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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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Bloodsimple
A Cruel World
(Reprise Records)
C+
Website: www.bloodsimpleband.com
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American metal was given
new hope when bands such as Shadows Fall and Lamb of God released
amazing records. But there are also plenty of average acts out
there — like Bloodsimple. On A Cruel World, the riffs pummel
and the arrangements are tight, but the album is nothing special.
Everything seems and sounds generic and predictable. The howling
vocals of Tim William are the only standout but they can’t
save this album from mediocrity. That said, album opener Straight
Hate absolutely crushes and was supposedly written to pump up
American soldiers at war (if that’s something to recommend
it). There are a few other OK tracks — but nothing that’ll
make you feel like going on a mission to Iraq.
Jared Story
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Sweatshop Union
United We Fall
(Battleaxe)
B+
Website: www.sweatshopunion.com
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Mainstream hip hoppers
derisively call this stuff “backpack rap” —
or they diss it because indie hip hop is most often white and
suburban (at least it is in Canada and the U.S. Midwest). But
the very existence of this sub-genre is evidence of the pervasive
nature of hip hop ‘culcha.’ The backpackers know
that rap, like punk, is a form of modern protest music —
and Sweatshop does protest better than most. Seven young men
bringing messages of creativity, positivity and peace doesn’t
sound like a party to a lot of people. But those people haven’t
heard the sheer quality of this troupe’s last two albums,
nor do they understand the absolute commitment of SSU. “It
pays to stay dreamin’/Away from the mainstream,”
Mos Eisley declares on Broken Record. And he means it.
John Kendle
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Vanilla Fudge
Then and Now
(Fuel 2000)
C
Website: www.truenorthrecords.com
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Vanilla Fudge holds a
fairly unique place in rock and roll history. The quartet held
the distinction of combining late-’60s psychedelia with
the burgeoning U.S. version of hard rock — very bombastically.
These ham-fisted gents drew some attention as well for covering
hits of the day in their own larger-than-life style, with some
reasonably listenable results. This album is the current lineup’s
take on past hits and misses, with a couple of newer covers attacked
and disemboweled by the band. Fudge classics such as You Keep
Me Hangin’ On, Jr. Walker’s Shotgun and Season of
the Witch are heavy enough to make you believe these guys really
mean it. All the Fudge men sing, so expect plenty of soaring,
near-operatic vocal flights of fancy while the music churns. Includes
original members Carmine Appice, Tim Bogert and Vince Martell.
Here comes Da Fudge!
Jeff Monk
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Solomon Burke and the Souls Alive Orchestra
Live at the House of Blues
(Shout Factory)
B
Solomon Burke
Soul of the Blues
(Shout Factory)
B
Website: www.shoutfactory.com
Percy Sledge,Eddie Floyd, Clarence Carter
The Soul Troubadors
(Fuel 2000)
C
Website: www.truenorthrecords.com
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If nothing else, this
trio of new releases proves positively that old-ish soul singers
have a tendency to maintain their mighty voices well after their
so-called Golden Age.
Solomon Burke is the big man of soul. His most recent releases
have garnered him much deserved wider acclaim, which comes in
no small part from the fact he has been at the game since he was
a youth billed on the southern U.S. gospel music circuit as the
“Wonder Boy Preacher.” This duo of reissues from 1993/1994
came out originally as a calculated attempt to renew interest
in Solomon’s masterful abilities and to create a new buzz.
It nearly worked, but it really took nearly a decade longer for
the larger world to catch on to the awesome skills of the 400-plus-pound
singer — pretty much until Martin Scorsese ‘rediscovered’
Burke in his labour-of-love TV series on the blues.
Both these albums find Burke in fine form, with a steady, large
band backing his estimable, warm pipes with attentive finesse.
He leans easily into the slower ballads and sounds positively
joyous on the mid-tempo soul groovers. The practically X-rated
Candy Rap is a politically incorrect blueser that really seems
to get the very vocal audience involved. Both albums are highly
recommended. For full Burke effect, search out any of Solomon’s
1960s sides for his pure rock ’n’ soul style, and
marvel at his ’60s body.
The trio of soul bad boys on the Soul Troubadors collection are
all legends, although this compilation is later recordings of
their recognizable early hits.
Sledge, Floyd and the great Clarence Carter may have been better
served by hooking up with a younger, hungry band for these re-recordings.
As it stands, this sounds rather like a by-the-numbers studio
outfit. All the classics are here. Sledge’s When a Man Loves
a Woman and Floyd’s rocking Knock on Wood probably didn’t
need to be remade, but they open this rather predictable 18-tracker.
Clarence (Patches) Carter fares the best here. His gritty, urban
soul man delivery stands apart from the more classic crooning
that Sledge and Floyd offer.
His tracks alone — dynamic story songs such as Slip Away
and, of course, the 1970 smash Patches — set his contributions
a notch above.
Jeff Monk |
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Beats for Beginners
Don’t Fly Into the Sun
(Aporia Records)
B
Website: www.aporia-records.com
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If Judy Jetson and Captain
Caveman had a baby that grew up and started a band, it would sound
like this. Whiny British vocals, computer-voice effects, guitars
and space guns are the trademark sounds behind the first release
for this five-piece band that has found a balance between retro
melodies and futuristic sounds. Lead singer Mike TV enjoys giving
out free advice on Don’t Fly Into the Sun and wins the master
of the obvious award on You Can’t Kill a Dead Man, both
of which would be a nice accompaniment to a sunset. Need You Tonite
sounds like the soundtrack to a ’60s romance — just
try not to picture your parents on their honeymoon. With tracks
ranging from mildly danceable to downright dreamy, this is a perfect
disc for flipping pancakes on a Sunday morning.
Shannon Ander |
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Meshuggah
Catch Thirtythree
(Nuclear Blast)
C
Website: www.meshuggah.net
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There’s no doubt
that Meshuggah is pushing the metal envelope on this its fifth
disc. Catch Thirtythree is a quirky, proggish concept album that
confounds the mind — for better or worse. This music is
technical, precise and intricate, but it’s also odd as hell
and almost defies any sort of visceral reaction. It’s tough
to raise a fist and scream “Fuck yeah!” when you aren’t
sure when the band will whip out a new time signature that requires
a slide ruler and music-theory degree to understand. Then there’s
all the slippery atmospherics and effects and — and just
what the crap is going on here, you weird metal robots? In Death
is Death sounds like the slow, creepy soundtrack to some strange
indie film about unnecessary surgery, yet Shed starts to rock
with some thrash-based chugging. File Catch Thirtythree under
W for ‘What the Hell?’
Mike Warkentin |
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Vitalic
OK Cowboy
(Pias Recordings)
B+
Website: www.pias.com
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This disc makes me
crazy — and I can’t figure out if it’s in
a good or bad way. Opening track Polkamatic sounds like a deranged
wind-up toy marching toward you before giving its last hurrah.
I feel like I’m in a haunted mansion every time I listen
to this and am waiting for a dead clown to ask me to dance.
I guess that’s why it’s called acid techno —
you’ll feel like you’ve dropped a tab or two. Frenchman
Pascal Arbez-Nicolas enlisted the help of an electro-voiced
babe on No Fun, and with lyrics such as “no guitars, no
leather, no strobes, no fun,” the track is sure to be
a classic at SM balls around the world. Throw this disc into
your CD changer next to Laurent Garnier and Richie Hawtin and
giddy up!
Shannon Ander
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