March 9, 2010 Fringe Arts

Spins

by Emily BrassAlexManleyR. Brian HastieDavid Adelman

Latte D. Kyd
meanwhile...
Independent

Kyd kicks off this hip-hop/rock crossover with both guns blazing, a sonic assault on the senses that makes her profound vocal power inescapable. If you’re engaged in aerobic motion, the first few tracks are surefire energy boosters. The later tracks come as a bit of a relief, as Kyd eases the listener into a more laid back, mid-tempo mood swing that is smoother on the eardrums. The lyrical message also gets deeper. She starts the record with full-on bravado, bragging about her curves in “Super Hero Woman.” By the sixth track, “Sixth Cents,” Kyd shares a more introspective perspective on life, only to later bring it back to her in-your-face party sound with “U Know U Want It” and a cover of Prince’s “Kiss” (which might have been better left to her live shows).

The musicians are skillful and the arrangements have finesse, often adding disco flavour to Kyd’s vocal stylings. If you’re ever in her hometown of Toronto, Kyd and her band would be fun to check out.

7.5/10
—Emily Brass

Titus Andronicus
The Monitor
XL Recordings

It looks like the industrious lads in Titus Andronicus have found a cure for sophomore slump: excise the punk sound from your last album, then take one part of the same philosophy, throw in some concept album, and mix. Douse the whole thing with epic ambition far surpassing everything you’ve ever attempted before. Bake for a year or so while out on the road, remove from oven on the 150th anniversary of the naval battle you claim your album is about. Should serve one and a half times as much music as your last album, be filled with long, sprawling epic jams that stop, start and change on a dime, refuse to get out of the listeners’ heads while compelling them to sing along. Pepper with segments of your friends reading aloud from Civil War-era documents, and let cool in the expansive wastes of the internet while non-paying customers bicker. Sit back and look smug for a few minutes before going out on tour again.

9.42/10
—Alex Manley

High On Fire
Snakes For
The Divine
E1 Music

Gnarly-mouthed riffmaster Matt Pike has created what is perhaps his definitive statement. High On Fire’s fifth album is chock full of memorable slabs of metallic goodness and fine musicianship. For the first time, Pike’s gargles-with-rocks-and-nails vocals are at the forefront of the mix, quickly followed by his thick series of doomcasting chords. The percussive section stands out as an independent element, unlike on the sludgy mix of previous records. The cleaner production is a welcome change and allows subtler elements to poke through, such as particular drum hits or guitar squeals that would have previously been buried in the mix. Lyrically, it’s more of the same as Pike continues to combine the everyday with the mystical—see first single “Frost Hammer.” A stellar effort from a band that rarely lets us down. Bonus: where else can you hear someone yell out, “Bastard samurai!” and really sound like they mean it? Yeah, that's right.

9/10
—R. Brian Hastie

The David
Liberty Band
Objects In Mirrors
Freudian Slip Inc.

Although I rather enjoyed Mr. Liberty and his merry band, I would never see him in concert. Their country/folk rock stylings remind me of a mix between the Barenaked Ladies and Dewey Cox in the movie Walk Hard. The lyrics are very witty; in Liberty’s song “Van Gogh,” he sings about how he isn’t the “alpha male” and how he is “less the hammer” than he is the nail. The happy-go-lucky tunes really carry across the message of his words. The David Liberty Band is a great band to listen to with a few friends around a fireplace, smoking cigarettes and discussing poetry, but they aren’t the kind to give you euphoria at a concert.

7.5/10
—David Adelman