ALSO OUT THIS WEEK:
ALICE IN CHAINS: RAINIER FOG (BMG)
No doubt about it, the opening tune titled The One You Know is one of the best tunes AIC has ever penned. The staggered riff, stoner metal chorus and melodic twist are all signatures of this band, but when they get it right, it’s fine indeed. The title track may sound like a reference to weather conditions on Mount Rainier, but the lyrics make it clear it just as well references a brain haze brought on by Washington state’s popular cheap beer. The only issue with the 10 tunes, and this is hardly a new complaint with this group, is the amount of plodding filler that gets in the way of the good tracks. It’s like they can never cheer up nor quit trying to write some sort of ultimately moribund power ballad.
FOR A LIFE UNBURDENED: CONTEMPT/CLARITY (FALU MUSIC)
This Alberta metalcore crew is carving out a solid rep for its brand of scream-and-clean and with songs as tight as the single Run Away, it’s pretty easy to hear why. The playing on songs such as Adamantium is big, pulsing and heavy while embracing the kind of mathematic time signatures and twists that define the genre. A few more changeups such as Face in Hell or The Blind King would be welcome, as there is a tad too much familiarity between the tunes. Lyrically, they have something to say. That’s welcome.
Tour dates: Aug. 26, Vancouver at the Flamingo; Aug. 28, Vernon at Record City; Aug. 29, Castlegar at The Woods Nightclub; Aug. 30, Nelson at The Royal
NEIL AND LIAM FINN: LIGHT-SLEEPER (PIAS)
New Zealand’s Finn family are one of pop music’s most prolific, having produced a body of amazing music dating back to the ’70s. This is the first time Neil and son Liam have recorded a proper album together and they have brought along Sharon and Elroy Finn as well as drummer Mick Fleetwood for this surprisingly psychedelic session. From the slack-hop of Where’s My Room, with its apparent loop sample of crickets for a rhythm track butting alongside fat cellos, to the space chimes throughout Any Other Way, this is far more downbeat than either Finn’s other solo output. OK, Anger Plays A Part is pretty much the only song on the 11-tune record that sounds familiar. A winning release.
THE LEMON TWIGS: GO TO SCHOOL (4AD)
The second album from brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario is a concept album. Shane is a pure-of-heart chimpanzee raised as a human boy who comes to face obstacles on a journey of sonic revelation. Todd Rundgren and mother Susan D’Addario voice the parents and Big Star’s Jody Stephens and father Ronnie D’Addario drop in as well. So, if you were looking for a repeat of their celebrated debut, Do Hollywood, this is not it. However, time, touring and experience have all contributed to a fuller, more balanced record where the ragged ’60s pop harmonies — check the vintage power chords and cymbal crashers in the silly Rock Dreams (I know how you like your bananas/You’re going to like your new school) — and weird rock musical flourishes (Never Know is great) all seem far more assured. They might have an actual single somewhere in here, if they want one.
The Go To School tour lands in Montreal (Nov. 11, Corona), Toronto (Jan. 22, Phoenix) and Vancouver (Jan. 30, Venue).