CD Releases: Belle And Sebastian, Prefuse 73, Beth Orton And More!
Tuesday February 07, 2006 @ 03:30 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN The Life Pursuit (Matador/Beggars)
The last few Belle And Sebastian records were the equivalent of a gigantic lion yawn, and bands with a history of repeating themselves usually have a hard time going for innovation later in their careers. But by the time you've finished listening to the beautifully atmospheric "Act Of The Apostle," you'll go right back to declaring these Scots your favourite purveyors of twee pop. Taking more cues from The New Pornographers than Nick Drake, "White Collar Boy" could hold up as the power pop track of the year, while other songs suggest Stuart Murdoch and co. have been rocking everything from Paul Simon to Pizzicato 5 lately. If you've given up on B&S, give The Life Pursuit a spin — you won't believe your ears. Noah Love

BIGWIG Reclamation (Fearless/Sonic Unyon)
New Jersey punk stalwarts Bigwig have been in the game for years and have always put out solid, enjoyable punk albums that never clock in at over 40 minutes and always move at a breakneck pace. Much like their Californian contemporaries in Pennywise and NOFX, Bigwig's albums are always good for a speedy punk fix. However, they do nothing to carry on the genre or do anything new to push the envelope. Sure it's heavier and more balls out than most recent mainstream "punk" music, but if you want to scream about rebellion and subversion, you should practise what you preach. It's a shame that a genre based on individuality and originality has become such a stale caricature of itself. Shehzaad Jiwani

DEPTH AFFECT Arche-Lymb (Autres Directions/Where Are My Records)
The French take pop songs seriously and Depth Affect know how to plumb the depths of pop music history to find the best samples for their mishmash-style electronica. They've spent most of their time sifting through rap records, resulting in some fresh hip-hop beats — sort of like Air filtered through Madlib. Depth Affect are also good at balancing opposites. The best songs marry thumping rhythms to the gentle strumming of an acoustic guitar or a plaintive voice, although sometimes the contrast falls apart. On "One Day Or So," rapper Cyne rails against ghetto violence and gangsters who "make some cash killing my community," but his words are put to pretty ringing effects and airy melodies that rob his message of any power. Still, that's one standout mistake on an album that otherwise combines substance with style. Michael Stittle

TALIB KWELI Right About Now: The Official Sucka Free Mix CD (Black Smith/KOCH)
The crumbs that fall off Talib Kweli's plate are tastier and more nutritious than most rappers' entrees. You needn't look any further than this ensemble of musical odds and ends to prove that point. Right About Now mixes new tracks with some late deletions from The Beautiful Struggle and the results stand up well against Kweli's previous work. Lyrical heavyweights such as Mos Def, Jean Grae and MF Doom all get their spit on next to Kweli, who takes some serious shots at former label Geffen on the title track and writes a supportive musical love letter to a certain Fugee on the melodic "Ms. Hill." This is a solid back-to-front record that should leave fans salivating for Kweli's next volume of new material. Matt Semansky

BETH ORTON Comfort Of Strangers (EMI)
If you got into Orton because of her interesting blend of acoustic folk and dance beats, then look elsewhere. The 14 songs on Comfort Of Strangers are all fairly straightforward, understated pieces of pop songwriting. Not that there's anything wrong with that. With her sharp eye for detail and ability to hit emotional nails on the head, Orton doesn't need many tricks to make these songs work, and her supple and unmannered vocals are a treat throughout. Still, the simple acoustic arrangements and rather low-fi soundscapes make this album sound more like a collection of demos than a fully realized record. John Teshima

P.O.D. Testify (Atlantic/Warner)
Christian rap-metal quartet P.O.D. keep plugging away on their sixth LP, which sounds a lot like their last five. Following the blueprint of 2002's more melodic Satellite, the band mostly stick to their tried-and-true formula of big, glossy guitars and vocalist Sonny's uplifting melodies and spiritual lyrics. Incorporating more reggae and dub into the mix (particularly on the opener, "Roots In Stereo," featuring the insufferable Matisyahu) seems like an afterthought, as the songs are still mostly radio-ready hard rock tracks that emulate older hits like "Alive" and "Youth Of The Nation." If you liked P.O.D. before, there's no reason not to like them here, but ultimately, that's the problem — it all sounds the same. Shehzaad Jiwani

