By Divine Right — Mutant Message

By Divine Right started making a name for themselves during the Canadian independent music renaissance early in the last decade, but their output has been more sporadic of late. In fact, Mutant Message is the band's first album in five years.

BDR main man Jose Contreras has been busy producing music for the likes of his wife Lily Frost, as wBy Divine Right - Mutant Message | CHARTattackell as Meligrove Band, Brian Borcherdt and The Bicycles. He recorded Mutant Message in his new home studio in Mono Mills, Ont.

But the return of the group he's synonymous with is rather disappointing after getting off to a good start with the sub-two-minute jangle pop opener, "I Love A Girl."

You'll find lots of handclaps and harmonies throughout the album's 10 songs, most successfully with "Wings Too Big" and "Kiss My Chakras." "Help Me Find A Place To Land" is the other highlight of this marginally psychedelic pop album, which will help you brush up on your Spanish skills via "Que Paso?."

Contreras is a really nice guy, and I've enjoyed much of his work in the past, so I wish I liked this album as much as the Peruvian cocktail that shares a name with song seven, "Pisco Sour." But I don't.

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