Music, musings and miscellanea

This review originally appeared at Exclaim.ca

Given Atlantic Canada’s Celtic roots and penchant for dirty throwback rock, it’s amazing that the region hasn’t produced many bands in the mould of Dropkick Murphys or Flogging Molly. While Celtic punk groups tend to pop-up all over the U.S., we’re left with Great Big Sea.

The Stanfields aim to change that with their debut record, Vanguard of the Young & Reckless. “The Dirtiest Drunk (in the History of Liquor)” alone should carry the band for years, challenging Spirit of the West’s “Home for a Rest” as the national drinking anthem. Their best songs lean on their Clash influences, spitting out chugging guitar riffs and East Coast sloganeering like the ghost of Joe Strummer.

But many of the songs also go on for too long, most likely due to the group cutting their teeth in Atlantic Canada’s vibrant bar scene. And the more straight-ahead hard rock moments, while sure to get them played on oh-so conservative modern rock radio stations, dull the group’s edge. It’s also worrisome for the future: which direction are this band headed in? Regardless, we should appreciate the Stanfields for what they are now: a hard-drinking good time.

“The Dirtiest Drunk”

This review originally appeared at Chartattack.com

It’s rare that an artist who spends time creating an outrageous aesthetic is able to match their look with their music. But Toronto’s own glam-rock jock Diamond Rings has done just that with his hotly anticipated Special Affections debut album.

So don’t let that bright stripe across John O’Regan’s face turn you off — this isn’t some trashy, throwaway electro project from the D’Urbervilles frontman. O’Regan has instead married Arthur Russell’s dance work with Joy Division’s dark moodiness and come up with indie-pop gold.

As Diamond Rings, O’Regan has done far more than just establishing a new sound and identity. He’s crafted a great set of songs filled with hooks and some fabulous vocal turns. Previously released “All Yr Songs” remains a highlight but newer tunes like “On Our Own” more than measure up to the smattering of tracks O’Regan put out in the past year, proof positive that Diamond Rings is one of the best new Canadian acts of the year.

“Wait & See”

This review originally appeared at Exclaim.ca

After a string of seven-inches and remixes, Salem have finally dropped this, their debut full-length. Creating chopped and screwed tunes for the indie set, the Midwestern trio have been heralded as the originators of a new genre ― “witch house” or “drag” ― and derided as the next Teenagers or Black Kids. Detractors would argue they’re too focused on creating a musical aesthetic than listenable tunes, something their spotty live shows support. King Night is unlikely to cause any massive shifts in musical taste, but it’s very good.

Opener “King Night” sounds like a club banger for the apocalypse, the keyboards creating ghostly melodies over bass dragged across a rock quarry. The high female vocals soaring overhead are the only thing keeping these tracks from falling into oblivion. “Sick” comes closest to the kind of Houston hip-hop tracks from which the band draw so much inspiration. “Redlights” is also included, in case you missed it the first couple of times they stuck it on record. But where it was the obvious standout on both previous releases, here it fits in nicely with the album’s other tracks, such as “Frost,” showing that the band have stepped up and started writing real songs.

King Night is an exhausting listen, resembling the kind of haze you feel after waking up with a really bad hangover. But it’s ultimately saved by its dark, unusual hooks.

“Asia”

This review originally appeared at Chartattack.com

Dense doesn’t even come close to explaining the breadth of this latest comp from venerable electronic/hip-hop label Ninja Tune. In its most sprawling form, this 20th anniversary collection contains six discs, six seven-inches, a label family tree poster and a book.

Four of the discs will be available outside the set, featuring recent releases as well as a host of new mixes and remixes from the label’s deep roster of artists. Higher profile vets like Roots Manuva, Diplo and Ninja Tune founders Coldcut sit comfortably next to lesser known (but no-less skillful) ones like Grasscut dubstep producers The Bug and Zomby, making for a consistently thrilling listening adventure.

Unlike the equally excellent Zen Cuts comp the label issued to celebrate its 10th anniversary, Ninja Tune XX isn’t really organized into any neat categories. Instead, the first two discs tend to lean on the more upbeat numbers in the label’s deep catalogue, while discs three and four tend toward the more chilled out and experimental ones.

The strength of Ninja Tune compilations like this is they always reward long-time fans with plenty of deep cuts and rarities that would otherwise be impossible to track down. But they remain an engaging and coherent listen to even the most ignorant of listeners, which is what makes them consistently essential listens.

Ninja Tune Video Mix by Mox

This review originally appeared at Exclaim.ca

For their long-embattled fans, early word about the new Weezer album looked promising: a switch to indie powerhouse Epitaph would result in the quartet’s most rocking record in years. Then we got a cover with the dude from Lost and a clothing line tie-in with the titular company. Ugh.

Thankfully, Hurley falls more in line with early expectations than a Weez-approved set of T-shirts and jackets might suggest; it’s the band’s least groan-inducing record since Maladroit, and their most consistent since the Green Album brought them out of hibernation. “Where’s My Sex” is really the only track that wallows in the detritus that filled out Make Believe and the Red Album.

Frontman/main songwriter Rivers Cuomo continues to experiment with a host of writing partners (Semisonic’s Dan Wilson, Ryan Adams and even Linda Perry get co-writing credits), but their influences are far less pronounced. And even though loser anthem “Trainwrecks” doesn’t restore the idiosyncratic glory of their debut, and faux-acoustic number “Unspoken” doesn’t rub the same raw nerve as Pinkerton, if you’ve stuck with the band through all their pop concessions and Lil Wayne guest spots, Hurley is the band’s satisfying, if not outright incredible, return to glory.

“Memories”