Reviews: Rivers Cuomo, Fritz Helder, Lupe Fiasco And More
Tuesday January 08, 2008 @ 12:30 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

BEATS for the PSP (Sony)
It's taken longer than expected, but Beats brings Frequency/Amplitude-style gameplay to the PSP, allowing for beat-matching button-mashing on the go. It's not a port though. Instead of hitting notes on music tracks, players need to match button presses as they pass over one of three spots on the screen. At higher skill levels, highlighting which spot you're matching beats to and getting the button presses correct becomes frantic. The ability to use your own mp3s stored on a memory stick adds endless personalization and replay value. Available exclusively through the PlayStation Store website, this $6 download is easily worth the price and a definite must-buy. Earl Cousins

CREATURE Dance... Now! (Sugartune)
Creature's goals are to "make you get up and move your body." And if you've done a little pre-drinking, Dance... Now! just might be able to pull it off. The four-track digital EP — a precursor to the band's upcoming full-length — is a quick slice of power pop that'll work as an ample (and inexpensive) introduction to the Montreal-based quartet. The tracks are eclectic enough in sound that they're all distinctly memorable, but Creature's real skill lies in their vocal acrobatics; think Hot Hot Heat circa "Bandages." This is definitely the sort of disc you'd label "playful" and, be warned, there are a few occasions where the four-piece sacrifice flow to have fun. Not since Weezer's "Undone — The Sweater Song" has a band so brazenly inserted a non-sequitur conversation into a track (and in the middle, at that). Scott Bryson

RIVERS CUOMO Alone: The Home Recordings Of Rivers Cuomo (Geffen)
Over the years the size of Rivers Cuomo's catalogue of home recordings has achieved legendary status among uber-fans. Most accounts put the number of unreleased Weezer songs well into the hundreds, which explains why every minute of this career-spanning B-sides collection feels significant. Among a Beastie Boys-inspired and entirely unironic cover of Ice Cube's "The Bomb," five movements from the abandoned Songs From The Black Hole rock opera, a collaboration with Sloan and an early '80s argument about how to be more like KISS, not one of the 18 tracks is wasted. Two in particular, the Gregg Alexander-penned "The World We Love So Much" and closer "I Was Made For You," rival the best of the Weezer catalogue. Newcomers beware: these songs are meaningless when removed from their original contexts and the sound quality is pretty awful. Still, dedicated fans (of which Weezer have legions) will consider Alone the most significant archaeological expedition not involving Lara Croft. Jared Moreno

THE DICKENS S/T (Independent)
This is the second full-length release from the Toronto-based quartet. All I remember from reviewing their first album in 2003 is that I still can't find a used record store in Toronto that will take it off my hands. But dang, this new one is good. It opens with the driving "Living The Good Life," with its ballsy-bluesy guitar licks. The strength of the album rests on the guitar melodies that alternately shimmer, soar and kick you in the shins. From the playful "Downtown Is Awesome" to the more sombre and searching "Birds," The Dickens have crafted a solid, high-energy offering of indie rock/pop stripped to its essentials. It's enough to make me go and revisit the first album, since I seem entirely unable to get rid of it. Shannon Whibbs

GRAM PARSONS & THE FLYING BURRITO BROTHERS Live At The Avalon Ballroom 1969 (Amoeba/Fontana North)
Much has been written on Gram Parsons' substantial influence on the rock 'n' roll world with his particular country rock hybrid. Parsons countrified The Byrds for their stellar Sweethearts Of The Rodeo album, disappeared and soon resurfaced with ex-Byrd Chris Hillman (who followed Parsons out of that band) to create Flying Burrito Brothers. This Avalon Ballroom set is a recently uncovered recording of two shows by the Brothers opening for The Grateful Dead in April 1969. It features a mix of honky-tonk standards, covers and originals that appear on the Burrito's debut album, The Gilded Palace Of Sin. Parsons had a history of drug abuse throughout the latter years of his life and he was most together when performing live. Fittingly, these recordings capture the strength of the Flying Burrito Brothers' live sound before drugs and internal bickering took its toll on the group. Hearing Parsons' plaintive lead vocals on the two different renditions of "Hot Burrito #1" is worth the price of the two CDs alone. Other highlights include a cosmic country cover of the R&B standard "Dark End Of The Street." The Burritos rock out on Chuck Berry's "Lucille," even if the general reaction from the Dead crowd is quite mixed. The problem with the material is the repetition on the two discs. Though the two sets aren't identical, they're similar enough that it sounds like just too much of the same good thing. Chris Burland

