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March 4, 2010
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2010-03-04 
Reviews - CD
JASON COLLETT
Rat A Tat Tat
(Arts & Crafts)

A-

JASON COLLETT

Available March 9
Toronto singer/songwriter/Broken Social Scenester Jason Collett's latest solo album Rat A Tat Tat is one of those records you need to live with for a while. This isn't background music; it's well worth it to sit down and listen to Collett's masterfully woven stories, told with a voice that sounds like golden, whisky-soaked sunshine. Indeed, his delivery is decidedly Dylanesque in a few songs - Bitch City, in particular - but the influence is subtle. Musically, this is a well-crafted and varied collection, going from celebratory alt-country anthems (Rave On, Sad Song) to elastic indie-rock workouts (Love Is A Dirty Word) and back again. For me, though, the album's best track is a spooky, almost theatrical ballad called Winnipeg Winds, on which Collett nods to the imagery in Guy Maddin's My Winnipeg (see: "Sleepwalking with skeleton keys jangling").
— Jen Zoratti
THE FLAMING LIPS/STARDEATH AND WHITE DWARFS
Dark Side of the Moon
(Warner Bros.)

A

THE FLAMING LIPS/STARDEATH AND WHITE DWARFS

After last year's challenging Embryonic (the first half is nearly unlistenable), Oklahoma's Flaming Lips have teamed up with Stardeath and White Dwarfs, Henry Rollins and Peaches, to create a psychedelic prog record that actually works. The themes on Dark Side of the Moon (mental illness, greed and time travel) are reminiscent of a Kubrick film, and are the band's most topical in years. Money is a brilliant satire on the current economy, while Brain Damage is a haunting rocker. The centrepiece is the beautiful and strange instrumental Any Colour You Like - a clearly improvised groove that proves the Lips are as tight a jam outfit as ever. Also, I hear this record totally syncs up with the 1985 flick Return to Oz.
— Nick Friesen
THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE
Who Killed Sgt. Pepper?
(A Records)

B

THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE

The 12th album from Anton Newcombe's band of crazies isn't influenced by the peace, love and drone of the 1960s so much as the electro drug-pop of the 1980s. One holdover from the BJM's Stones-loving days is the upbeat Our Time, which blends Newcombe's dreamy vocals into a wave of guitars. I'd call this its most accessible offering in years - possibly due to the return of bassist Matt Hollywood. Overall, it's another album by a band that requires you to commit, digest and experience its songs. It's not as exciting as 1995's Methodrone, but is akin to A Place To Bury Strangers - unplugged.
— Nick Friesen
ZEUS
Say Us
(Arts & Crafts)

B+

ZEUS

Talk about wearing your influences on your sleeve. Toronto's Zeus - which used to be Jason Collett's backing band - draws heavily from '60s British Invasion pop and '70s Southern rock (read: fuzzed-out guitars, three-part harmonies and lots and lots of swagger). Its resulting full-length debut sounds like the blissful love child of Led Zeppelin (You Gotta Tell'er sounds like Whole Lotta Love) and The Beatles. Sure, you could knock Zeus for not being original (I was actually convinced album standout How Does It Feel? was a cover), but honestly, the back-to-basics approach is downright refreshing - not to mention a whole bunch of fun. Twee indie rock, this is not.
— Jen Zoratti
YEASAYER
Odd Blood
(Secretly Canadian)

A-

YEASAYER

Fearlessly freaky experimentalists or purveyors of fizzy, cotton candy-coloured pop? In truth, Yeasayer is both. Like fellow Brooklynites Dirty Projectors and MGMT, the band crafts spacey, synthy soundscapes that are equal parts sugar high and acid trip, but always with a discernable (and often danceable) hook. On its sophomore album, Odd Blood, Yeasayer indulges in even more pure-pop playfulness, trading in the crunchy freak folk of its world-music informed 2007 debut All Hour Cymbals for big '80s beats and squiggly electronics. That said, 'genre-spanning' is still an apt way to describe Yeasayer; electro anthem Ambling Alp boasts a bright reggae-inflected chorus and a killer falsetto bridge, while the thunderous ballad I Remember is cinematic indie rock at its finest. Unfocused? Sure. Good? Very.
— Jen Zoratti
SPOON
Transference
(Merge)

A

SPOON

On its seventh full-length album, Spoon - the Austin, Texas indie pop act known for its tighter-than-tight hooks - strips things down a bit. OK, a lot. Recorded in frontman Britt Daniel's house, Transference boasts both the rawness and immediacy of a live-to-tape demo - which is a good thing. From the slow-burning opener Before Destruction to the hiccupy Pavement-like I Saw The Light to the sleepy bedtime piano ballad Goodnight Laura, Daniel's vocals (and lyrics, for that matter) are really allowed to breathe within the roomy, minimalist arrangements. For some, it won't be as immediately likeable as 2007's bouncy, in-your-face Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, but Transference will be an instant hit with those that appreciate Spoon at its most laid-back cool.
— Jen Zoratti
EELS
End TImes
(E Works Records/Vagrant)

A+

EELS

Disc of the Week
Eels frontman Mark Oliver Everett (aka E) is back in pure, acoustic, self-loathing form. If last year's Hombre Lobo was a concept record about trying to get some, End Times is the drunken phone call after the one-night stand. From the aptly titled opener (The Beginning) to the lament of In My Younger Days, E takes us through some of the sharpest songs in his catalogue. A Line in the Dirt is reminiscent of his pre-Eels solo work, while the rockers - Paradise Blues, Gone Man - keep the album out of suicide-note melancholy. Little Bird could easily find a place on 1998's Electro Shock Blues. Short, sweet, sarcastic and sad, this is quintessential Eels.
— Nick Friesen
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