The Rankin Family
Grey Dusk of Eve EP
EMI
On Grey Dusk of Eve, Cape Breton temptress Cookie Rankin has teamed up with Liam O’Maonlai (Hothouse Flowers) on a remake of “Leis an Lurgainn.” He adds a melancholy English vocal over the Rankin Family’s original Gaelic track. It’s an interesting take on a beautiful song, although a Hothouse Flowers fan may find the new track disturbing—like listening to a Sugarcubes song featuring Bjork and George Michael. The original has a cleaner sound and is still a better track.
There are four other tracks, each featuring one of the other members of the Family. Jimmy belts out a number about an old friend who’s passed away (“Ballad of Malcolm Murray”). John Morris teams up with Howie MacDonald for a twin fiddle medley, and Raylene is featured on a fiddle tune arranged for five voices, rather like what the Swingle Singers used to do with J.S. Bach (“Sir James Baird”). Finally, Heather Rankin sings about a woman choosing love above economics (“Will You Go With Me Mary”).
This EP is really only for a dedicated fan desperate for a new release or the summer tour.
– Chris Rands
Elastica
Elastica
Geffen
All I ever hear about Elastica is that they are TNBT (The Next Big Thing). Granted, the band is good, but they are not mind-blowing, instant-orgasm, shit-yer-pants incredible—just good. Unique sounds and lyrics fill each track. If you’ve heard “Connection,” you already know what the band is capable of. The rest of the CD has the same sort of sharp edge and upbeat thrust. If you haven’t heard it, listen to CFNY for an hour; I guarantee you will. Don’t misunderstand, I enjoyed the album greatly and I can easily see Elastica’s future potential. In deciding between this and any other new release, I recommend it whole-heartedly, but don’t pass up Neil Young. But if you do pick this one up, don’t tell your friends that Elastica is TNBT.
– Jarrod Hoogendam
Grip Inc.
Power of Inner Strength
Metal Blade/Attic
This is one of the best new heavy metal bands to come along in a long time, their hard, fast and heavy style making you deaf but loving every decibel. Right from the first listen, it grips you and makes you want to hear them again and again. The most noteworthy song is strung around a Samba beat, with heavy drums over top and no vocals. Heavy metal lyrics stereotypically centre on death and destruction, and Grip Inc.’s are no exception (such as “Savage Seas” and “Hostage to Heaven”). But not all their songs deal with cliched themes. One song deals with pedophilia (“Monster Among Us”), another with incest (“Guilty of Innocence”) and another with the homeless (“Ostracized”). Of course, this type of music isn’t for everyone, but for all the metalheads out there, this is a must have. Power of Inner Strength should be played as loud as you possibly can or not at all.
– Matthew Jacques
Channel Live
Station Identification
Capitol
The first thing you’ll notice on the album is a big fat sticker that reads “Include Mad Izm featuring KRS One!” The liner notes showcase two dreads, one blowing blunt smoke into the air. Damn, you do the math. KRS One + two dreads + indo = A good marketing ploy. But don’t let this tactic fool you. Channel Live definitely has a voice of its own and something to say. Both Hakim and Tuffy flex some pretty good lyrical skills for their first time out. With production by KRS One, they manage to not only raise a few eyebrows, but actually flow on topics that many thought hip hop had left behind. The key is in their delivery; on tracks such as “What! (Cause and Effect)” their ability to rap about flow is absolutely lovely over the simple beats of “Reprogram.” However, the album does lose pace on the second side and is in danger of going astray. Still, it’s nothing a few remixes can’t fix.
The jewel of this whole project, though, is the highly touted “Mad Izm” in which KRS lays down some phat guest vocals. Tuffy comes at you with lines like “Spark the izm, my expertism, is lyricism, my flow will take you over like I was hypnotism,” and it also brings tears to your eyes to hear Kris spout lyrics such as “Like Lionel Ritchie your whole style is bitchy / Don’t make me rip out my clothes like Bill Bixby / Grippin’ the microphone till I’m muthafuckin’ 60.” Don’t I wish.
– Dwayne McConney
National Velvet
Wildseed
BMG
This is a hypothetical conversation concerning the release of National Velvet’s new album:
A&R Guy: Now it’s the ’90’s, you know. This record’s gotta be heavy. It’s gotta be fast. Don’t worry about lyrics. That’s what the kids want.
An aging Maria Del Mar: Okay. I think I’ll sing my guts out and write the words as I go.
Rest of the band: And we’ll create millions of tracks of us doing really loud things.
All: The kids will love it.
If this conversation did occur, some crucial points were not considered. For example, the difference between loud and messy music and heavy and intense music. And the fact that people might cringe upon hearing “Keep your eyes on the prize” over and over again. Yes, kids do love loud music, but they can also smell a rut. And National Velvet has proven that music written to the success formula doesn’t necessarily cut it anymore.
– Diane Peters
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