JONNY GREENWOOD There Will Be Blood OST (Nonesuch/Warner)
Barely a single review of Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood has neglected to mention Jonny Greenwood's accompanying score. In the film, the Radiohead multi-instrumentalist's work gives the proceedings a heavy sense of dread with a haunting, modern touch. The question, as with all instrumental soundtracks, is whether it holds up without the context of the movie. The answer is: surprisingly well. Most days, I drive across Toronto's Lakeshore Boulevard and up the Don Valley Parkway to south of Highway 401. I keep playing There Will Be Blood in the car because its dramatic flourishes, while hardly relaxing, echo the world Daniel Plainview (TWWB's main character) would have envisioned — a concrete jungle filled with motorists, all mindlessly consuming oil. In a way, it's the perfect soundtrack to a boring afternoon drive. Call it uneasy listening. Noah Love

FRITZ HELDER AND THE PHANTOMS Greatest Hits (House Of Helder)
No one else in Canada is doing what Fritz Helder And The Phantoms pull off on their dazzling debut, Greatest Hits. Incorporating fashion, fabulosity and the out-of-this-world fierceness of Prince into 10 tracks strung together with party-themed interludes, GH is a playful electronic romp of live-staple-fan-favourites and new songs. Like walking into a five-storey club with different DJs in every room, this debut features a song from each member, plus a few more from the gender-bending leader. The magical synth soothings of "Lagerfeld Lady" and the trend-setting "You Ain't Vogue" would make Vice magazine editors blush and sexed up anthems such as the high-speed "Punch Me In The Neck" and "Red Coat" are dripping with just the right amount of juice and beats. Beneath all that glitter, there's enough attitude and creativity to keep a very of-the-moment sounding effort afloat for much longer than any other Canadian dance album has been able to do in years. Phil Villeneuve

LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT Violent Acts Of Beauty (Metropolis)
Apocalyptic white noise over disco beats? Check. Militant revolutionary imagery? Check. Ultra-left moralizing? Check. Over-enunciated, rhythmically forced diatribes on impending social deconstruction? Yep, sounds like another goth-industrial record. London After Midnight are best known for appearing on soundtracks for bad movies and opening for better groups. After a nine-year break, frontman Sean Brennan returned to remind us why we never missed him to begin with. The disc starts in predictable territory with crunchy anthems "The Beginning Of The End," "Feeling Fascist?" and "Nothing's Sacred." Not until the album's strongest track, "America's A F***ing Disease," do we hear anything unexpected, and it's a flute. Unlike last spring's stellar NIN offering, musical creativity isn't high on Brennan's priority list. But he still earns points for being the most zealous extremist with a drum machine. One of the more sadistic pleasures I've enjoyed was sipping Coca Cola, wearing Nike and planning my next trip to Harvey's while listening to him condemn consumer lifestyles. He's gotta make better music before I care what he thinks. Jared Moreno

LUPE FIASCO Lupe Fiasco's The Cool (Atlantic)
Mixing smarts, beats and brawn, Lupe Fiasco is pretty damn accessible as far as MCs go. His latest full-length is another strong effort from this justified critical fave. The lanky linguist goes out of his way to buck hip-hop conventions without coming off as glib or pretentious, which is no mean feat in this day and age. "Go Go Gadget Flow" is the most immediate track and, although Gnarls Barkley had already nicked the concept, Lupe does them one better by throwing some social commentary into the mix (I think). The earnest "Hip-Hop Saved My Life" is another standout and on the whole, Lupe plays things exceedingly honest, speaking from the heart with a ton of passion and urgency. This album definitely warrants the hype and deserves to be heard by music fans of all shapes and sizes. Cameron Gordon

