Death from Above 1979 - You're a Woman, I'm a Machine

In honour of the announcement that Death From Above 1979 would be reuniting for the 2011 Coachella Festival in April, I had to revisit the gateway album to noise-rock/dance-punk for me. I can, with great certainty, say that this album is responsible for me listening to the likes of Ladytron, Animal Collective, Sleigh Bells and possibly even Sonic Youth or Alexisonfire.

Released in 2004, this was, for me, the same sort of kick-in-the-pants that the introduction of grunge was ten years earlier. It is raw, it is powerful and it comes right at you. This two-piece (yeah, all this sound is from just two people... amazingly enough, using the same two instruments that The Inbreds used... think about that!) were getting some notice a year earlier with the initial demos and EP, but it wasn't until this full-length came out that I really took notice. Right from the iconic pink cover art to the roughly 35 minute, non-stop assault that this album is, it grabbed me with the screaming vocals and relentless drumming. But, somehow, during this attack, you realize that these songs are really grabbing you; they're filled with riffs and hooks that just get under your skin and hold on. This isn't just noise... it is something awesome.

The band released a remix album in 2005 along with an iTunes Sessions set, but broke up in early 2006. Jesse went on to form MSTRKRFT (pronounced, Master Craft) and Sebastien went solo for awhile. The announcement of their reunion came as a total surprise to everyone, but it has been confirmed by Jesse (I believe) on Twitter. No word about what might come after this (new single? new album? full tour?) but it's great to have them back together, even if it's only for one show.

Recommended track(s):	Romantic Rights; Black History Month; Little Girl
Worth another listen?	Yes!
Overall rating:	Four Stars

treble charger - NC17

I can't believe that treble charger released this album more than fifteen years ago. Wow. Hearing the song Red, clearly the centre piece of the album, still takes me back to that time. There is something about that song that still really impresses me, resonates with me... it was (and still is) a great song that was released at the right time. Even all these years later, I can still remember the music video for it... and I probably haven't seen that clip in over ten years.

Generally speaking, the album is a lo-fi, garage rock effort by a band starting out. The production is fuzzy and the lyrics are often unintelligible, all with the exception of one track: Red. When this song starts -- track seven; another fact which I, for whatever reason, still remembered all these years later -- you can tell that they spent 80% of the album's budget getting this one song right. And, they did. From the opening notes, all the way through five minutes and ten seconds of heartbreak, they nailed it.

I've spent almost this entire review talking about one song, and that's because it's certainly the focus of this whole disc; there are other good songs, and some that might be considered filler, but this song makes the album. It was redone for the band's third studio album, with (I believe) a new intro and a slightly different guitar solo, but this will always be the definitive version of the song for me. The album as a whole is probably a two-and-a-half; the inclusion of this song single-handedly bumps it up to three stars.

Recommended track(s):	10th Grade Love; Trinity Bellwoods; Red
Worth another listen?	Yes!
Overall rating:	Three Stars

Hayden - Everything I Long For

Wow... this album really takes me back. I thought that I'd first heard it on cassette tape, but I don't think I ever owned Hayden's first album in that format, so either I'm wrong or I'd borrowed it from a friend. Whatever the case, I'm glad that I heard it.

Looking over the whole of the artist's catalog, this isn't my favourite album; however, it's an essential piece of work as it really sets the stage for what's to come. This is an honest-to-goodness recorded-in-my-bedroom album, or at least that's the feeling it gives off, which is perfect for this sort of gut-wrenching honesty and expression.

I chose to revisit this album tonight after submitting Bad As They Seem as my lead track in a CBC Radio 3 "themed playlist" contest earlier today. Not only is this track the start of this album, but also of my playlist. The song (and album) starts with Hayden clearing his throat and then starting to strum his acoustic guitar with a low-E string that has been tuned way down. This open, trembling, throaty bass note really works with the artist's deep, over-emphasized delivery of the phrases ("Girl of myyyyy dreaaamms, things are as bad as theyyy seeeem..."). It might seem like a bit of a creepy song now (as he talks about being interested in a sixteen year old girl), but at the time Hayden was only 23 himself, so keep that in mind.

