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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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Altered
Aeon
Dispiritism
(Black Lotus Records/PHD Canada)
C-
Website: www.alteredaeon.cjb.net
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Death/power metal outfit
Altered Aeon has me perplexed. These Swedish bangers kick out
snarling verses, soaring choruses, riffs that pound relentlessly,
ear-piercing leads, damn fine drumming, ultra-technical arrangements
— you know, all the things that make a great heavy metal
band. So what’s wrong? Well, try to remember one song after
listening to it. Album closer Welcome Home may stick in your head,
but that’s only because it’s a cover of a King Diamond
song. Slayer can offer up similar songs over and over again, but
Slayer is Slayer. Altered Aeon is not Slayer. Dispiritism can
get your head banging, but you’ll forget what you’re
thrashing about. Altered Aeon could be extraordinary if these
Swedes ever find out what a hook is and learn a thing or two about
song structure. Then, they, too, could be reigning in blood.
Jared Story
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CKY
An Answer Can Be Found
(Island/Universal)
C+
Website: www.ckymusic.com
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After a 2002 sophomore
disc that sounded fresh and innovative, CKY is back in 2005
with an album that shows little growth and development. One
wondered previously if these guys were riding the coattails
of Jackass, Viva la Bam and the CKY DVDs, and now it seems as
if that’s indeed the case. The riffs on the punk-metal
outing An Answer Can Be Found were exhausted on the last disc,
and the heavy production here makes this feel all too padded.
CKY the group is made up of fuck-ups who break bones and do
dumb shit, but this outing from CKY the band feels sterile and
somehow wrong. Tripled Manic Threat is a wicked track proving
this trio still has some balls, but others, such as Deceit is
Striking Gold, border on unlistenable. CKY is allowed to grow
up, but that doesn’t mean it should lose its edge.
Mike Warkentin
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Clutch
Robot Hive/Exodus
(DRT Entertainment)
A
Website: www.pro-rock.com
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I thought this release
would be just an EP because it’s only been a year since
Blast Tyrant. However, Robot Hive/Exodus is not only Clutch’s
seventh full-length album but it is also one of their best. The
Maryland quartet expands its bluesy feel more than ever, even
covering Howlin’ Wolf’s Who’s Been Talking?
Lead singer Neil Fallon is in top form, spitting out trippy lyrics
during The Burning Beard. New member Mick Schauer adds cool, Deep
Purple-ish organ fills to Never Be Moved. Combining the riff-rock
Clutch is known for with more keyboards, percussion and acoustic
guitar, Robot Hive/Exodus is one of this band’s most diverse
collections of songs. Clutch co-headlines the Sounds of the Underground
tour, which stops in Saskatoon July 29.
Ashley McCurdy
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Nathaniel Mayer
I Just Want to Be Held
(Fat Possum)
B+
Website: www.fatpossum.com
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Why does Detroit soulman
Nathaniel Mayer just want to be held? Most likely it’s down
to the simple fact that he hasn’t been on anyone’s
musical radar since he first stepped into the Top 10 way back
in the early ’60s. Now the sixtysomething Mayer, rasping
soul hack intact, has released his first official album, and it
should spell relief for the down-on-his luck singer. With his
emancipated patois and tight, rock-to-it band, Mayer breathes
fire into a short set of 10 git-down-worthy jams with all the
fervent grittiness of Andre Williams channeling Howlin’
Wolf. You Are the One revisits the yearning style of James Brown’s
Bewildered, and on balance this is one of the best albums you
will hear anytime soon. Here’s hoping we don’t wait
another 40 years to hear from this sterling Golden Ager again.
Jeff Monk |
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The Wallflowers
Rebel, Sweetheart
(Interscope/Universal)
B+
Website: www.wallflowers.com
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This sound isn’t
as fresh as it was when Bringing Down the Horse came out in 1996,
but Jakob Dylan et al. still manage to make it work. Rebel, Sweetheart
is the fifth album from The Wallflowers and sees the quartet continuing
to work the roots-rock angle to near perfection. Many of the tracks
here recall the melodic lure of One Headlight, which will be good
news for fans who wrote the band off when Breach (2000) got a
little edgy. There isn’t a lot of grit here (listen to God
Says Nothing Back for some really smooth sailing), but Dylan can
still carry a tune even if he forces the occasional lyric where
it doesn’t fit. That said, Back to California picks things
up a bit and almost approaches a Springsteen vibe. If you liked
Bringing Down..., you’ll liked this. Insert your own Bob
Dylan comparison — that’s getting old.
