New music

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/09/2016 (3636 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

POP / ROCK

TUNS
TUNS (Royal Mountain Records)

When it comes to official “Made in Canada” supergroups, the truly great combos are few and far between. The members of TUNS (pronounced “tonnes”) all come from a similar musical time and place (the 1990s, Halifax) and are among some of the craftiest Canuck power-pop singers and songwriters.

Chris Murphy (Sloan), Matt Murphy (Super Friendz, Flashing Lights) and Mike O’Neill (Inbreds) have created a set of nine dazzling tracks that at least equal and maybe even exceed their work from back in the day. Sentimental opener Back Among Friends is practically a mission statement: “Maybe we’re riding on luck, but from the first chords we ever struck, rough and a little too tough, just an easy and natural, off the cuff” pretty much explains the feeling this album evokes.

All the obligatory pop music elements are in evidence — a little bit of high note, bass guitar figure working in tandem with an animated guitar line (Mixed Messages), vocals that parallel the guitar hook (Look Who’s Back In Town Again) and background gang handclaps and layered vocals (Mind Over Matter). There isn’t a clunker here — if these fellows were smart, they would forget about their past band relationships and make these tunes their first call. Pure pop for now people? Absolutely.

TUNS play the Good Will Social Club on Nov. 26. Tickets are $20 at Ticketfly.com. ★★★★★

DOWNLOAD: Lonely Life, Mind Over Matter

— Jeff Monk

 

R&B

Frank Ocean
Blonde (Boys Don’t Cry)

Alt-R&B man Frank Ocean owned the world in 2012, when Channel Orange rode a perfect storm to dizzying heights, earning him the rare trifecta of critical acclaim, commercial success and two Grammy Awards. And then Ocean more or less disappeared from public view.

Ocean’s world became sort-of clear again last month with a triple-release of work. First came Endless, a 46-minute “visual album” that fulfilled his contractual obligation to Def. The next day, he launched an album called Blonde (spelled “blond,” featuring a cover photo of him with green hair), exclusively on Apple Music and simultaneously published a magazine called Boys Don’t Cry that was only available at pop-up shops in major U.S. centres (and which came accompanied by a CD version of Blonde).

If the logistics of Blonde’s launch were confusing, the album is, thankfully, much less so. It is, in many ways, a typical followup to a smash hit. It’s mostly quiet where Channel Orange was bold; it’s pensive rather than exuberant and its 15 tracks are wistful reminiscences of an earlier, less complicated age (he actually finishes the album with recording of his younger brother and friends saying they want to be superheroes when the grow up). Like many facing up to adulthood, Ocean mourns the loss of his innocence intensely.

Blonde is also a study in the less-is-more approach to making modern R&B. These 15 songs are mostly simple beats, with occasional guitar and piano (and sometimes only guitar and piano), but what holds them together are Ocean’s rich lyrical imagery, his imaginative phrasing and his inventive vocal and musical arrangements. Sharp ears should listen up for guest appearances by Beyoncé, Andre 3000 and Kendrick Lamar. ★★★1/2

Download: Skyline To; Solo; White Ferrari

— John Kendle

 

JAZZ

Fred Hersch Trio
Sunday Night at the Vanguard (Palmetto)

Fred Hersch almost died a few years ago, but, to the great relief of the jazz community, the Cinncinnati-born pianist rallied after coming out of a two-month coma and has maintained his place in the top ranks of contemporary jazz musicians since then.

His latest trio release is ample proof of his place. Recorded at the iconic Village Vanguard — Hersch was the first solo pianist to play week-long engagements at this New York club — this trio (John Hebert on bass and Eric McPherson on drums) clearly says that one of the staples of the genre, the jazz trio, is alive and well. The playlist moves from a somewhat lesser known Richard Rodgers tune (A Cockeyed Optimist) to a Beatles tune (For No One), Thelonious Monk (We See) and more.

The term “telepathic interaction” has been used to describe the music of this trio, and they exude energy and exuberance throughout. Hersch has always had a sensitivity that informs his sound, and when he says this is his best trio release (which he has), he might just be right. If the jazz trio is one of your loves, this one’s for you. The suggested download, The Peacocks, is exquisite. ★★★★1/2

DOWNLOAD: The Peacocks

— Keith Black

 

CLASSICAL

Anna Netrebko
Verismo (Deutsche Grammophon)

After a recording hiatus of three years, Russian powerhouse Anna Netrebko returns with a vengeance on this recording of 16 arias by Puccini, Leoncavallo, Ponchielli, Boito, Giordano and Catalani.

Hailed as one of her generation’s top sopranos, Netrebko’s dramatic vocals easily handle the full-throttle emotionalism of this “realistic” style, closely associated with the late-19th-century Italian school. Antonio Pappano leads the Accademia di Santa Cecilia Orchestra and Chorus, with Netrebko joined by her tenor husband, Yusif Eyvazov, in Puccini’s In questa reggia, as well as album centerpiece, his final act of Manon Lescaut.

It’s hard to resist the Met Opera star’s (slightly) more delicate offerings, including her heartbreaking interpretation of Puccini’s Un bel di vedremo (Madama Butterfly), or dripping lyricism heard in Vissi d’arte, vissi d’amore (Tosca).

However, opera buffs will also appreciate the more intense Suicidio! In questi fieri momenti from Ponchielli’s La Gioconda, or perhaps the disc’s most compelling track, Boito’s L’altra notte in fondo al mare from Mefistofele, which conjures the burning fires of hell. ★★★★

— Holly Harris