New music

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/08/2019 (2555 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Rock and Pop

Leeroy Stagger
Strange Path (True North)

It’s probably only a slight coincidence that Alberta singer/songwriter Leeroy Stagger’s latest offering has the word “path” in its title. Taking a literal page from fellow Canadiana star and Secret Path co-author Gord Downie (the Tragically Hip), Stagger will also release a book along with the Strange Path album.

In another slight twist, there is a tribute song of sorts to Downie entitled Hey Hey! (No Eulogy For Gord Downie) that thanks Downie for his influence.

Apart from that, the album is definitely a move forward for Stagger. The songs vary widely in scope and sound, yet still confirm his ability to get the sonics and the lyrics tight and listenable. Strange Attractor, the first single, delivers a bubbly, glam-rock influence that is distinctively fun. Breaking News digs into late-stage the Clash for its funky, alternative punk styling with lyrics that claim that the kids are “getting hip to revolution marching in the street…” only it is not entirely clear where this revolution may actually be happening.

Leonard Cohen (Is Dead) is a moody paean to the Bard of Montreal’s still-palpable influence, and Stagger and his crack band keep it sombre, yet forceful. The lively rockers (Deeper Well, Jesus + Buddah) benefit from drummer Pete Thomas’s (the Attractions) whip-crack style, while fans of Stagger’s more folky/acoustic side will definitely dig Nobody Alive (Gets Out Of Here) and album closer The Light. These Things, with its use of airy keyboards, strummy acoustic guitars and questioning lyrics (“Give me someone strong, give me something real, give me someone broken, something I can feel, I don’t know why I need these things”) is reminiscent to Robbie Robertson’s early solo work. Stagger’s personal journey continues to bear fruit and that is a musical path that anyone can follow.

★★★1/2

Stream these: Strange Attractor; Deeper Well

— Jeff Monk

 

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Classical

Pavel Kolesnikov
Chopin: Impromptus, Waltzes & Mazurkas (Hyperion)

This release by Hyperion features the compelling artistry of Russian-born pianist Pavel Kolesnikov, who enthralled listeners with his prior recordings on the same label of Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons, Chopin’s Mazurkas, as well as works by Beethoven and Couperin.

His latest album features a solo recital of 18 classics penned by the 19th-century composer, ranging from his delicate interpretation of Waltz in A flat major, Op. 69, or Waltz in D flat Major, Op. 70, to a thundering finale Fantasy in F minor, Op. 49, before a kinder, gentler denouement of Impromptu No. 3 in G flat major, Op. 51.

One half his thoughtfully paced program is dedicated to nine mazurkas that further showcase the artist’s technical prowess and flexible rubato, including Mazurka in C sharp minor, Op. 30, No. 4, or Mazurka in C sharp minor, No. 41, No. 4, balanced with the more ebullient Mazurka in B major, Op. 63, No. 1, or Mazurka in E major, Op. 6, No. 3.

Among all the pyrotechnics however, lies a beating heart that appears — albeit briefly — during Impromptu No. 1 in A flat, Op. 29, its achingly yearning theme performed with utmost sensitivity with the artist revealing the quintessentially Romantic composer’s deeply poetic sensibility, as well as his own.

★★★★

Stream this: Impromptu No. 1 in A flat, Op. 29

— Holly Harris

 

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Pop and rock

Sleater-Kinney
The Center Won’t Hold (Mom + Pop)

There’s been no shortage of drama surrounding The Center Won’t Hold, the ninth album by the formidable punk trio Sleater-Kinney.

There was excitement this spring when word got out that the band of guitarist-singers Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein and drummer Janet Weiss was being produced by St. Vincent, the smart and stylish alt-guitar hero who was born Annie Clark. And then there was dismay last month when Weiss, an important component of the band’s powerful sound, announced she was leaving the group because they were “heading in a new direction.” (That gave way to worry when Weiss announced this week that she had been injured in a “scary” car accident that left her with a broken leg and collarbone and caused her to cancel a tour this fall with Quasi, her other band.)