Mike Warkentin |
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Various
Artists
Ultra Weekend Mixed by David Waxman
(Ultra Records)
C-
Website: www.ultrarecords.com
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Ultra Weekend is ultra-predictable,
from the beautiful, bikini-clad blond on the disc insert to the
run-of-the-mill ‘club hits’ on the disc. Split into
Friday and Saturday sessions, this two-disc set is perfect for
drunken idiots to get their groove on to. Even I found myself
sashaying around the house after two glasses of wine. The Friday
disc starts off with some boring remixes of Scissor Sisters’
Filthy Gorgeous and Moby’s Lift Me Up. Saturday’s
cheesy moments are less frequent. Things pick up with Tom Neville’s
mix of Mylo’s Destroy Rock and Roll and the annoyingly catchy
Geht’s Noch by Roman Flugel. You’ll also get the 2005
remix of Technotronic’s Pump up the Jam. Still, this is
a sad excuse for a compilation and would do better as kindling
for your weekend campfire.
Shannon Ander |
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Various
Artists
Friends and Lovers: Songs of Bread
(Badman Recording Co.)
B
Website: www.badmanrecordingco.com
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Yes, it’s true
that the much-chastised sunshine folk-pop band Bread isn’t
held in very high esteem with serious musos. David Gates and
crew were the friendliest of radio gods in the ’70s and
hung their closest competition out to dry when it came to creating
awesomely lightweight hits. Lately it seems that everything
old is new again, and much respect is being heaped on the band
that gave the world florid gems such as Baby, I’m a Want
You and It Don’t Matter to Me. This tribute manages to
save songs that may have otherwise been unjustly lost to the
ages. Cake’s take on The Guitar Man beefs up the original,
and pop craftsman Ken Stringfellow handily sweetens Down on
My Knees. Friends and Lovers is a convincing artistic statement
and should help redefine Bread’s place in music history.
Jeff Monk
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Various
Artists
Future Sounds of Jazz Vol. 10
(Compost Records)
B
Website: www.compost-records.com
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In the future I will have
a home by the ocean, a housekeeper and a pair of flip-flops to
match every swimsuit. According to Compost Records, the cool and
swanky mood music of this disc will be drifting in the background
while someone cleans the pool. There are a lot of crummy compilations
out there, but the Future Sounds... releases rarely disappoint,
offering up a variety of music, from electro-pop to house. Several
previously unreleased tracks make this disc worth picking up for
those songs alone, but there are other highlights. Hot Chip’s
Playboy is for dreadfully hot days that can only be enjoyed if
someone else is catering to your every whim, and the remix of
Gabriel Ananda’s Sussholz is a kooky, slowed-down version
of the techno original. Origami picks things up with squeaky,
broken beats on First Note. Welcome to the future.
Shannon Ander |
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The
White Stripes
Get Behind Me Satan
(V2)
A
Website: www.whitestripes.com
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With a title like this,
you may expect a blues/rock tour de force from guitarist/singer/pianist
Jack White and his partner-in-crime, drummer Meg White. You’d
be wrong — but that’s not a bad thing. Jack’s
piano plays more of a lead role on this album, and these new songs
feature even sparser instrumentation than past White Stripe outings.
On I’m Lonely (But I Ain’t That Lonely Yet), Jack
tinkles the ivories, and he gives us acoustic bluegrass on Little
Ghost. Don’t get me wrong: this dynamic duo can still kick
out the jams. Album opener and first single Blue Orchid is a short
blast of a sub-harmonic guitar line, while Instinct Blues just
plain rocks. Piano or guitar? It doesn’t matter what drives
this band, as long as it sounds good — and even Satan would
agree, it sure as hell does.
Ashley McCurdy |
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