Pop and Rock

Snakes for the Divine (E1)

Power trios don't get much more powerful than High on Fire.

For their fifth album, the California group has switched labels and enlisted the services of former engineer (Metallica, Slipknot)-turned-producer Greg Fidelman, which has caused some concern in the blogosphere. Fans shouldn't worry: Fidelman doesn't clean up the band's bone-crushing wall of distortion, but ensures the onslaught is a powerful sonic experience, much like the band's live show.

Musically, the band doesn't retreat from its doom-laden stoner rock/NWOBHM roots, anchored by the guitar heroics and blowtorched vocals of Matt Pike. The title track is an epic eight-minute affair that sets the tone for the 45-minute effort, with a machine-gun riff and monstrous drumming. They veer into speed-metal territory on Ghost Neck, thrash it up on Frost Hammer and delve into a sludgy abyss on How Dark We Pray.

It doesn't get much more powerful, or heavy, than this. 'Ö'Ö'Ö'Ö

-- Rob Williams

Fozzy

Chasing the Grail (Riot Entertainment)

Fozzy started out as a bit of a joke, with a fake back story about being trapped in Japan for 20 years and having their music stolen by '80s metal bands.

On its fourth album since 2000, the group doesn't have to rely on gimmicks anymore, evolving into a solid unit, meshing the sounds it claimed it pioneered with modern metal.

Former Winnipegger and wrestling star Chris Jericho fronts the quartet and possesses an impressively powerful voice perfectly suited to the material, which focuses on the melodic side of the genre. Guitarist Rich Ward is the secret weapon, offering up muscular riffs and sprucing up the overly long mid-tempo numbers and generic ballads with speedy runs on the fretboard. They don't break any new ground, but pull off a surprising feat with the 14-minute closer Wormwood, a prog-rock behemoth that proves the band might have a few tricks up its sleeve. 'Ö'Ö'Ö

-- RW

Brasstronaut

Mt. Chimaera (Unfamiliar)

Vancouver's Brasstronaut is the kind of combo that has the ability to toss a whole mess of influences into the proverbial musical pot and come out with something that sounds sweetly unique.

On its debut album, the able sextet comes off as a bit of a musical juggernaut, blending slow-motion jazz into slightly funky, horn-fed breaks while carousing with klezmer (Six Toes). Leader Edo Van Breeman has one of those sweet voices that, while sounding fragile and delicate, avoids cracking up completely. Toss in some gently plucked strings (Hearts Trompet) and arrangements that really breathe and you have a crazy quilt of an album that works best when experienced in its entirety.

Brasstronaut doesn't attach itself to any specific genre of music, but instead challenges listeners to enjoy the variety encapsulated in its songs. See for yourself when the band plays the Lo Pub with Woodhands tonight. 'Ö'Ö'Ö'Ö

-- Jeff Monk

Joanna Newsom

Have One on Me (Drag City)

Joanna Newsom's daffy world of harps, animal encounters and ye olde romanticism makes more sense the longer you live in it. So while a three-CD set is usually an eye-rolling prospect, it's appealing from an artist who must be met on her own terms.

Despite its length, this is destined to be Newsom's least polarizing album: her antique soprano isn't as quacky, and palatial epics like the 11-minute title track nestle against simpler compositions. Ribbon Bows and Jackrabbits are essentially hymns, Good Intentions Paving Co.'s approximation of country-and-western is downright modern (ie: late 20th century) by Newsom's standards, and On a Good Day's 108 seconds make one wish she would write more miniatures.

Actually, one wishes she would write more everything: when the final fadeout is reached, three discs doesn't seem like enough. 'Ö'Ö'Ö'Ö1/2

-- Jordan Zivitz, Canwest News Service

FOLK

Carolina Chocolate Drops

Genuine Negro Jig (Nonesuch/Warner)

To be the best, it helps to learn from the best, and it's clear the lessons taught to the string band Carolina Chocolate Drops by 90-year-old legend Joe Thomson have been well absorbed.

On their sophomore album, the trio of Rhiannon Giddens, Justin Robinson and Dom Flemons update some traditional fiddle-and-banjo numbers from the Piedmont region of North Carolina and put their own spin on songs from R&B vocalist Blu Cantrell (Hit'em Up Style) and Tom Waits (Trampled Rose). It's an old-timey affair with a definite feel-good vibe, especially on high-energy, kick-your-heels-in-the-air numbers like Trouble in Your Mind, Your Baby Ain't Sweet Like Mine and Cindy Gal.

The Appalachian region of North Carolina might as well be on another planet in the middle of a Winnipeg winter, but it feels a little closer listening to Genuine Negro Jig. 'Ö'Ö'Ö'Ö

-- RW

Mumford and Sons

Sigh No More (Universal)

U.K.-based Mumford and Sons take a traditional folk template, and like Spirit of the West before them, give it a huge shot of adrenaline.

The quartet's songs often begin deceptively soft and slow, à la Surfer Rosa-era Pixies, before they swell like tidal waves crashing on a beach in an inspired display of primal intensity. Lead singer Marcus Mumford sounds a bit like Dave Mathews as he and his band create something akin to the beauty of a late August sunset combined with the power of a Dodge Hemi. And they do it all acoustically, with plenty of banjo, Dobro, mandolin, double bass, organ and harmonies ripe with melancholy and passion.

Sigh No More is a hard-rockin' acoustic folk album that is a must for fans of everyone from the Decemberists and the Fleet Foxes to Great Big Sea and Flogging Molly. 'Ö'Ö'Ö'Ö

-- BL

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 27, 2010 C4