QUICK HITS (AND MISSES)
Provincial John K. Samson (Anti-/epitaph) ★★★★
On his debut solo album, Weakerthans frontman John K. Samson hits the highway for a road trip serving as our tour guide over the course of 12 songs that take listeners down the Trans Canada Highway to Portage Avenue, out west to Ninette, north to Riverton and back to his home in Winnipeg. Manitobans will recognize most landmarks, but the themes of Samson’s poetry and stories — love, loss, home, regret, longing, technology, procrastination and hockey — will translate to music fans no matter where they live. Samson has never been one to write in a verse-chorus-verse style and his narratives on Provincial benefit from not having to stick to the format as he imagines a student researching the Ninette Sanatorium on the upbeat rocker, When I Write My Master’s
Thesis, (the most Weakerthans-like sounding track on the album) or translates a piece of correspondence from a patient at the hospital on the ballad Letter in Icelandic from the
Ninette San. Elsewhere he looks into the lives of participants and observers of the Sunday night Portage Avenue driving ritual on the pop gem Cruise Night; details a fictional affair between a teacher and principal on the sparse tear-jerker The Last And; and offers a lament to the demolished Army Surplus store on the folky Heart of the Continent. This might be a solo album, but Samson isn’t alone. He is joined by 15 musicians along the way who help him expand his musical palette with the addition of strings, piano, saxophone, double bass and treated guitars. As far as musical road trips go, Provincial is definitely one worth taking. Samson will perform Thursday, March 29 at the Royal Alberta Museum Theatre. Tickets are $22 plus service charges at yeglive.ca and Blackbyrd Myoozik.
Rob Williams, Winnipeg Free Press
Resolution Lamb of God (Epic/sony) ★★★★
On album No. 7, Virginia metal quintet Lamb of God seem intent to slaughter their fans. Following the hit-and-miss 2009 album Wrath, the band has tightened up its songwriting and unleashed a furious onslaught of tracks that draw from thrash, speed, sludge and groove metal with guttural vocals and screams courtesy of vocalist Randy Blythe, over-the-top guitar riffs, solos and harmonic squeals from the impressive team of Mark Morton and Willie Adler, and the frantic drumming of the band’s secret weapon, Chris Adler, whose unrelenting pace and occasional double bass blasts keep everything tight and focused. And after a nonstop barrage for most of the album, the band throws out a twist to end things off with the six-and-a-half minute orchestral closer King Me, complete with Latin lyrics from Mozart’s Requiem Mass in D Minor and a backing female vocal proving Lamb of God still have some unresolved ideas to explore.
Rob Williams, Winnipeg Free Press
Emotional Traffic Tim Mcgraw (Curb) ★★ 1/2
The story behind Tim Mcgraw’s 11th album is that it languished in legal limbo for two years while the country superstar battled his record company in court. Luckily, contemporary country music is not a genre prone to wild shifts in fashion. Whatever the legal problems were, it’s clear they were not based on Mcgraw attempting something artistic and new with these 12 tracks, which seem custom-built to be as unchallenging and agreeable as possible. Like many country artists who don’t write their own songs, Mcgraw is reliant on paint-by-number Nashville tunesmiths, and seems driven by an art-by-committee approach that drains Emotional Traffic of any discernible character. The songs are pleasant, if a little bland. His voice can be emotive, particularly on the relatively moody opener, Halo. But one can’t help but wish that Mcgraw would hire better writers or, at the very least, commit more fully to the hints of an adventure the album occasionally showcases. The feel-good Christian message of Touchdown Jesus could use more of the gospel kick it teases us with at the end. The poppy Hey Now swings a little too gently to be completely convincing, and Only Human, with a guest shot from R&B singer Ne-yo, stops a little too short of soulful. It’s sure to get lots of radio play. But, in the end, Emotional Traffic is pretty pedestrian.
Eric Volmers, Calgary Herald
Ringo 2012 Ringo Starr (Hip-o) ★★★ 1/2
Now he’s almost 72, and all he (still) wants to do is boogaloo. Incredibly, the fab drummer keeps on churning ’em out, although at first glance, his 16th studio album defines throwaway: it’s only 29 minutes long, with two reggae-accented remakes of lesser-known Ringo songs and two covers (one of them released last year on a Buddy Holly tribute). That leaves five new songs. But the mild shocker is that this spirited set, while nowhere near a gamechanger, is more satisfying than his last few discs. As usual, he’s often looking back at his youth, but it’s all more touching and engaging this time. Even if the quality happened completely by accident, a Ringo album you might pull out again is a welcome surprise.
Bernard Perusse, Montreal Gazette
Seasons of My Soul Rumer (Atlantic) ★★★★ 1/2
The marketplace is a strange thing, as are the thought processes of record-label execs. Why it took almost 15 months for this wonderful pop gem to be released domestically in CD format will just have to remain a mystery. In the meantime, let’s be thankful that the debut album by the British singer-songwriter born Sarah Joyce — a U.K. platinum disc that had the British press doing cartwheels when it was issued there at the end of 2010 — is finally in our hands. It goes down as easy as the Carpenters, with Dusty Springfield’s blue-eyed soul and the craftsmanship of Burt Bacharach, an avowed fan of the singer. This smooth beauty is what you need if you’ve had enough diva excess and sledgehammer production.
Bernard Perusse, Montreal Gazette
Headcage Matthew Dear (Ghostly International) ★★★★★
Headcage, the latest release by DJ and solo artist Matthew Dear, is a testament to the often-overlooked power of EPS. Only four songs long, it is creative and engaging for its entire 15-minute duration — all killer, no filler. It’s also a new direction for Dear, whose last release, 2010’s Black City, was a dark, atmospheric, Philip K. Dick-esque affair. Although in line with 2007’s Asa Breed and its indie-rock influences, Headcage is still a departure from Dear’s previous work. It’s both poppier and more rooted in DJ and electronic culture. Songs are lively and instantly accessible, with an emphasis on definitive beats. Yet there is still an eerie undercurrent of temptation and danger, as Dear’s David Bowie-inspired vocals slide and tumble around alluring melodies and rhythms. If this EP is any harbinger of where his next full-length is headed, Dear is poised to cross over from niche electronic artist to mainstream icon.
Katherine Silkaitis, Philadelphia Inquirer