This was just the first of what is now seven, full LP, studio recordings that he's released; he's also put out a great double-live album which includes some fun between-song banter. However I heard this album originally, I'm glad I did.

Recommended track(s):	Bad As They Seem; We Don't Mind; Driveway
Worth another listen?	Yes!
Overall rating:	Three Stars

The Tragically Hip - Up To Here

There are some people who still insist that classic (read: pre-Day for Night) The Tragically Hip albums are one of those "love 'em or hate 'em" kinda things. Personally, I don't have a clue how you can't love this stuff. This album is pure awesome.

I'm pretty sure that I didn't get into The Hip until about their 4th album, Fully Completely; however, this album has some of their best work on it. I mean, when an album starts off with the 1-2-3 punch that this one does you know you're in for something great. Gord's lyrics tell wonderful little stories; the guitar solos/bridges throughout are so well done; the overall flow of the album is spot-on. Although these songs sound so much better on the remastered 'best of' collection, Yer Favourites, the album is now twenty-one years old so what do you expect?

Towards the end, the final three tracks don't quite have the same impact and lasting memory of the first eight, but that's not to say they're filler or throw-away either. Standing on the shoulders of the recommended tracks (listed below) is no easy feat. It's sing-along, it's memorable, there are great riffs and one-liners in here; it's an excellent summertime BBQ/camping album, like so much of the band's (classic- and neo-classical -era (read: pre-In Violet Light)) music is.

Recommended track(s):	Blow at High Dough; New Orleans is Sinking; 38 Years Old; Boots or Hearts
Worth another listen?	Yes!
Overall rating:	Four-and-a-Half Stars

The Dears - Thank You Good Night Sold Out

Live albums are always, at least somewhat, tailored to the "true fans" of a band. It's unlikely that anyone would start listening to a band by picking up their live album (except for, perhaps, the Dave Matthews Band or the Grateful Dead). For The Dears, who at this point had a variety of LPs and EPs released, a live album seemed like a good idea. I caught the band way, way back in 2001 or 2002 as an opening act for, I believe, The Weakerthans and Billy Bragg.  I haven't had the chance to see them since, but I hear their live show is quite good and this album seems to bring that home to reflect that.

The album starts strong and carries this energy through to the double-shot of Who Are You... and 22: The Death... quite well.  Including mostly songs from their (then) recently released LP, No Cities Left, the album takes a bit of a breather at track 6 before getting ready for the big finale.  This is, for me at least on this listen, what kept the album from being a four-star selection: while I'm usually a fan of 10+ minute proggy- spacey- guitar jams, the 14-minute intro to (what is otherwise) a stellar version of Pinned Together, Falling Apart, seems both out of place and overly long for me.  It was probably quite impressive to have seen live, but it didn't translate well to the CD for me; at least if it was a separate track, the listener could skip it when they weren't in the mood for it.

Overall, it's still a great live album. It's got that live feel, with just a bit of crowd noise at certain places to remind you that this isn't a studio album. I could always nit-pick about the track selections, especially since I believe the whole concert was longer than this, but that's always the case with live releases. If you're a fan of the band, this is certainly worth a listen; if you're new to them, then you'd be better off starting with either No Cities Left or Gang of Losers.

Recommended track(s):	Atonomy; End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story; 22: The Death of All the Romance
Worth another listen?	Yes!
Overall rating:	Three-and-a-Half Stars

Our Lady Peace - Happiness...

Ever since I first heard the song Naveed on Much Music, I loved these guys. Our Lady Peace were an important band while I was growing up. I loved that they were Canadian and I loved that whole scene (OLP, IME, the Tea Party, etc.) that was going on at the time. This album, Happiness... Is Not a Fish That You Can Catch, the band's third studio release, probably came out as that era in Canadian rock was fading out, but it was still a solid effort.

This album finds lead singer, Raine Madia, as cryptic as ever. There are very few OLP songs that I probably understand (fully), although I'm sure I know almost all the words to them. Yet, this was a signature of their sound at the time so you kinda have to let it pass. A few too many of the songs start out slowly and then become heavy by the first chorus, but as an album, this ebb and flow seems to work out not too badly. Perhaps it was the opportunity to work with jazz drummer Elvin Jones (who guests on the album's last, and somewhat over-done, track), but I found Jeremy Taggert's drumming to be quite good on this disc.

