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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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Andy Stochansky
100
(Linus)
B+
Website: www.andystochansky.com
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Andy’s latest silvery
disc came about after 100 days of recording in Hollywood’s
legendary Ocean Way Studio, thus the album’s title. Shine,
sure to be the first single, is a gleaming piece of pop dripping
with chiming guitars and a huge hook assuring us all the world
will stop to watch us shine. Stochansky — who is still referenced
by many as Ani DiFranco’s former drummer — is a talented
songsmith with a flair for the perfect summer tune and a voice
that hints at U2’s Bono. Best Years, America and Loud all
rock the house, while Butterfly Song, That Summer and the stunning
House of Gold showcase Andy’s softer side. As a bonus you
get a second CD of previously released tunes including the romantic
and heartbreaking 22 Steps. Watch for Andy Stochansky. He’s
ready to break out of the pack and stand on his own.
Chris Brown
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Cadeaux
Physical City
(Sound Document Recordings)
B+
Website: www.cadeaux-band.com
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A lot of bands have
two singers. There’s the Wilson sisters going crazy on
you. And then there’s Hall and Oates warbling about cannibalistic
women. Vancouver’s Cadeaux has two female vocalists —
a singer and a ‘voice.’ While one woman sings the
other acts as an instrument, like a guitar or drums. Yes, the
two do sing the same lyrics during some of the choruses, which
makes them all the more powerful, but it’s the vocal sounds
made the rest of the time that make this album so enjoyable.
Try listening to just the vocals in the background — it’ll
trip you out. The music itself is danceable post-punk, a genre
that seems to be heavily exploited right now, but Cadeaux does
it better than most, and with its two-is-better-than-one approach
proves to be one of the best in the class.
Jared Story |
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Crystal Pistol
Crystal Pistol
(Sony)
C+
Website: www.crystalpistol.com
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Check your balls. Are
they to the wall? Check your volume knob. Is it glued on 11? If
you answered yes to both questions, Crystal Pistol is your new
favourite band. AC/DC hasn’t released an album in a while,
and Guns N’ Roses is for all purposes defunct, so you’re
going to have to trust this Vancouver-based quintet to TCB in
the realm of cock rock. That means songs about drugs and live
performances featuring mascara and a lot of beer spewed all over
the stage. If you caught these guys at the Pyramid in April, you
know they can seriously rock a bar with songs such as Line it
Up and Rockstar. Other tracks on this debut album are a little
weak and lack the driving energy of the opening tunes, but if
you drink enough beer, you won’t even notice.
Mike Warkentin
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Roy Ayers
Virgin Ubiquity II: Unreleased Recordings 1976-1981
(BBE)
C
Website: www.bbemusic.com
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There’s no denying
the estimable effect of funk-jazz pioneer Roy Ayers on the current
bevy of DJs using his boss breaks to underpin much of their better
work. Ayers was there first, and by mixing his musical metaphors
he practically spearheaded the movement that has since devolved
into too many white guys famously spinning someone else’s
records like they are actually doing something musically relevant.
The period examined on this 13-tracker is a mixed bag. Remember
that disco was in full flight during this period, and while Ayers
could pull scintillating musical aces out of his trick bag of
funk mojo, there’s no denying the fact that some of these
tracks devolve into a familiar rhythm pattern that fully outlived
its welcome a couple of decades ago. The dreck is balanced by
an equal number of funky, soulful treats.
Jeff Monk |
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The
Doers
Ready, Set… Do I Can Enjoy Almost Anything
(Red Cat Records)
A
Website: www.thedoers.com
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The Doers couldn’t
afford to put out two EPs — so they put them both on the
same CD. Ready, Set… Do is the first EP, made up of 12 acoustic
gems that total less than 20 minutes. Nevertheless, you’ll
be very impressed by this blitzkrieg of unplugged punk. The songs
blend right into each other perfectly; in fact there’s even
some overlap, as on The General and Uncle Sam & His Pals.
