New Music

NORAH JONES

LITTLE BROKEN HEARTS (EMI)

NORAH Jones is not the type of girl you would pick to star in a Russ Meyer film, but the jazzy songwriter who once crooned Come Away With Me has been hurt one too many times and is in such a broken-hearted, vengeful mood she reimagines herself on the Little Broken Hearts album cover as the star of Meyer's 1965 revenge fantasy Mudhoney in an homage to the movie's poster.

Jones is filled with hurt over a man who left her for a 22-year-old woman named Miriam, the outright focus of two songs: the reverb-drenched She's 22 and the tender ballad Miriam, which would be downright lovely if not for lines like, "Oh Miriam, that's such a pretty name, and I'll keep saying it until you die."

The revenge fantasy is the only time she shows off any kind of murderous thoughts, although there is a touch of noir on the cinematic 4 Broken Hearts. Elsewhere she's taking drugs to get over the pain (the poppy Happy Pills is a standout), looking at old pictures and revisiting the past. Producer Brian Burton (Danger Mouse) helps keep things interesting musically even when things get dour lyrically with heavy bass, synthesizers, Wurlitzer and strings.

She might not be a Meyer girl, but she is on the way to transforming herself from adult-contemporary lounge singer into something a little more kick ass. And don't tick her off. Have you seen any of Meyer's movies? Three and a half stars

-- Rob Williams

CARRIE UNDERWOOD

Blown Away (19/Sony)

CARRIE Underwood's fourth album finds her still railing about the evil of men even though she's happily married to Nashville Predator star Mike Fisher. Attitude driven rocker Good Girl warns, "He's no good girl, no good for you." The title track delivers darker fare than usual with the American Idol winner singing, "Her daddy was a mean old mister," implying abuse while Two Black Cadillacs is a revenge/murder tale of two women done wrong.

Underwood may be an Okie from Muskogee but you won't hear anything that even remotely recalls Merle Haggard on this slick set. Leave Love Alone is a simple but infectious ditty buoyed by mandolin. Nobody Ever Told You has a hint of banjo. Cupid's Shotgun is a country rocker.

A good chunk of Blown Away is about as country as Katy Perry and sometimes as real as Kim Kardashian's smile (case in point the faux calypso of One Way Ticket) but overall Underwood's chosen (or co-written) solid songs and great players (Brad Paisley) and she still has one of the best voices in any genre. Three and a half stars

-- Bruce Leperre

B.o.B

Strange Clouds (Atlantic/Warner)

AFTER several years of grinding out mixtapes, Atlanta rapper B.o.B struck pop-crossover pay dirt in 2010 with his debut album The Adventures of Bobby Ray. His followup is another radio-friendly collection of surefire hit singles with just enough genre-bending experimentation to make it interesting.

The theatrical Bombs Away features a grandiose spoken-word appearance by Morgan Freeman, So Hard to Breathe begins gently with an acoustic guitar before transforming into an urban power ballad, while the glitchy, swaggering title track with Lil' Wayne is tailor made for booming out of car stereo speakers.

He's clearly aiming for the top of the charts with the instantly memorable Arena with Chris Brown and T.I., and Both of Us, which boasts a Taylor Swift chorus, may incite skepticism, but actually sounds remarkably natural. The latter has a more pleasant Love the Way You Lie quality about it, although in that same category, Chandelier, featuring the beautifully smoky vocals of Lauriana Mae, is even better. Three and a half stars

-- Steve Adams

CANCER BATS

Dead Set on Living (Distort)

FOR a band named after the nickname for cigarettes, the title of the Cancer Bats fourth album is almost comical. There's nothing funny about the 11 tracks that make up Dead Set on Living, though, as the Toronto hardcore quartet (featuring Winnipegger Mike Peters on drums) stretches its musical muscle with some trash metal on Rats (featuring guest vocals from Sacrifice's Rob Urbinati) and Bastards, a touch of rawk on Road Sick and a southern influence on Breathe Armageddon.