MALICIOUS Music Starts With M (OdoubleF)
On Music Starts With M, Malicious (a.k.a. Mr. Malish) drops a debut album full of original beats, solid rhymes and a maturity you rarely see in hip-hop nowadays. Right off the top, on "Barefoot," "Gameday" and "Yuk," the Montreal rapper lets you know that he has skills other rappers just can't contend with. Lyrically, his flow is incredibly original. He also mixes things up with songs that range from the club to the radio to joints only serious hip-hop heads will bang. "Heatwave," with its dirty south vibe is followed by "Harder," with heavy bass and dancehall flare. On "Reign" and "Take Me Home" he takes it to the streets with tenacious lyrics that keep you fully engaged. There are a few forgettable tracks, but overall, Malicious is a name you don't want to forget. Cheryl Thompson

THE PINE HILL HAINTS Ghost Dance (K)
This Huntsville, Alabama roots-folk band have been playing around the southern U.S. and selling records from the stage for almost 10 years. But with this K debut, perhaps they can get the broader recognition that their haunting (though not depressing) music deserves. They keep things stripped down with vocals, guitar, snare drum, washtub bass and occasional accordion or banjo, and 11 of the album's 20 songs were recorded in one day by K founder Calvin Johnson. Jamie Barrier sings and writes most of the songs, with a good mix of traditionals thrown in, including the Celtic favourite, "Raggle Taggle Gypsy." "Whisper In The Dark" is a sparse rockabilly number, there's a Bo Diddley-like shuffle to "Phantom Rules," and "I Never Thought The Day Would Come When You Could Hate Me So Dearly" is the most up-tempo cut. If you like folk music with an edge, you should Ghost Dance with The Pine Hill Haints. Steve McLean

REVEREND ORGANDRUM Hi-Fi Stereo (Yep Roc/Outside)
Jim "The Reverend Horton Heat" Heath veers off from his usual punkabilly fare to play guitar with five-time Grammy Award winner Tim Alexander (Asleep At The Wheel) on Hammond organ and Todd Soesbe on drums on this album of vintage material that could have been recorded 40 years ago. Fans of Booker T. & The MG's will appreciate this swingin' CD where Heath sings on the 18-song album's only two vocal tracks and the styles run the gamut from blues to surf, jazz, soul and movie and television themes. The musicianship is exemplary throughout and, even though the disc may not be as consistently entertaining as hoped, the high points including "Moovin' And Groovin'," "Honky Tonk (Side A & B)" and better known tunes such as "James Bond Theme," "I Got A Woman," "Groovin'" and "Time Is Tight" make this a worthy investment. Steve McLean

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT Rufus! Rufus! Rufus! Does Judy! Judy! Judy! (Geffen)
Rufus Wainwright's re-creation of Judy Garland's 1961 Carnegie Hall show went over so well that he took it to London and had it filmed for DVD release. If you're not a fan of Wainwright or show tunes, this film really, really, really ain't for you. However, if you enjoy either of these things, then this is just a little bit of heaven, baby. Wainwright gets his camp on while belting out classics "Over The Rainbow," "Putting On The Ritz" and "Swanee" while by a full orchestra. It's a loving tribute to a legend and a must for any Wainwright fan. Shannon Whibbs

THE WARLOCKS Heavy Deavy Skull Lover (Tee Pee)
Life's gotta be tough for The Warlocks. Everyone in their peer group has achieved some level of notoriety — Brian Jonestown Massacre for Anton Newcombe's reputation as a madman and Dig, Dandy Warhols for their shameless radio hit grasping, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club for their dextrous JAMC imitation, and The Black Angels for perfecting the swirling native trance rock Ian Astbury thought he made 20 years ago. The Warlocks? They have two drummers. It's far from a ringing endorsement, though ringing is the default setting on Heavy Deavy Skull Lover. It's a blur of white noise feedback and droning loopy passages — the sort of thing you grow out of by your third year of college. That is, unless you're a heroin addict. There's little here beyond the pounding "Zombie Like Lovers" and the bristling noise of "Interlude In Reverse" that ever really shake off the fuzzy doldrums. Songs before bongs, fellas. Aaron Brophy

Previous Chartattack CD Reviews