CD Reviews

Yoko Ono Yes, I’m a Witch Astralwerks/ 2007 ♥♥♥♥	Giving Yes, I’m a Witch a great rating would be the predictable thing for me to do as a university-based critic. Well, I am going to play to type and do just what is expected of me (I think): this is a swell album that steers gingerly along that fine line of good music versus too much weirdness for one listener to take. Actually, that’s a generous statement; the album plays it pretty safe when it comes to distributing “weirdness.” The most awkward Yes, I’m a Witch gets is during the songs based around the album title (namely, anything with “witch” in the title), which suffer from a bit of granny-rap syndrome. Delivered by someone elderly or otherwise, I find the statement “I don’t care what they say” in a song to be awkward. Some tracks, such as “Sisters O Sisters,” sound like digitally updated anthems from the ’60s. Each track has a unique sound and feel, which is the album’s best quality. It never gets stale; each new track brings a new artist with their own style, and even Ono varies her methods of vocalizing (from singing to absolute noise). Yes I’m a Witch is assembled along very similar lines as the most recent Ray Charles and Jerry Lee Lewis albums: each track’s music was written by a feature guest and the lyrics/vocals handled by the title artist. The major difference between these examples is that Charles and Lewis had humbled legends and superstars perform with them, while Ono features more oddball and/or obscure artists such as the Polyphonic Spree, the Flaming Lips and Peaches. Each guest does a superb job of composing and producing their track and Ono’s contributions only add to their quality (save for the “witch” examples referred to above). William O’Donnell, volunteer staff
The Ramzi Helewa Sound Experiment Disjointed Songs . . . Independent/ 2007 ♥♥♥♥ 1/2	At last, an album filled with songs written, performed and sung by an extremely talented local artist: Ramzi Helewa. Initially, the mellow folk-rock sound of Disjointed Songs . . . is reminiscent of the Elected with lyrics written in a style not unlike Rhett Miller. The sweet and gentle melodic sounds of opener “No No No No” are followed by a song with a lot more flair and attitude, “Take it From the Man.” The solo project showcases Helewa’s thoughtful and passionate voice, backed by his acoustic guitar and ukulele. He’s also responsible for the album’s bass, keyboards, programming, and various sound effects. The soft and gentle notes played when his fingers touch the keyboard on “No No No No” complement his voice exceptionally well and continue to do so throughout the album. Disjointed Songs . . . provides the perfect soundtrack for a lazy summer afternoon spent lying on the beach under the sizzling hot sun with a cool gentle breeze. The track “Sun Could Rise” is the most noteworthy for this quality. This is one of the best characteristics of the album: it’s capable of invoking the daydreamer in all of us. Helewa has a great sense of rhythm and pacing with his guitar, evident on tracks like the more upbeat “Sky Could Fall” and the leisurely “A Thousand Miles.” The latter track is about irrecoverable aspirations, forgotten intentions, and Helewa’s struggle to strive for hope after a lost relationship. The Ramzi Helewa Sound Experiment has provided us with an outstanding, thought-provoking album that everyone should listen to at least once in their lives. Cory Anderson, volunteer staff
Collapsing Opposites Inside Chance Local Kids Make Good/ 2007 ♥♥♥ 1/2	The music Collapsing Opposites make is just as the name suggests — if it were plotted on an X/Y axis of quiet/loud and structured/anarchic, Inside Chance would be found at the zero point between these polarities (one could even add a Z axis of subdued/manic). The brainchild of Ryan McCormick (also a member of They Shoot Horses Don’t They?), Collapsing Opposites has grown from a “one-man-band” to include drummer Laura Hatfield and keyboardist Jeff Johnson; and while the album still bears his signature take on topics including the clash between culture and commerce, Inside Chance has benefited from the inclusion of additional musicians. The album has a sound that rewards headphone listening (a close listen to “Will” reveals wonderful layers) — though there is still a hollowness that belies the lo-fi production; although with McCormick one is inclined to believe this is an esthetic choice. With its disparate sounds and off-kilter take on pop, the album is not going to be embraced by all listeners, but those with an adventurous ear are going to be rewarded with songs like “Bullies” (a sweet song that repeatedly crescendos in its brief two minutes) and “Land of Opportunity” (which comes across a nursery rhyme as told by Billy Bragg). The new, Winnipeg-based label responsible for this release is accurately named. The local kids have made good. Collapsing Opposites CD release party alongside OK Vancouver OK and Boats is Thursday, March 22 at the Royal Albert. Michael Elves, volunteer staff

