Louis XIV features provocatively dressed women on the jacket of its latest EP, Illegal Tender. Be warned — there’s more inside, as it were. This dynamite, five-track warm-up for the band’s imminent full-length is a testament to naughty and glammy garage rock in all its politically incorrect glory. Parental advisory stickers aside, these guys are largely only promoting their own heterosexuality — and when it’s backed up with such a kooky crop of tracks, you soon forgive them their slightly sexist tendencies. The title track plays out no differently than any hot, mid-’70s sleaze; however, this trio does more to lift hope in a dying genre than any gang of skinny, tie-wearing imports. Marc may or may not be the best T. Rex ballad knock-off in existence. You be the judge.

Jeff Monk

Ou est le metal? Look no further than this three-man outfit of death metallists from Quebec. Quo Vadis has been releasing albums since 1996, and Defiant Imagination finds it blending the delicate ultra-violence of Eurometal with some thrash and prog rock. Get ready for a host of time signatures, heavy and fast riffs, hoarse (lozenge, please) shouts, occasional melodic bits and dual lead guitars that battle each other atop relentless hammer falls of thick bass chunk. The occasional keyboard makes itself heard here and there but never mind that and concentrate on the thunderous drums and palm-muted riffage. The best tracks are Break the Cycle and the awesome, seven-minute To the Bitter End, a track laced with urgency and some epic fretwork from William Seghers and Bart Frydrychowicz. What’s holding all this primal chaos together? Satan. Undoubtedly.

Mike Warkentin

I’m not cut out for long-haul drives in the car in search for the perfect camping location. For the outdoorsy types, a rest area is a place to enjoy granola bars and nature-friendly toilets. For all the city girls and boys out there, this disc provides that rest-area ambience without bug spray and backpacks. Released in early 2004, Rolling was written, produced and performed by Montreal’s Patrice Dubuc. There are 12 cuts on this jazzy house disc, and well-known Montreal artists Jean-Pierre Zanella and Muhammad Abdul Al-Khabyyr supply the brass on several tracks. The first single, bpm 240, sounds like Rhinocerose with its wavering guitars and choppy rhythms, and Casino could be the next James Bond theme song. If you’re a fan of Marc Moulin and St. Germain, this disc will be at the top of your CD tower.

Shannon Ander

Austin’s Gourds are really only known to a select few fans and curiosity-seekers who like their country music kind of sick and more than a little twisted. The gregariously goofy quintet sings and plays top-grade underground roots music — with a lyrical bent that really has no match. The Gourds sing about moto-envy in Escalade, name-check about 40 U.S. states rather than write a verse in Lower 48 and plain go off the absurd-o-meter in Turd in My Pocket. Nevertheless, these gents can play, and wrapped around the purposely strange lyrics you will hear some of the most ragged but right Texas tussle and twang around. Kev Russell and Jimmy Smith share the bulk of the song credits, proving again that in The Gourds, at least, there’s democracy in the asylum. Hopefully these nutbars will never go straight.

Jeff Monk

Hamish Thompson’s follow-up to Flying Out of Solitude is the album you’d pick for lying outside on a starry night and pondering life. Wonderment features dreamy, layered sounds drifting in and out and back again. There are definitely some enjoyable moments. Unfortunately, towards the middle of the disc you might wonder when it’s going to end, so you can stare at the stars in peace. On his previous outing, The Hermit independently produced and released his own album — but this time he was lonely. Despite multiple guests, monotony sets in quickly. The semi-catchy tune Won’t Fall Apart features CR Avery and Frazey Ford rapping about Winnipeg’s French Quarter (pre-Sal’s), but the skills of Amalia Townsend (of Juno-nominated group Sekoya) are underused on Galaxies Collide. Despite some lulls, this Hermit keeps good company.

Shannon Ander