New music

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/06/2019 (2636 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

POP / ROCK

Lowest of the Low
Agitpop (Warner Music Canada)

It seems like forever ago (it was actually 1991) that Lowest of the Low (LOTL) emerged from Toronto’s punk and post-punk scene with a jangly blend of pop and rock that made Shakespeare My Butt the best-selling indie Canadian album of all time (before Barenaked Ladies’ Yellow Tape) and earned singer/guitarist Ron Hawkins plaudits as a songwriter worthy of attention.

The 1994 release Hallucigenia toughened up the quartet’s sound, but artistic differences with producer Don Smith, business problems at London Smith Discs (LSD was an apt acronym; it was a bad trip) and the acrimony that comes with living in each other’s pockets led to a sad breakup by the end of that year. Reunion shows and tours prompted the Sordid Fiction album from an updated lineup in 2004, but the band members soon went their separate ways before reconvening to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Shakespeare, and deciding to once again make a go of it, resulting in 2017’s Do the Right Now.

All of which brings us to Agitpop. Although this album features just Hawkins and drummer Dave Alexander from the original lineup — Universal Honey guitarist Michael McKenzie, Weakerthans bassist Greg Smith, and multi-instrumentalist Lawrence Nichols now round out the group — this is a fully realized collection of Hawkins songs, delivered with the Clash-inspired punky crunch and worldly nuance that typifies LOTL. As he has throughout his career, Hawkins articulates the promise, disappointment and rage of trying to live a life of love and art in an oversimplified, capitalist world and when the songs flow and the band is crackling, as it is on most of these 14 songs, the years just fall away.

★★★★ out of five

Stream these: New Wave Action Plan; F-Noise (Rebel Radio); Night of a Thousand Guns

— John Kendle

 

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ROOTS / COUNTRY

The C-Weed Band
Last Ride (Independent)

For nearly four decades, Errol Ranville has been entertaining fans of his brand of Manitoba country music not only in Canada but also across the globe.

Using a shifting cast of band members over the years, Ranville has created a unique brand that even dips into his Aboriginal roots for inspiration. Last Ride is not only a testament to his longevity, it’s a fine album of songs to boot. Ranville’s acceptance of good and bad times that have passed, and the wisdom provided from living a musician’s life is exhibited perfectly in tracks like Last Time (“It’s the last time baby that maybe we’ll be walking out this door”), On My Way Home (“My mind is drifting, shifting through long lost lives”) and the title track.

At this stage in his career there is no doubt that Ranville, still in reasonably strong voice, has suffered some regrets along with the accolades afforded him for his service to the Manitoba music industry and he reaches deep to express these feelings with honesty, grit and even some melancholy. His band (Tom and Clint Dutiaume, Wally and Don Ranville) is completely savvy and is able to create warmth that supports the more insightful songs perfectly.

It’s not all introspection, though. Ranville reaches back into his roots and covers the Band’s The Shape I’m In and Billy Joe Shaver’s Blood Is Thicker Than Water in fine form. Rock ’n the Rez is pretty self-explanatory and Brand New World is the kind of country rock that kicks butt while still sending a positive message. If Ranville is planning on retiring and this album is indeed his final statement, then Last Ride is a fitting farewell to a homegrown artist worth remembering. See him live while you still can.

★★★1/2 stars

Stream these: I’m Hiding, You’re So Far Away

— Jeff Monk

 

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JAZZ

Curtis Nowosad
Curtis Nowosad (Sessionheads United)

Winnipeg-born drummer Curtis Nowosad has been in New York for five or six years now, where he has carved out a growing career. But there are still many links to home, and he will be here for the Winnipeg International Jazz Festival and to help launch this new self-titled album.

To my ear it’s the most ambitious album he’s released. It has Duane Eubanks on trumpet, Braxton Cook on alto saxophone, Andrew Renfroe on guitar, Jonathan Thomas on keyboards, Corey Wallace on trombone, Winnipegger Luke Sellick on bass and vocals by Michael Mayo and Brianna Thomas.

Obviously the rhythmic base is a driving force throughout, with five original tracks showing Nowosad’s development as a composer. The arrangements are solid on all tracks, with the covers of Hard Times Killing Floor Blues and Nina Simone’s See Line Woman showing singer Brianna Thomas in fine form.

Guitarist Renfroe offers driving solos on many tracks. Blues 4 Colin K especially has fine solos by Eubanks, Wallace and Sellick. (Cook, Renfroe and Sellick will be part of Nowosad’s quartet at the jazz festival.) Four of the five originals are associated with activists over the years in the U.S. For example the tune Never Forget What They Did To Fred Hampton references the activist and Black Panther leader who was assassinated in 1969 at age 21.

While retaining a powerful jazz mood, there is a clear political message permeating the album. Following the growth and maturity of a jazz musician is always exciting and doubly so when it describes a Winnipeg artist. Check out this album and catch Curtis and his quartet at the West End on June 22.

★★★★

Stream these: Blues 4 Colin K, See Line Woman

— Keith Black

 

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CLASSICAL

The Jupiter Project
Mozart in the 19th-Century Drawing Room (Hyperion)

This intriguing new release re-creates what Mozart’s music might have sounded like in a milieu typical of the 1800s, courtesy of centuries-old arrangements of his larger-scale orchestral works scored for an intimate chamber ensemble. Hearing these diverse selections performed by period instruments becomes icing on the cake, with British pianist David Owen’s pianoforte serving as musical glue for cohorts: violinists Katy Bircher, Caroline Balding, and cellist Andrew Skidmore.

Highlights include the two respective overtures from operas The Magic Flute and The Marriage of Figaro, with Hummel’s arrangements capturing the brilliance of the original works.

The album includes two Cramer arrangements of Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, London, and Munich, with the latter proving more satisfying.

Hearing Mozart’s famous Symphony No. 41 in C major, a.k.a. the Jupiter, presented in this smaller guise takes some getting used to. However, those adventuresome listeners willing to step back into the annals of time, and into the genteel salon where these pieces would originally have been played, will be rewarded with transparent performances.

Every line is clearly rendered and particularly so during the lyrical, sparsely composed second movement Andante cantabile. However, the full power of these arrangements is unleashed during enthralling finale Allegro molto, its complex polyphonic textures now crystal-clear while proving again the genius of Mozart, his malleable voice able to penetrate, regardless of dialect.

★★★1/2 stars out of five

STREAM THIS: Symphony No. 41 in C major, Allegro molto

— Holly Harris