CD Reviews
Artist: Goldie
Title: MDZ.05
Label: Metalheadz
Year: 2005
2.5 / 5
With Goldie’s previous mind-melting and sometimes altering albums, such as Timeless and the MDZ.02 to 04 collections, we find that there is a halt in new jungle. The artists he has molded have always taken off in the DJ circuits, but they tend to slip away from production where they might have a stronger hold on audiences. Source Direct, J. Majik and Optical are some producers that come in with a bang, then teeter off when they aren’t being led by the superstar. Goldie’s popularity has stemmed from various outlets, such as his brief engagement with Björk and his appearances in films such as Snatch and The World is Not Enough. But the artist’s most memorable appearance was his ability to bring break beat and jungle to mainstream. With this newfound exposure in the early ‘90s, Goldie saw jungle exploding into a worldwide frenzy of artists who tried to duplicate his efforts; this saturated a market that was once revered. Although one song, “Say You Love Me,” is captivating, it returns to the old style of jazzy vocals surrounded by organic pads and elements of lush sounds that leave you in lounge-y atmosphere. The rest is too over powering and not very fresh, which might make one refer to it as crazy dance music rather than intelligent.
Marc LaCasse
Artist: Death From Above 1979
Title: Romance Bloody Romance: Remixes & B-Sides
Label: Last Gang
Year: 2005
2 / 5
Although I regret missing Death From Above 1979’s live performance at last month’s Nine Inch Nails concert at the MTS Centre, I find myself unimpressed with the remixes on this compilation. The sometimes boring and not very interesting tracks seem like they were served up quickly to entice fans during their recent tour. I’m sure the merchandise table was buzzing with hordes of people, but after a couple listens you might want to find that dude with the half eaten Mohawk and ask for your money back. What I thought would be a nice bridge between pop, electronic and alternative rock actually gave me the cringes. Alan Braxe and Fred Falke of Daft Punk and Roule fame butchered “Black History Month.” It sounds like a filtered mess and could have been done by an infant stuck in a crib 10 metres away from a soundboard and computer. The only track suitable to their style that works well with the remix treatment is “Sexy Results (MSTRKRFT Edition).” This soothing injection of funk and rock will appeal to any discerning rock enthusiast, but beware of the rest of the disillusioned songs.
Marc LaCasse
Artist: Albatross Note
Title: The Art Lodge Tapes
Label: Evil Evil/ Outside
Year: 2005
1 / 5
I guess my first clue should have been that they were formerly a Yoko Ono and Lee Hazelwood cover band. If you don’t like that type of music, then abandon ship. Albatross Note’s music is cool in the way that recluse-artist Jandek is cool; the story behind the music is more interesting and fun to listen to than the music itself. Local artist Marcel Dzama has released his musical project called The Art Lodge Tapes. The visual art pieces that this guy has worked on are incredible and include the cover art and video for Beck’s Guero and the cover of the Weakerthans’ Reconstruction Site. Marcel can give you a visual experience that is cool, quirky and honest, if a bit strange. It’s raw and fairly bizarre, but that’s something that’s quite often missing in this crazy, mixed up world of overproduced, pre-packaged everything. Recorded during one of those ridiculously cold weeks in Winnipeg when everything seems to stop — including most people’s desire to create art — it makes sense to think that this album is the product of somebody’s basement at a time when we’re all locked inside our homes and going a little stir-crazy. Each track seems to have a different style and texture to it, but none of them fit what I wanted.
Laura Blakley Staff
Artist: Angela Harris
Title: Roots
Label: Maximum Music Group/ Universal
Year: 2005
3.5 / 5
British Columbia folk/country singer-songwriter Angela Harris puts forth a strong (albeit sometimes bland) showing with her second album Roots. Roots is a nice, pastoral, low-key album. Clearly inspired by the softer forms of bluegrass, Harris has written 10 tracks of simple, charming folk music. The stripped-down production values work well with her strong vocal delivery, and neither the songwriting nor the performances ever falter noticeably from track to track. On the other hand, the disc doesn’t offer anything special or break new ground within the genre — there’s nothing spectacular here that distinguishes Harris from the existing glut of rootsy singer-songwriter women out there. The best songs of the album are those that break up the eventual monotony of the disc: “Way Down Deep” is a very pretty waltz tune, “Livin’ Life” is the only up-tempo track and has a terrific bluegrass feel to it, and “Roots (Can Grow Anywhere)” has the catchiest melody line on the album. Beyond those three standouts, though, the rest of the album blends together into a soft muddle you’ll barely even remember listening to. If you’ve ever been near a television when an episode of Gilmore Girls fades to the end credits, or if you listen to a lot of CBC Radio Two, then you’ve basically heard everything this album has to offer.
James Howard Volunteer Staff
Artist: Big Boi
Title: Got Purp? Vol. II
Label: Purple Ribbon/ Virgin
Year: 2005
3.5 / 5
Since Andre 3000 left for tinseltown, Big Boi has created a new record label. Their last release as Outkast was the well-received Speakerboxx/The Love Below double disc. In reality, that album was two solo releases packaged as a group effort. This time around, Big Boi has regrouped with a variety of artists on his new imprint, Purple Ribbon Entertainment. Got Purp? Vol. II is a compilation featuring the fleet of artists Big Boi has signed to continue the Outkast tradition. Got Purp? introduces Scar, a male R&B vocalist who appears on “What Is This?” and “U Got Me!!!” He brings a fresh voice that contrasts the harsh rapping of Big Boi, Killer Mike and Bubba Sparxx. His lyrics present a social consciousness usually absent in mindless R&B. Most songs on this album are produced by Organized Noize (TLC, Outkast), and if their collaborations continue with Big Boi, nothing short of powerful Southern Rap will result. The compilation missteps in the sequencing by mixing smooth soul ballads with over-amplified crunk music. Nonetheless, Got Purp? has tracks that bring the same intensity of Big Boi’s Speakerboxx but fail to be a classic Outkast LP. “Body Rock,” “Kryptonite (I’m On It)” and “808” are riot-inducing cuts that will satisfy any Outkast fan.