There are in-your-face speed workouts and slower breakdowns that give the band a chance to stretch out their favourite riffs and lock into a groove. "Now we're coming like a freight train," frontman Liam Cormier growls on the punky workout Rally the Wicked. He's not kidding. Four stars

-- RW

RIKERS

Islands (Anthem/Warner)

SOUTHERN Ontario's anthemic pop combo Rikers goes all in on its ironically titled latest album Islands. What is wonderful about this band is the same thing that makes it irritating: a penchant for making every track sound as extra large and emotional as possible, which borders on the brink of becoming cartoonish. Opening track Island delivers a guitar figure worthy of AC/DC and when singer Ryan Kennedy leans into his vocals there is no doubt this guy craves attention. With his Bono-like urgency and ability to build himself into an emotional lather on every track here, Kennedy will either be loved or hated by anyone hearing this album.

The band churns out some interesting indie power pop that references everything from U2 and The Cult to some of the better New Romantic bands of the '80s. The taut riffage caroms off Kennedy's urgent wail making Islands an interesting, if derivative listen. Rikers open for Big Wreck at the Garrick Centre on Tuesday. Three stars

-- Jeff Monk

PENNYWISE

All or Nothing (Epitaph)

THE loss of original Pennywise frontman Jim Lindberg in 2009 could have been the end of these So-Cal punk vets, but instead of calling it quits after one last round of Bro Hymn, the band recruited new guy Zoli Teglas (Ignite) and got back to basics with 12 zippy melodic pop-punk tracks that recall their early 1990s output with enough anthemic choruses and gang vocal "whoa whoas" that sing-alongs in the pit are almost guaranteed.

Despite the change in vocalists, All or Nothing doesn't abandon the socially conscious lyrical themes the band is known for with political ditties, inspirational anthems and odes to friendship, along with non-specific sloganeering. If the band didn't already have an album called Rise From the Ashes, they could have named this release that. Three and a half stars

-- RW

MARILYN MANSON

Born Villain (Cooking Vinyl/Dine Alone)

THE smartest guy in the room -- admittedly, a room full of metalheads -- but Marilyn Manson always fired his style, dissidence and self-promotion with genuine intelligence. Can you out-think yourself? Born Villain is an attempted rebirth, which is remarkable itself for someone eight albums in; then again, every Manson album is a reinvention, if not an exorcism.

Born Villain is a full-on acting-out, both self-lacerating and, of course, vengeful. An industrial/goth heart with a lubed spring in its stomp. Hey Cruel World opens with a reassertion of his danger. No Reflection is the perfect homage to Bauhaus et al., with a concise hook. The title track is way over thought, while Flowers of Evil finally focuses the portrait of how needy he is. Born Villain is an art-concept of a concept. Give him credit for picking the scabs at the edges of creativity, and hope this grows. Like an infection. Three and a half stars

-- Mark Lepage, Postmedia News

COUNTRY AND ROOTS

DEL BARBER

Headwaters (Six Shooter)

HEADWATERS finds Winnipeg's wandering minstrel Del Barber expounding on the virtues of home, whether physically or spiritually. It's especially apparent on Soul of the Land That's Mine where he apologizes for constantly leaving his "home and native land."

On his third album in four years, the prolific Barber's acoustically-dominated folk-roots is vibrant and joyous. His amicable vocal feels as comfortable as worn-in Birkenstocks. The 10 songs here are enhanced by his lyrical prowess as evidenced by The Waitress ("Her dreams, they fell asleep on the top bunk/and woke up on the floor") or You Can't Turn Around ("Your cups filled up, but baby your thirst is gone").

Barber is possessed by a consummate wanderlust for life while questioning faith and seeking happiness only to realize maybe even everything is not enough (as he notes on the track, Everything is Not Enough). Headwaters is the finest work yet from one of Canada's most promising young troubadours. Four stars

-- Bruce Leperre

CLASSICAL

SIMONE DINNERSTEIN

Something Almost Being Said: Music of Bach & Schubert (Sony)

SIMONE Dinnerstein likes theme-based piano programs. This one reflects the vocal elements in Schubert and Bach correlated to a poem by Philip Larkin of, "Trees coming into leaf Like something almost being said." The result is typically personal, generously imprinted with phrasing liberties and closely recorded, but the project is only partially successful.

On the plus side is an invigorating go of Bach's Partita No. 2 showing Dinnerstein's evenness of tone, touch and effortless passage work. But Schubert's Four Impromptus Op.90 gets a gluey over-inflected reading rather than the more ideal sense of the music playing itself and finding its own way. An inert play of Bach's Partita No. 1 closes with the outer movements' tempo deadly slow, though the central Corrente is properly energized. A disappointingly mixed bag from a pianist like this. Three stars

-- James Manishen

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 5, 2012 G4