P.O.S Audition (Rhymesayers/Universal)
On his sophomore disc, Minneapolis punk-rapper P.O.S continues to blend a host of unlikely sounds with his passionate verses. He reaches into his kitchen sink of beats for everything from metal power chords to Middle Eastern-flavoured atmospherics, modulating his flow from Slim Shady-like aggression to Native Tongue soulfulness. Audition is a remarkably ambitious disc, but in his quest to be original P.O.S narrowly misses the mark on creating a coherent, satisfying record. There are enough solid tunes to give Audition a passing grade — the funky stroll of "Teddy Bear And A Tazer" being the cream of the crop — but P.O.S is clearly capable of more. Matt Semansky

PORTUGAL. THE MAN Waiter: "You Vultures!" (Fearless/Sonic Unyon)
Portugal. The Man's music, like the band's name, favours disjointed ideas and an awkward cadence. The closest comparisons might be the jerky rhythms of At The Drive-In or the sharp guitars and punk energy of Pretty Girls Make Graves. But Portugal. The Man like to stuff as many ideas into a song as possible, whether it's a shifting time signature, juicy guitar riff or pseudo-rapping. Amazingly, the songs don't burst. They somehow keep their cohesion, whether stitched together by a strong vocal melody on "AKA M80 The Wolf," or a refrain of crashing drums on "Chicago." The band are also tight. Most of the members come from Alaska and seem to have spent most of their time avoiding the freezing temperatures outside to practice indoors. Canadians should be thankful. Michael Stittle

PREFUSE 73 Security Screenings (Warp/Outside)
Scott Herren has been spicing up the experimental techno scene with some much-needed funk since 2001. On his fourth album under the Prefuse 73 moniker, Herren's beats and processor sounds take full command of the sonic stage, as the producer largely abandons the offbeat rapper collaborations that marked his previous work. To describe these beats as "fractured" would be a major understatement — you can practically hear a machete hacking through the noise on tracks like "With Dirt and Two Texts." But as weird as Herren's tracks are, they're held together by a surprisingly strong rhythmic current that makes them more listenable than they have any right to be. Matt Semansky

PSYCHIC ILLS Dins (Social Registry/Sonic Unyon)
If the liner notes didn't make it clear that this record was recorded in a Brooklyn studio, it would be reasonable to assume that the Psychic Ills holed up in a shanty for the entire process. It would explain the frustrating result —a ramshackle eight songs that switch from unintelligible shoe-gazing jams to the same thing minus vocals. The electronica-tinged, gypsy-on-an-LSD-trip songs would be perfect to soundtrack the spaced-out heroin highs in a Trainspotting remake or the air-whizzing-by ambience on your next journey through the solar system. If you're listening to this LP and not in either of those situations, you'll wish you were, or you'll at least hope that the Psychic Ills get themselves some proper equipment — and clarity — on their next release. Angela Kozak

URSULA RUCKER Ma'at Mama (!K7/Outside)
Ursula Rucker is a smart, passionate woman and a well-respected spoken-word slinger who can no doubt hold a live audience spellbound with her verses about black culture, female pride and the general state of a messed-up world. Too bad her style isn't well suited to the CD format, a deficiency that's evident on Ma'at Mama. This disc is long on Rucker's repetitive, asymmetrical cadence and strident politics, but what it lacks is strong backbeats. Only the horn-powered "Rant" qualifies as a truly enjoyable listen. More representative is "Black Erotica," with its clinical and cringe-worthy description of oral sex. Personal empowerment is a noble goal, but Rucker makes it sound like no fun at all. Matt Semansky

SCARLET This Was Always Meant To Fall Apart (Ferret)
Scarlet's semi-conceptual effort documents the end of a vaguely described period in the singer's life that, though well-written, is conveyed through rather cookie-cutter melodic metalcore. And due to the just-okay musicianship, it comes off as shallow as any other break-up themed album put out by countless other screamo bands. Credit where credit's due, though; the band's melodic moments are well-placed and not contrived, with intricate harmonies carrying over apocalyptic guitar riffs and bombastic drum blasts. As for telling the band apart from the pack, Scarlet fortunately have more in common with forward-thinking acts like The Bled. But they rely too heavily on the tried-and-true style of modern metalcore to really set themselves apart from other bands who have done this before and, ultimately, done it better. Shehzaad Jiwani

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