Navin Bahl Staff
Artist: Boards of Canada
Title: The Campfire Headphase
Label: Warp
Year: 2005
3 / 5
Geogaddi, the last Boards of Canada full-length, was a dark, slightly ominous follow-up to the bright, sun-bleached Music Has The Right To Children. While this was in no way a bad thing (Geogaddi stands as an amazing sophomore album), The Campfire Headphase marks a return to the light and ethereal tone that made Music so instantly accessible. Opener “Into the Rainbow Vein” is here and gone, segueing delicately into “Chromakey Dreamcoat” with its pitch-shifting melody line that warps and wavers without losing its sunny disposition. Trilling keys and warped sonics that approximate the sound of birdcalls follow on the dreamy epic “Satellite Anthem Icarus,” which flies bewilderingly close to a dappled sun without ever burning its wings. None of this is surprising coming from the Scottish duo, but what will surprise listeners is the incorporation of actual guitars (as on “Dayvan Cowboy,” where they are most apparent in the mix). Some long-time fans may see this as heretical behaviour coming from sound manipulators such as Messrs. Eoin and Sandison, who have rarely used unadulterated sounds. Despite the inclusion of new (and raw) sonic elements, though, The Campfire Headphase is still a delicate release full of pretty sounds perfect for a headphone journey. Take a trip to a warmer place this winter and join friends around this Campfire.
Michael Elves Volunteer Staff
Artist: HorrorPops
Title: Bring It On!
Label: Hellcat/ Epitaph
Year: 2005
2.5 / 5
HorrorPops is a Danish B-movie-themed psychobilly-punk-rock band based out of Los Angeles that mainly plays a strange blend of new wave, punk and AC/DC-inspired rock. Also, the band has its own team of themed go-go dancers. I have no idea what I can possibly write as a follow-up to this premise, so let’s just pretend you knew all that already and jump right in with reviewing their second full-length album. Bring It On! is decent fun, in its own odd little way, but that’s about the extent of its allure. Nothing on the album is actively bad, but after a while the goofy mesh of styles involved just all melds together — and there’s no standout track that grabs your attention and makes you appreciate the particular technical merits of the band. (A couple of the Nekromantix can be found playing on this album; it turns out that the lead singer married one of them, probably because she was so impressed by his coffin-bass. That’s how awesome the coffin-bass is! Man, I want one of those things.) If you can get past the initial kookiness of the band’s basic premise, you may be entertained (however mildly) by this disc. There isn’t a great deal of substance behind the intended spectacle, but there’s enough that the music survives on its own merits.
James Howard Volunteer Staff
Artist: Rich Hope
Title: Rich Hope & His Evil Doers
Label: Maximum
Year: 2005
3 / 5
In a mad world where up is down and black is white, Evil Doers will play like fiends and it will make people happy! Rich Hope provides an outlet for closet-blues fans and those with a slight country habit. Rich Hope & His Evil Doers is the second album from Vancouver’s Rich Hope, following Good to Go (1999). His sound is raspy, loud, a little dirty and fun. Some of the lyrics are incredibly honest (“I looked for some good news/ But I’ve stopped doing that too/ ‘Cause good news is all around me” from “Pain and Strength”), while others are hilariously stereotypical hick. Where else but a country-influenced rocker are you going to find a song with a wicked beat as a man screams, “Well, your papa taught your mama everything she needed to know/ Your mama taught your papa everything he needed to know” from “Sally, Your Parents Ain’t Home”? It’s the kind of sound you can expect as background music in a movie’s bar scene. It’s got a good beat, great guitar and drums, and if you don’t analyse it too much, you can pass it off as being pretty cool. In urban cities, many people are loathe to listen to country music, never mind admitting that they like it. After hearing this album, however, I’d say that country music’s potential has given me Hope.
Laura Blakley Staff
Artist: Skalpel
Title: Konfusion
Label: Ninja Tune
Year: 2005
4 / 5
Eastern Europe is about to blow up big time. As more and more countries from the former “Evil Empire” gain entry to the European Union, they are becoming tourist meccas and visitors are discovering the culture, nightlife and hidden gems to be found there. Ninja Tune has been at the forefront of instrumental electronic music for over a decade and they appear to be taking a lead in releasing Eastern European artists’ material to the “Western” world as well. Russian DJ Vadim was among the first, but the roster has expanded to include this stellar duo from Wroclaw, Poland. Marcic Cichy and Igor Pudlo have followed up their self-titled debut with a more organic and jazzy release. Konfusion is an apt title, as it implies a warping of fusion jazz. Warm horn sounds slide atop skittering hi-hat and funky bass, and drum kicks propel the whole experiment. I say experiment because while there is an underlying skeleton to the songs, much of the instrumentation appears improvised or spontaneous — particularly the horn parts on “Deep Breath.” Konfusion isn’t an iconic or brilliant album, but it is of definite interest to jazz fans as well as those who enjoy electronica. Electronica fans, be sure to pick up the special edition double-disc, which features remixes by the likes of Quantic and Amalgamation of Soundz.
