Dope
American Apathy
(Artemis Records)

D

Website: www.dopearmy.com

The Blue Van
The Art Of Rolling
(TVT)

A



Website: www.thebluevan.com

Scandinavian popsters The Blue Van get plenty of authenticity points for their stunning retro-centric work on The Art of Rolling. The photogenic quartet manages to twine together a wide yet intricately connected web of sounds — ranging from the Small Faces to the Artwoods and back to the rockier side of The Kinks — without breaking a noticeable sweat. Their cover of Graham Bond’s I Want You shows that these cool Nordic boys know exactly where to trawl when searching for those obscure versions to cover. The album’s gritty production sounds as lively as it should and the ’Vanners sound as if they thoroughly enjoyed the cacophony of the whole event. It’s not all a boisterous boys-club funfest, as evidenced by the swoony Rolling Stones-esque ballad Baby, I’ve Got Time. A must for fans of Mando Diao, Franz Ferdinand and The Strokes.
Jeff Monk

The Gourds
Heavy Ornamentals
(Eleven Thirty)

A

From opening track Declinometer, with its sweet rocking roll, all the way through this wonderful new 13-tracker, it’s apparent that Austin’s alt-country savants are at it again. ‘It’ of course is the trademark Gourds-ian penchant for eccentric lyrics bolstered by some of the finest picking and grinning to be found anywhere in the genre. Co-leaders Kev Russell and Jimmy Smith share songwriting duties, and both these cats have similarly vivid imaginations that they somehow channel into cool songs. The Gourds’ sonic palette is full of references that will tweak even the most knowledgeable influence-spotter’s ears — from the Grateful Dead to Neil Young, from Sir Douglas Quintet to some lost-to-the-ages hillbilly bluegrass band, it’s all here and performed with heart, soul and more than just a hint of a wink and a grin.
Jeff Monk

Tape-trading has always been a big part of metal culture, and this three-disc collection tries to revisit those days by featuring a wide variety of metal acts à la the Metal Massacre collections of the ’80s. The cover art names just about every category of metal imaginable, but the compilation really only focuses on hair, power, goth and black metal. Disc 1 is all about Vikings pillaging villages and longhairs running wild on Sunset Strip, while Disc 2 focuses on the church-burners and the goths. Disc 3 is full of cover tunes. I’m sure label restrictions get in the way of making a truly brilliant compilation, but there isn’t a lot here that can be considered definitive of the genre or any of its subcategories. If you think Dokken, Cinderella and Stephen Pearcy define hair metal, you haven’t been to Paradise City. Furthermore, no really groundbreaking bands are introduced here. Nevertheless, this is just supposed to be a broad survey, and the liner notes defend the project by equating the one good metal track on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball to seeing a boob while watching scrambled porn. In that case, the tits on this collection are Impaler by Paragon, Eyes of Horror by Final Breath, Vertigo by Throes of Dawn and Shade Empire by Pain & Pleasure (featuring Nightwish’s Marco Hietala). Those tracks aside, others, such as Motörhead’s Overkill, suffer from horrible production, and the levels just aren’t the same from track to track. That’s annoying and sloppy — yet just a little metal. Still, try harder, guys. The cover disc is crap aside from Paragon’s version of Manowar’s The Gods Made Heavy Metal. Great White doing The Cult’s Love Removal Machine we can do without. I’d pass on This Is Metal. Go down to The Zoo and ask just about anybody there for a real metal mixtape.
Mike Warkentin

Hailed in the U.K. as one of the most significant singer/songwriters to come down the pike in a while, Thea Gilmore, 26, already has a fistful of very fine albums under her belt. Loftmusic is an album of covers, which might seem an odd choice for a critically acclaimed songwriter just beginning to break into the North American scene. However, these aren’t just any old covers, and Gilmore is anything but a recycler of other people’s material. In her hands (and with her voice, which just exudes a kind of thoughtfulness), these tunes come to life in new ways, and together the truly diverse selection finds a remarkable unity and integrity. From the Buzzcocks (Ever Fallen in Love) and the Ramones (Don’t Come Close) to Van Morrison (Crazy Love) and Phil Ochs (When I’m Gone), these are all songs from artists who have shaped her own musical vision.
Jamie Howison

I can’t find my Soulwax CD. I’ve listened to this disc so many times in so many different places that it could be anywhere, and at first I didn’t think I liked it that much. But it’s catchy and sounds good loud, which is a nice combination for a remix album. Stephen and David Dewaele have mixed, mashed and mangled several tracks from their last album, Any Minute Now, and fooled around with some of their friends’ tracks too. The disc opens with the super-annoying Teachers, a remix of the Daft Punk original, and reworkings of Slowdance and Compute, my favourites on this album. The 1979 Lipps Inc. hit Funkytown gets reworked with NY Excuse into NY Lipps, and Death From Above 1979 collaborates on Another Excuse to produce a screechy banger. Your limbs might twitch and your ears might bleed, but there’s no stopping the dance.
Shannon Ander

The San Francisco-based singer/songwriter/pianist Vienna Teng now has two full-length CDs that show off her moody piano-based ballads. Oh no! Not the B-word. Ballads are typically sad songs about life and love, and Warm Strangers has many. Vocally, Teng even sounds similar to the queen of ballads, Sarah McLachlan. Each song is a short fictional story that keeps it interesting. Passage is an eerie, reverb-soaked a capella piece and is the most unique track on the disc. The bonus cuts are live, and Teng gives an intimate and interactive story telling of each song. The pianist is trying to develop her own style but her playing becomes repetitious. Warm Strangers gets an A for talent, but only a few songs are worth a listen. At only 29, Teng has plenty of time to mature.
Ashley McCurdy