New Music

Enlarge Image

Bob Dylan

Enlarge Image

Bob Dylan / Tempest

Enlarge Image

The Carpenter

Enlarge Image

Patterson Hood

Enlarge Image

Cat Power / Sun

BOB DYLAN

Tempest (Columbia/Sony)

Bob Dylan, the songwriter's songwriter, dons his poet's hat on his latest album and offers blunt imagery of a brutal world.

Dying ain't easy in Tempest with the brooding Scarlet Town or Tin Angel's evil description of the end of a violent family. In the cool rocker Pay in Blood, Dylan growls, "I pay in blood, but not my own."

His older fans cringe when hearing the 71-year-old Dylan's aging voice, but his raspy snarl fits Tempest's bleak themes perfectly. Life is cruel, and the proof's in the singing.

Meanwhile, his touring band, with help from Los Lobos' David Hidalgo, pick funky grooves and stick with them for minutes at a time, almost playing background music behind Dylan's poetry.

Dylan's received plenty of hype for the final two songs on the album. The title track is a 13:54 minute epic about the Titanic sinking played to a Pogues-y Irish beat, and Roll on John, an ode to his old pal John Lennon that, sadly, is not the greatest song here.

Dylan kicks off a fall tour with Mark Knopfler at the MTS Centre on Oct. 5. HHHH

Download this: Pay in Blood, Long and Wasted Years, Tin Angel

-- Alan Small

POP AND ROCK

DAVE MATTHEWS BAND

Away From the World (Bama Rags/Sony)

Dave Matthews is one of those musical artists a bit difficult to pigeonhole. He can throw down a funk jam one minute, sets some jazzy sparks flying another and then wander off into dreamy pop terrain, sometimes all within a single song.

Away From the World won't disappoint Matthews' legions of fans; in fact it is tailor made to meet all necessary criteria. Lyrically he's quite the romantic, albeit at times he comes across more like a yearning teen than a man of nearly 50. There is a distinct scent of fromage emanating from couplets like "Spread yourself across my lips, and I'll spoon you in," on Belly Full and, "You see this real love shine down like the stars above," on Snow Outside.

Matthews' latest is an ideal tonic for the sentimental denim 'n' teardrops crowd that expects deep meaning from their music, at the expense of any real excitement. Three stars

Download this: Mercy, Rooftop

-- Jeff Monk

BILLY TALENT

Dead Silence (Warner)

Toronto melodic punk rockers Billy Talent give up the numerical album ordering on what could have been Billy Talent IV, but otherwise nothing much has changed for the hard-working quartet.

The 14-track album features in-your-face snotty vocals by Ben Kowalewicz, hard-charging riffs courtesy of Ian D'Sa -- who doubles as producer this time around -- and big, anthemic choruses that are the band's trademark and should have fans shouting along in a live setting.

The tempos are typically varied with full-throttled tracks like Viking Death March and Man Alive! sharing space with slower numbers Stand Up and Run and Swallowed by the Ocean. The modern rocker Show Me the Way might be the most radio-friendly track the band has ever recorded and shows off a different side of the now veteran group. Three and a half stars

Download this: Man Alive!, Show Me the Way

-- Rob Williams

THE XX

Coexist (Young Turks/Beggars)

Trading in a delicate form of moody electronic pop, South London trio, the XX, may have upped the beats per minute for a handful of songs on their sophomore release, but the bulk of Coexist is shaped by producer Jamie XX's less-is-more approach that allows the group's airy minimalism to frame singer Romy Madley-Croft's beautifully haunting vocals.

On Unfold, Madley-Croft sings, "In my head/you tell me things you've never said," over a slow burning melody and barely-there drums, while on album opener, Angels, she declares her love backed by delicate guitars, soft murmuring bass and carefully programmed percussion. Swept Away may have the most obvious 4/4 beat, but the XX still work within a fashionably sparse template bathed in reverb and delay.

As far as sophomore records go, The XX has managed to distill its emotionally driven sound even further, exposing more raw nerves along the way. Four stars

Download this: Angels, Unfold, Missing

-- Anthony Augustine

PET SHOP BOYS

Elysium (Parlophone/EMI)

"You've been around but you don't look too rough, and I still quite like some of your early stuff," Neil Tennant remarks in his droll sing-speak on the self-depreciating Your Early Stuff off the latest offering from British synth-pop duo the Pet Shop Boys.

