Disc Of The Week
Betty Davis
Nasty Gal/Is It Love Or Desire
(Light in the Attic)
****1/2
Soul sister, sex goddess, funk icon, force of nature: Betty Davis recorded only four albums before dropping out of the music business, but no one who’s heard her voice will ever forget it. It’s less a voice, actually, than a gut-wrenching yowl, a defiantly unpretty sound like Etta James used to produce. It’s a soulful screech, a carnal cry that screams “Fuck me!” and “Fuck you!” at the same time. Now the Seattle label Light in the Attic has released her two final albums, Nasty Gal (1975) and Is It Love Or Desire (recorded in 1976 but never released), for the first time ever on CD, and if anything, they still feel ahead of their time, ferociously feminist and deeply, deeply funky. “You said I was an evil witch!” she snarls on “Nasty Gal,” over top an angular funk riff. “You said I was an alligator!” — and she seems determined to live up to the accusations. Every syllable she sings sounds like it was torn out of her throat, with the ballad “You & I” (co-written by her ex-husband Miles Davis) serving as a rare moment of tenderness. What power! What passion! How did they keep this stuff bottled up for 30 years?
PAUL MATWYCHUK

Band In Town
Gravity Wave
Gambol
(Fuzzy Logic Recordings)
***1/2
“Bang! Our shit got bang!” chants Gravity Wave 23 seconds into “Bangs” from their psychedelic pop journey Gambol. I couldn’t find a better way to sum up these Torontonians’ arty kaleidoscope of sound than their own words. Sorry, but this half-band, half-visual art apparatus full of completely wacky drum and bass measures is really, really difficult to pin down. But I suppose their complete abnormality is what makes them so appealing. There’s a lot of creativity riding on the Gravity Wave — and if you can’t pick up on that from listening the trippy Gambol, their live show should seal the deal, at least if the advance hype is even halfway true. (Matching hooded unitards, anyone?) Myself, I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing one of their peculiar performances, but if they can recreate even a fraction of the colours I envision while listening to this album (imagine Tom Waits at his zaniest combined with Ziggy Stardust at his most theatrical), they should melt the walls and minds at The ARTery when they play there on Nov. 18.
CURTIS WRIGHT

All-Star Soundtrack
Various Artists
New Moon (Original Soundtrack)
(Atlantic)
***1/2
Vampires and indie-rock kids have a lot in common: they both hate sunlight and they both hate hanging out with anyone who’s not part of their exclusive clique. But the star-studded soundtrack to the upcoming Twilight sequel New Moon promises to appeal to Pitchfork-reading hipsters as well as the teenage girls squealing over Robert Pattinson. I can’t imagine how they talked half of these acts into playing the teen-vampire prom: Death Cab for Cutie, Thom Yorke, Lykke Li, Bon Iver, St. Vincent, Grizzly Bear all join in this improbable monster mash. Indie fans will probably never admit to buying (or downloading) this soundtrack — but you can be sure they’ll be listening all the same ... and docking the bands a few cool points while they’re at it. The truth is, though, while New Moon the film is likely horrendous, the same definitely can’t be said for the soundtrack. Had these songs been released under some other umbrella — perhaps as the soundtrack to some new Sofia Coppola movie — it would be a massive success.
CURTIS WRIGHT

Live Album
R.E.M.
Live at the Olympia
(Warner)
***1/2
“Thank you for participating in our grand experiment,” explains vocalist Michael Stipe about R.E.M.’s latest live offering. “This is a rehearsal, not a tour, because this is not a show.” Instead, it’s a five-day live practice session that R.E.M. conducted in Dublin in 007, hoping for a strong live vibe that would carry through to the imminent recording of 2008’s Accelerate. And besides the Accelerate material, the band burns through many of their lesser-known songs from as far back as 1984’s Reckoning. The experiment paid off — Accelerate had a vigour missing from its mediocre predecessors, Reveal and Under the Sun. But as to whether anyone needs to listen to Live at the Olympia... well, that depends on your level of R.E.M. fandom. Completists will appreciate hearing them breathe new life into some underrated songs, but casual fans can probably content themselves with 2007’s R.E.M. Live. And maybe I suffer from a short attention span, but how many people could last through any band playing 39 songs in one sitting?
KORTNEY JMAEFF

Failed Comeback
Backstreet Boys
This Is Us
(Jive)
*
Remember that sad childhood day when you stopped believing in a certain jolly Christmas visitor in a big red suit? Listening to This Is Us, the Backstreet Boys’ latest attempt at recapturing their relevance, will bring it all back to you. “Masquerade” is the only track here that comes close to the Boys’ glory days, and even that one falls flat fast, going from too slow to too fast and back again. And when Pitbull lends his voice to the overproduced “Helpless,” it comes across less as a dance anthem than a scratched CD. The worst part? There isn’t even one solid ballad on the whole disc. As someone who did her fair share of swooning over Black & Blue, it pains me to say this, but it’s time for the Boys to accept that their fans just don’t believe anymore. Quit playing games with our hearts, Backstreet Boys; move forward and leave the music behind.
MEGAN HALL