Son Volt - American Central Dust

Son Volt

American Central Dust

(Rounder Records)

Website: www.sonvolt.net

Say what you will about singer/songwriter Jay Farrar and his skill at keeping the alt-country flame alive it really does seems that he has finally run out of gas. This album features the current version of SV and while Farrar seems to have able enough musical companions he just can’t or won’t set them afire for love or money. Try as I might, every time I got about halfway through listening to this album it all kind of became a grey blur of mid-tempo, bloodless whining, chugging along without a trace of get-up-and-go. While this kind of music is likeable enough, Farrar should realize that there are now dozens, if not hundreds of bands making this kind of low-wattage, dirge-like din and it’s just about time for it to stop.

The Fall - Your Future Our Clutter

The Fall

Your Future Our Clutter

(Domino)

Website: dominorecordco.us

You gotta love old Mark E. Smith. He’s led the iconoclastic The Fall since its inception in the late 1970’s and as one of the first generation U.K. “punk” bands they have cobbled out a unique place in music history. Musically they have been up and down over the years but “YFOC” should be applauded for it’s spunky, anti-indie rock energy and Smith’s unerring sense of the lyrically absurd. This is The Fall kicking arse again. The digital mayhem of the past has been usurped by the cacophonous sounds of loud guitars and a thumping rhythm section; more 80’s The Fall than 00’s The Fall. If you have shied away from this band of late and need a digable dose of Smith’s scabrous wit enveloped by a band that can really push the air then definitely mess around with this clutter.

Rating: A

Steve Miller - Bingo!

Steve Miller

Bingo!

(Road Runner/Space Cowboy)

Website: roadrunnerrecords.com

Steve Miller’s last official release may have been seventeen years ago but on his latest he practically sounds like he’s still basking in his 1970’s prime. “Bingo!” is a blues-rock covers album full stop but that shouldn’t relegate it to the water treading section of your local records store. The 66 year-old Miller is in fine form here and tasty licks abound within his trademark framework of happy-making tones and feel good vibes. No dark and dreary delta hollerin’ or Chicago barroom brawling to be found, just the man and his crack band rolling cheerfully through Jimmie Vaughan (“Hey Yeah”, “Sweet Soul Vibe”, “Don’t Cha Know”), Lowell Fulson (“Tramp”) and Jesse Hill (“Ooh Poo Pah Doo”) versions. A definite must for older fans.

The Sweet Talks - The Kusum Beat

The Sweet Talks

The Kusum Beat

(Sound Way)

Website: www.soundwayrecords.com

This formerly lost-to-the-ages 1974 release is now ready for fan/addicts to pull into their world music-collecting realm. The eleven-strong conglomerate that was The Sweet Talks hailed from Tema, Ghana and this short but scintillating album boils with their youthful highlife-meets-afro beat enthusiasm. Then again, they do call it “The Kusum Beat” and anyone with ears will instantly recognize a slight difference in their haughty vocals, chattering guitars and hard-to-beat horn arrangements. The drummer lays heavily into the hi-hat, keeping the rhythm on high boil throughout and there is a palpable jazziness to their trumpet solos that will please even the most discriminating seeker. The repeating musical statements, mostly based around a cheap-sounding organ, almost become swirling and psychedelic at some points and the rhythmic structures advance before your ears and suck you in with a charming yet unrelenting flow. Nice plus.

The Sadies - Darker Circles

The Sadies

Darker Circles

(Outside Music)

Website: www.thesadies.net

The Sadies are now rightfully regarded as one of Canada’s hard-to-beat roots rocking outfits and there is no doubt that their ninth album, the estimable and slightly sinister  “Darker Circles” will not disappoint anyone within earshot of the thing. Interestingly, “DC” seems to be their “drugs” album. More often than not, the lyrics deal with the pain of loss, loneliness and regret. If you have paid attention to this genre over the years you already know that this kind of subject matter, when handled properly, can be a riveting listening experience. The Good brothers lay into the desperateness pretty honorably here. Musically, they again straddle the line between The Byrds in Gene Clark mode (the excellent “Whispering Circles”), bluegrass, hardcore country, quasi country-pop (The Mike Nesmith-influenced “Postcards”) and soul with journeymen’s skill and the ability to add depth with just a touch of right instrument at the right juncture in the song. It is a serious album that draws you back again and again into it’s overarching melancholy but it is less of a downer than a thoughtful treatise on what we eventually all experience over time, relationships and in The Sadies case, being on the road, lonely and without the safe at home anchors that keep us all sane. This is a high water mark in the career of a band that has already had plenty of kudos on their journey.