Mike Watt of Minutemen fame is brought in for the second EP, I
Can Enjoy Almost Anything. He lends his bass to five songs that
are, for the most part, a little longer and a little mellower
— which is a nice way to follow the rapid attack of the
first EP. Two great chapters of well-conceived music prove these
Doers are thinkers, too.
Jared Story
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Unsane
Blood Run
(Relapse)
B
Website: www.theunsane.com
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Seminal New York noise-rock
trio Unsane is back after disbanding back in 2000. Blood Run is
the first album since 1998’s Occupational Hazard and sees
the group continuing in its signature vein, laying thick, heavy
grooves under ultra-distorted vocals. This is truly music for
breaking things — which is cool — and tracks such
as D Train, Release and Killing Time are solid, packed with guts
and violence. Other tracks seem to grab a riff or lyric and drone
on and on, lumbering rather than rocking. Songs like Got it Down
almost seem like listless shoegazer metal, if such a strange genre
indeed exists. Other cuts, like Make Them Prey, are full of howling,
piercing distortion and prove why Unsane is considered one of
the pioneers of noise rock. Put Blood Run in, then decide whether
to stomp a Creed CD or an Alter Bridge disc — or both.
Mike Warkentin |
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Konono No.1
Congotronics
(Crammed Discs)
B
Website: www.crammed.be
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This premier release
in the Congotronics series features the unlikely sounds of a
conglomerate of players formed in the 1970s in the Congo. The
‘band’ consists chiefly of three thumb piano players
(bass, medium, treble) using handmade microphones for amplification,
and a score of percussionists use traditional instruments and
makeshift ones fashioned from car parts, pots and pans. This
music is as obscure and, frankly, as rocking as it gets. It’s
all pumped through a dirty, jury-rigged, DIY amplification system,
making the album sound like the soundtrack to a particularly
frightening and loud voodoo throwdown. These sound of these
former Bushmen evolved as they drifted into the slums of Kinshasa,
and it is at once tribal and urban and exciting to hear as they
build the tension of each song to near trance-inducing levels
of excitement.
Jeff Monk |
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Len
The Diary of the Madmen
(Venus Records)
C+
Website: www.venusrecords.com
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Have trouble remembering
this band’s name? It will be burned into your mind soon
enough as the Toronto group takes turns screaming out “L,
E, N” over 30 times throughout the disc. At least the
name is short. Formed in 1991 by siblings Mark and Sharon, Len
will forever be remembered for the perfect summer track, 1999’s
Steal my Sunshine. After the huge success of its first album,
the group went on tour and lived the rock star life. Things
got out of control and they cut the tour short to regain focus.
The Diary… is a compilation of the group’s unreleased
work from the last few years. It’s a fun mix of pop, alternative
music and rap. Who cares if the lyrics are crap? You’ll
be too busy singing along while drinking your beer.
Shannon Ander |
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MU
Out of Breach
(Manchester’s Revenge)(Output Recordings Limited)
B
Website: www.outputrecordings.com
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Does it make sense?
No. Is there talent? Maybe. Are there beats? Yes — and
so this works in a Japanese-woman-screaming-her-head-off-in-broken-English
kind of way. This crazy pop culture referencing duo is Maurice
Fulton and Mutsumu Kanamori. They hate interviewers (Stop Bothering
Michael Jackson), their previous record label (Tigerbastard),
and people who hide tampons (Haters), among other things. The
demented electro rhythms on this disc are as consistent as the
faux barfing sounds on Throwing Up, and there really is no category
for this music — it’s punk, dance, and comedy with
a whole lot of screaming. The combo of pop culture references,
liberal use of “you stupid bitch” and poor grammar
is amusing, but as with MJ and Paris, the strange antics will
probably get MU screwed in the end. Maybe that’s what
they want...
Shannon Ander |
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