And now, the music on The Center Won’t Hold will surely cause longtime fans further consternation. The album is by no means an abject failure, but it’s a clear effort to pursue a new musical direction — less punk, more pop — that results in the heretofore supremely confident band coming across as uncertain about its musical identity.

The album has its moments —the seething Restless, about “learning to love the ugliest things,” and the climactic ending of the title cut opener, when grimy electronic drums give way to a satisfying noisy guitar maelstrom, but most of the intricate interplay between Tucker and Brownstein that has been a Sleater-Kinney trademark going back to 1996’s Call The Doctor is missing, as the band has clearly opted for a sleeker, more keyboard-centred approach that apparently left Weiss disillusioned and may well have the same effect on fans. ★★★

Stream these: The Center Won’t Hold; Restless

—Dan DeLuca, Philadelphia Inquirer

 

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Jazz

Miguel Zenón
Sonero: The Music Of Ismael Rivera (Miel Music)

Alto player/composer/musical historian Miguel Zenón is from Puerto Rico, and his recent albums have been serious explorations of the island’s culture and music.

With this release, his explicit wish is to introduce a Puerto Rican iconic hero to the wider world: Ismael Rivera was a Sonero, the lead singer who improvises melody and lyrics over a repeated riff. He was also known as Maelo, and he is remembered fondly, even 30 years after his death. Zenón has taken Rivera’s music, and with his long-standing quartet — pianist Luis Perdomo piano, bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Henry Cole — has produced some wonderful and powerful moments.

The music is clearly reflective of the salsa base of much of Puerto Rican and Rivera’s music. There are fiery passages, driving rhythms and fascinating tempi variations. There is a brief intro track with Rivera himself singing before the band roars to life with Quítate Da La Via Perico, the meaning of which I’ve been told needs someone with knowledge of colloquial Spanish to really understand.

This is stunning Latin jazz with a clear passionate background, as Zenón brings true emotion to the covers of Rivera’s music and style. Whether flying through El Negro Bembón and Las Caras Lindas or melodically winding through Hola, this is thoroughly contemporary and continues a recent trend to move more deeply into the musical culture of many Latin countries; in this case, Puerto Rico and the legacy of a local hero are expressed in some of the best Latin jazz you will ever hear.

★★★★1/2

Stream these: La Gata Montesa, Hola

— Keith Black

 

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Hip hop

Rick Ross
Port of Miami 2 (MMG/Epic)

Even before Rick Ross dropped the first chapter in his defining album, Port of Miami, he was “the Boss.”

Thirteen years ago, the rapper, producer, and Maybach Music Group CEO was making opulent hip hop, and running the label game, all but discovering and releasing records by Wale and Philly’s Meek Mill. Ross and Mill made quite a pair, showing up for each other, at concerts and clubs.

Rich and uniquely Rozay-like, Miami 2’s best moments have a luscious sonic sheen, a grand orchestrated feel akin to a trap hop update of Issac Hayes’ multi-layered epics. While Turnpike Ike and Maybach Music VI (the latter featuring John Legend and Lil Wayne making the best of their smooth soul/rough funk match up) represent Ross’s usual, Nobody’s Favorite is more cutting and blunt, with a memorable pile-driving bass line.

As a rapper, Ross uses his gruff patois and rushing-to-stop flow — sticking to its predictability — in which to discuss acquired wealth and dis Kanye West (Vegas Residency). While Meek appears on Miami 2 as an understated feature on the rubbery Bogus Charms, it is the late Nipsey Hussle (with Teyana Taylor) who bum rushes Rich N—Lifestyle with the album’s most potent and poignant sociocultural blasts and biting digs against Brooklyn rapper (and presumed rat) 6ix9ine.

★★★★

Stream these: Nobody’s Favorite; Rich N— Lifestyle

— A.D. Amorosi, Philadelphia Inquirer