The Brains - Zombie Nation

The Brains

Zombie Nation

(Stomp)

Website: www.stomprecords.com

Ah yes. Here we have it. Zombie-Billy. Now don’t get me wrong. I like rockabilly. A lot. And pretty much all the variants too. And there are a tonne of variants. Look them up. Montreal’s The Brains (not to be confused with the black American punk band Bad Brains) obviously like real rockabilly too. Deep inside their generic thump is a root thread of the genuine article. If you listen closely to their fourth album you can hear a dollop of twang now and then that cues you to the fact that this trio, especially when guitarist Rene De La Muerte (not his real name) lays into the single note solos, have done a little homework. Carl Perkins would be proud-ish. Sadly, when it comes to the so-called “psycho/zombie-billy” pose these guys lean into the faux gruesomeness just a little to heavily. It’s a musical scene that is widely replicated all over the globe and good on these native sons for making a name for themselves belting out what the kids want. It does all sound the same on “Zombie Nation”. Lyrically, it’s a wash since every song is about the same topic. Zombies…zombies and their lifestyle and how they kick ass and need to be dealt with, etcetera. Since we all know Satan is a pussy it makes no difference that these cats and their creepy, costume-sportin’ fans are out to get him. They can triple time their drumbeats and motorize their bull fiddle slaps to ninety miles an hour…it still all sounds the same. Nice cover art though and the “zombie” girls’ photos on the inner sleeve are cool. They would look even better if they weren’t pretending to be zombie slutz. See them live. It may work better than this album does.

Horace Andy - Serious Times

Horace Andy

Serious Times

(Minor7 Flat5)

Website: www.minor7flat5.com

Traditional roots reggae albums are becoming more and more difficult to find on these shores and with the release of the excellent “Serious Times” fans of the style can again truly rejoice, mon. Horace Andy needs no introduction to serious collectors but suffice to say Horace “Sleepy” Hinds was on the scene in JA in the late 1960’s and hasn’t really ever left. His recent work with Brit scenesters Massive Attack brought his smooth, hiccupy vibrato to an excited new generation and with his latest “Serious Times” it is again time to cherish this mastersinger. Produced by the wily German Andreas Christophersen the album reeks of a pure roots-reggae vibe. Opening with the bubbling title track Christophersen, Andy and the super sympathetic backing band create the kind of flow that recreates the sound of classic 70’s reggae and that’s saying a lot. Andy has never shied away from saying exactly what is on his mind in his lyrics and tracks like “Rastafari”, “False Witness” and “Rumors of War” bring his personal political stance to the fore in a most convincing yet musical way. Obviously, we do live in serious times and this album is just the tonic for easing the pressure just a little while providing some relatable knowledge for moving forward peacefully, with conviction.

David Cross - Bigger and Blackerer (CD, DVD)

David Cross

Bigger and Blackerer (CD, DVD)

(SubPop)

Website: www.subpop.com

Comedian/actor David Cross is no stranger to venting about what he finds ridiculous about the world we live in and his latest throwdown offers a fresh perspective on the world we inhabit – for better, but mostly worse. “B&B” is sold separately as a CD and DVD set and they differ slightly in content. Obviously the DVD gives you a look at how Mr. Cross plays the Boston audience and his ability to act out certain aspects of his routine visually. This really works on the bit entitled “That One Show About Drugs and Stuff” where he mimics the standard hunched limp of the methadone junkies he sees near his apartment in New York. It’s like he’s been there himself, and to hear him tell it, he has. Cross pointedly takes on the Mormon religion, Scientology, “The Physics of Heaven” and Whole Foods. Much of his humour is drawn directly from his personal experiences and his left-leaning political edge will certainly put off those with other sentiments. Both sets come with a nice foldaway wall sized poster of the album cover depicting Cross on a black velvet painting making the laughs continue right onto yr own personal piece of drywall. The DVD features six bonus tracks and a few hidden bits as well. Cross fans will eat this up and as an intro to this former “Arrested Development” cast members’ standup routine it’s a pretty good starting point for neophytes.

Archie Bronson Outfit - Coconut

Archie Bronson Outfit

Coconut

(Domino)

Website: www.archiebronsonoutfit.net

Instead of boring you with the standard issue disc review usually presented here, and since this new, long-awaited Archie Bronson Outfit album is just so darn entertaining, I have chosen to break down my thoughts into easily digestible chunks. Let us know yr thoughts in the usual fashion. This will give allow you to get back to texting quicker.

• The grinding sonic plunge of opening track “Magnetic Warrior” is just that.

• Classic Echo and the Bunnymen pop meet Jesus and Mary Chain danger-fuzz.

• Interesting, clank arrangements that marry a somewhat jarring intensity with nervous beats and hazy vocals yelping rather preposterous lyrics.