Fans of their early stuff should find some enjoyment on the pair's latest album since it isn't remarkably different from the 10 releases that came before with Tennant's deadpan witticisms laid atop Chris Lowe's arrangements. They mostly stick in the slow to mid-tempo ranges with less urgent club-ready tracks than in the past with the exception of remix-ready A Face Like That. The slower pace does give the Boys a chance to show off their sentimental side on the lovely minimalist ballad Breathing Space. Three stars

Download this: A Face Like That, Breathing Space.

-- RW

CAT POWER

Sun (Matador)

On her first album of original material since 2006's The Greatest, Chan Marshall, a.k.a. Cat Power sounds quite different. Sure, her distinctive, husky voice is immediately recognizable, but it sounds deeper, with an overtly soulful vibe. The music is different too, a rich electronic pastiche of loops, synths and multi-tracked vocals. There are actually some moments one might call "upbeat," as on the hypnotic Human Being, with its pulsing synths and muted drums.

Marshall has to be commended for straying from formula, but Sun doesn't shed much warmth or light; it's grey and a bit monotonous. It was written in the wake of Marshall's breakup with actor Giovanni Ribisi, but it feels oddly, disappointingly impersonal. Three stars

Download this: Human Being, Manhattan

-- Jill Wilson

COUNTRY AND ROOTS

AVETT BROTHERS

Carpenter (Universal)

Building on the lush romanticism of their 2009 breakthrough I and Love and You, the North Carolina trio add more pop melodies and rock elements to their sound, but never forgo their Americana and bluegrass tendencies on their seventh album.

Fans who recently discovered the band will immediately find a familiarity in the opening folk number The Once and Future Carpenter, the laid back back porch strummer Live and Die and the haunting Winter in My Heart with a bowed saw giving the track an otherworldly vibe. The jaunty I Never Knew You touches on British invasion pop, some distorted guitar slices through the mid-tempo piano-ditty Pretty Girl From Michigan and Geraldine is a feel good nostalgic romp about past loves.

With Carpenter, the Avett Brothers have constructed another winner. Four stars

Check out: Winter in My Heart, I Never Knew You, Geraldine

-- RW

KIX BROOKS

New To This Town (Arista Nashville)

New To This Town is Kix Brooks' first album since the end of Brooks & Dunn -- and the second solo effort of his career. The album's high points revel in the rambunctious attitude the Louisiana native brought to the long-running superstar duo. The low points, however, serve as a reminder why Ronnie Dunn was such a good partner for Brooks.

At his best, Brooks injects spirit and personality into country rockers such as Let's Do This Thing and the title song (featuring Joe Walsh), but he falters the few times he tries to ease the pace. He proves convincing when romping through songs about life in the fast lane, but, on his own for the first time in more than 20 years, he proves he needs help when he slows things down. Three stars

Download this: There's the Sun

-- Michael McCall, The Associated Press

CLASSICAL

BOURNEMOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, JOSÉ SEREBRIER

Verdi: Complete Ballet Music from the Operas (Naxos)

Here is Verdi music that usually doesn't make it into performances of the operas. For Paris Opéra performances and commissions, Verdi had to supply obligatory ballet scenes to seven of his operas. Most of the ballet music is excised in performances today, excepting Aida, for which the ballet music is integral to the plot.

Since Verdi wrote so little concert music, some conductors regularly took his ballet music on. Serebrier had to search basements of opera houses in Europe to uncover other material, specifically music from Jerusalem. Thankfully he considered the effort worthwhile, as there's a lot of engaging music in this complete collection that also includes the popular ballet suite The Four Seasons (I vespri siciliani) plus music from Don Carlo, Il trovatore and Macbeth.

Ultra-refined performances are a feature here, the woodwind playing perfection. Verdi fans needn't hesitate to pick this up. Four stars

-- James Manishen

Also released this week

Aaron Lewis -- The Road

David Byrne & St. Vincent -- Love This Giant

Calexico -- Algiers

Chris Robinson Brotherhood -- The Magic Door

DMX -- Undisputed

Hoobastank -- Fight or Flight

Little Big Town -- Tornado

Ludacris -- Ludaversal

NOFX -- Self Entitled

Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra -- Theater is Evil

Patterson Hood -- Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance

The Raveonettes -- Observator

Tom Tom Club -- Downtown Rockers EP

Various Artists -- Fifty Shades of Grey: The Classical Album

ZZ Top -- La Futura

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 15, 2012 ??65532