Overall, the singles released from the album are great; the stuff in between is also quite good. The album might be two tracks too long -- it gets kinda spacey and forced at that point -- but it still rocks like it should. Oh, and they get points for (prominently) featuring their signature 'cover model', Saul Fox on the artwork a'la Naveed.

Recommended track(s):	One Man Army; Potato Girl; Thief
Worth another listen?	Yes!
Overall rating:	Three-and-a-Half Stars

Sam Roberts - We Were Born in a Flame

While I think I'll always prefer the Inhuman Condition (EP) versions of my recommended tracks (below), they do stand up well here in the full-album context. Sam Roberts hasn't really held my attention, and in the seven years since this disc came out, I can't say I've heard anything from him that's made me take notice, but in this debut LP, he does manage to put out a decent straight-ahead (Juno Award winning) rock record.

I can't think of too much to say specifically about this album right now; it was a good Monday morning drive-in disc to listen to, and I didn't feel like skipping any tracks, but apart from the two big singles, nothing stood out for me. There are some nice little guitar solo's on the album which I was in the mood for, so that was a plus.

A good backyard BBQ, summer day, out on the deck kinda album. Upbeat, guitar-driven, solid vocals.

Recommended track(s):	Where Have All the Good People Gone; Don't Walk Away Eileen
Worth another listen?	~Maybe
Overall rating:	Three Stars

Barenaked Ladies - Rock Spectacle

I don't plan to review multiple albums from the same band, back-to-back, very often, but I'm not making any rules against doing so either. So, as a follow-up to yesterday's review, here is one for the Barenaked Ladies only live (non-bootleg, digital, legal or otherwise) album.

This album really disappointed me. It's one that I remember really enjoying and listening to over and over again. I was very excited to have put this in the CD player, especially after enjoying Stunt the day before. These live versions seem really restrained and clunky; they don't have a lot of life in them and seem to be heavy on the psudo- acoustic side of things. I've seen BNL in concert a few times -- including once in my high school gymnasium after the school had won the concert as a part of some milk promotion -- and they're usually very upbeat, involved, high-energy affairs. This album captures none of that, until about the last two or three tracks. Maybe.

I also don't understand the almost total lack or between song banter on the disc. The Ladies, especially at this point in their career, were known for on-stage improvisation and humourous commentary between the band, between songs. The only time this does appear on the album is, oddly enough, at the very end, after the last song. This is extra weird/annoying because, during their If I Had a $1000000 performance, they make reference to this stage banter... but you have no idea what it's all about until after the song is over!

For a band with such a great stage presence and upbeat catalogue of music, this album didn't do them justice.

Recommended track(s):	Life, in a Nutshell
Worth another listen?	No.
Overall rating:	Two-and-a-Half Stars

Barenaked Ladies - Stunt

There was no rhyme or reason to review this album first. It might be just because it was one of the most recent albums that I'd put into my iTunes library in anticipation of starting this project.

This is the fourth studio album for the Barenaked Ladies and, I believe, the one that really broke them in the US market. While we'd known about them for years up here in Canada, international success had been hard to come by. It's also the last/most recent studio album that I own by the band. Their follow-up, Maroon, never really connected with me and I stopped buying their albums after that. Listening to this album, and the joint vocals of both Ed Robertson and Steven Page, I can't imagine their sound today without Page (who left the band in 2009).

Lyrically, the album is much darker than I remember it being, and significantly darker in lyrical tone than Gordon (although, in hindsight, Maybe You Should Drive may also have darker undertones; I'll have to listen for that when I review that album in the future). Musically, however, it's still a fun, poppy album with lots of highlights. Next to Gordon, this is very likely my favourite BNL album and a pleasure to have heard again.

Recommended track(s):	One Week; Light Up My Room; Who Needs Sleep?
Worth another listen?	Yes!
Overall rating:	Four Stars