• “Wild Strawberries” - echoed menace roiling… high note bass smacks!

• A dissonance of sound that skirts the danger zone between pop and distorted, angry indie-rock.

• “Chuck” is Echo and the B’men for a new generation, chock full of single note guitar and blind bass pulsation designed to stick in yr memory.

• Fans of the older school will cherish the herky twitch of the ABO’ style

• The only quasi-ballad in the set is called “Hunt You Down”. Love as an attack.

Andy Kim - Happen Again

Andy Kim

Happen Again

(E! Music Canada)

Website: www.andykimmusic.com

Yr parents’ nostalgia starts here.

Singer/songwriter Andy “Youakim” Kim had something a career in the late 1960’s and 1970’s. He was a co-writer of The Archies hit (and community centre social music staple) “Sugar, Sugar” and had a pretty sizeable radio presence on AM radio in the early days of Canadian content regulations. Ask yr mom about “Rock Me Gently”. He also tried to re-invent himself secretly as “Baron Longfellow” and hit the charts again in the early 80’s.

The royalties have perhaps trickled down to a slow flow and Mr. Kim has now delivered the easygoing “Happen Again”. For all intents and purposes this is exactly what the “Adult Contemporary” label was intended for. Kim sings about mature subject matter, that is what being of a certain (older) age is like and all the positives, negatives and emotional highs and lows that come along with getting further along in life. On that level, this album works very well indeed. The pop music construct has always been where this guy shines and musically this album is a good as it gets. His voice is still smooth as honey and he writes with conviction and the kind of grace that other artists seem to forget is necessary as you mature. Like he’s written on the inner sleeve, “Music…the art of self-realization” “Happen Again” is a sweet, at times even powerful, testament to an artist that still deserves respect and maybe even some of your time. Or yr moms’.

Bettye LaVette - Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook

Bettye LaVette

Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook

(Anti-)

Website: www.anti.com

Soul music aficionados have recently enjoyed the resurgence of American stylist Bettye LaVette from a long time lost to an unnecessary career stall. When Anti Records lit a fire under her career in 2005 with the release of “I’ve Got My Own Hell To Raise” she again rose to prominence in the musical community, and rightfully so. Two albums later she is now interpreting British rock classics and truth be told, it is a bit of a hit and miss affair. Most readers of this publication will understand completely when I say that it’s about freaking time that we stopped worshipping classic rock hits and make room in our listening world for something, anything different. It seems that the folks at Anti- thought it would be cool to get Ms. LaVette to wrap her raspy pipes around such astoundingly overdone tracks like Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here”, The Moody Blues’ “Nights In White Satin” and Sir Elton John’s turgid “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”. Thankfully they scraped a little deeper with the less oft consumables like “Salt Of The Earth”, “Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad” and “Isn’t It A Pity”. LaVette sings everything in very much the same guttural voice throughout and mostly these downturned versions don’t really add anything to her canon. It’s a pleasing enough listen, but more often than not when LaVette reaches for the money shot notes in these songs it sounds like a bad Tina Turner imitation. But maybe that is just my interpretation.

Greg MacPherson - Mr. Invitation

Greg MacPherson

Mr. Invitation

(Smallman Records)

Website: www.gregmacpherson.com

‘Peg City favorite son Greg MacPherson is now onto his sixth album and with “Mr. Invitation” he scores big points for once again keeping it all very real. G-Mac doesn’t really fit into any neat musical categories and that is most likely by his own design and we the listeners are the benefactors of this rather iconoclastic stance. As usual, urban angst looms large in the songs. MacPherson has the keen ability to write delicate songs, dug directly from his own first-person experience, and make them keenly universal in scope. Whether he’s riding a bus in “West End”, considering geographical relocation in “Visitor” or just taking stock of his situation (“Travelling Style”) the songs are usually about some kind of forward motion. The heart-on-sleeve stance that MacPherson delivers isn’t a weakness either. This is a guy that allows difficult emotions to simmer to the surface and then deals with them with consideration – something that the more alpha males of the species would be advised to try once in a while. MacPherson’s band mates deserve special mention, especially nimble-fingered guitarist Steve “Batso” Bates and Weakerthans, thinking-man’s percussionist Jason Tait. Both these cats understand that MacPherson’s music is about understatement buoyed by strength of conviction and that is exactly how they play. Bates’ playing comes off like daubs of colour in a sometimes-grey bleak landscape while Tait actually “plays” his kit rather than just banging away at it. The album sounds good too. The production is airy and bright and even when the band is kicking out the jams a little bit it always sounds clean and present. MacPherson deserves all this at this stage in his career. He has worked long and hard getting to where he really needs to be to attract an even wider base of fans. This album should get him there.