light,
You Are a Runner and I Am My Father’s Son tantalize
with exciting pop explosions mixing washes of guitar and keyboards.
Each song is like a rock epic but still evokes the best elements
of pop music — think Flaming Lips fronted by Bowie circa
1975. The forthcoming full-length, Apologies to the Queen
Mary, is being produced by Modest Mouse mainman Isaac Brock.
Ashley McCurdy |
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Shrift
Lost in a Moment
(Six Degrees Records)
B+
Website: www.sixdegreesrecords.com
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Summer is full
of cheesy wedding music, but if you want to lose yourself
in some truly romantic tunes, pick up Shrift’s debut
album. Composed of former Smoke City vocalist Nina Miranda
and producer Dennis Wheatley, this duo successfully fuses
sweet vocals and acoustic guitar with electronic soundscapes.
Although many artists have started to jump on the folk-tronica
bandwagon, Shrift’s sound is unique and seductive.
The shimmering, sea-like sounds and dreamy vocals on opening
track Lost in a Moment will make you want to book your winter
getaway now. Snow Samba threatens to sound like a record
playing in reverse, but who cares — it’s pure
relaxation. On Yes I Love You, Miranda’s whispering
voice is accompanied by a dramatic melody and slow percussion.
The entire disc is perfect for the bedroom, honeymoon or
not.
Shannon Ander
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Buck 65
Secret House Against the World
(Warner Music Canada)
B+
Website: www.warnermusic.ca
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Like him or not,
Rich Terfry has come a long way from his home in Nova Scotia.
On his follow-up to 2003’s Talkin’ Honky Blues,
the so-called folk-rapper sounds like everyone says he does,
and visions of Johnny Cash-esque storytelling appear on
the first track, Rough House Blues. Buck fuses country with
DJ skills, and you’ll have a hard time deciding between
line dancing and break-dancing. The influence of Leonard
Cohen emerges on The Floor and Blood of the Young Wolf,
where Buck half-reads, half-rhymes over country twanging.
He spends a little time talking about some of the more important
things in life — sex, cinema and politics —
with his wife, Claire Berest, on the French-pop tune Le
65isme. It’s a little bit country and a little bit
industrial — with a lot of kookiness. More please.
Shannon Ander
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