Finger Eleven Them Vs. You Vs. Me Wind-up Records/ 2007 ♥♥♥ 1/2	The latest from Canadian favourites Finger Eleven is very much of the “radio-rock” variety. The word “radio” can be very loaded, no matter what genre of music you are attaching it to; be it hip-hop, country or (most often) rock music. Whatever category of rock music Finger Eleven decides to delve into, they create tunes that stand out among the crowds. These boys have a knack for good song structure and writing something catchy without getting too corny, which makes me wish that they would find a more innovative route to take sometimes. Here is where the “radio” aspect becomes troublesome. It somehow seems less classy (for some reason) to create a radio-friendly sound, and it forces (perhaps) undesirable comparisons to other Canuck hit-makers such as Nickelback or the new Our Lady Peace (the old left with their original guitarist, to be frank). Them vs. You vs. Me is geared to appeal to those tuning to stations like Power 97 during their morning drives. Lead-off single “Paralyser,” with its somewhat disco-rock tendencies, has already proven to be a radio hit. During my first listen to this album, I dismissed much of it as simply more rock, but changed my mind as I listened more. I should not compare Finger Eleven to all rock music, but judge them for what they are, and that is a rock band that writes solid songs with catchy choruses and well-considered arrangements. It is easy to tell that they want to revisit the success of their previous smash single “One Thing,” as a quarter of the album consists of slower, ballad type tunes. Such songs can be tiresome, though they do poke fun at themselves, especially with lyrics like “I’m the biggest fan of clichés.” Such songs do not dampen a decent rock experience. William O’Donnell, volunteer staff
The End Elementary Relapse/ 2007 ♥♥♥	For some reason, the punk and metal scenes seem to have more sub-genres/labels than any other social culture. With each new band, there seems to be a new genre to helm (nu-metal, screamo, ska, hardcore, sludge, math, prog and so forth). With all this labelling in mind, I was trying to decide where to place Canadian rockers the End. There are different sub-genres at play here. The method in which lead vocalist Aaron Wolff screams about as often as he sings speaks to the most fashionable trend of metal bands these days, such as the likes of From Autumn to Ashes or Underoath. The key difference in comparing these bands is that, unlike much of his ilk, Wolff handles all of the vocal aspects whereas the current trend is to separate screaming and singing duties; so kudos to him for that. Other than becoming more melodic and adding more singing portions, Elementary also takes a page from the book of Tool and stretches songs with elongated instrumental portions (though nowhere near as long as Tool does). The main issue with this is that when Tool goes on such musical tangents, they can rely on the fact that they are extremely gifted and precise players. You can probably see where I’m heading with this. Not that the End is lacking in talent, it’s just that they create sounds that are more attuned to the Nu-metal genre (specifically: lots of muted notes and basic riffs) than anything that is particularly dynamic or impressive. With “A Fell Wind” being the only obvious throwaway track, this album pulls together a decent venture of heavy music that I still find somewhat difficult to directly categorize. I guess they’re in whatever heavy music genre that warrants eye makeup, styled hair and snappy suits. William O’Donnell, volunteer staff
The 69 Eyes Angels Caroline/ 2007 ♥♥♥♥	Deceiving appearances is a trend that has followed heavy metal throughout its history. Be it the missing fingers of Tony Iommi championing the great Black Sabbath guitar riffs, or a balding, nerdy Devin Townshend delivering an audio onslaught with Strapping Young Lab. Such was the case when I first grabbed “Angels” by the 69 Eyes. The packaging, to me, looks like that of your average “screamo” band currently tainting the mainstream charts. Meanwhile, the band pictured on the back looks like the darker side of glam-punk (I’m getting warmer). To top it all off, the CD came with a label proclaiming them to be the “Kings of Finnish Goth-Metal.” At this point I had images of Type-O-Negative and Moonspell added to confused vision in my head. How relieved and overjoyed I was when I had my first listen and heard a well-blended mix of cock-rock (“Rocker”), Misfits-ish horror-punk spliced with the good ole days of White Zombie (“Frankenhooker”), goth-glam (“Perfect Skin”), and even some orchestrated balladry (“Star of Fate,” which features fellow Finns Apocalyptica, better known for their all-cello Metallica covers). Comparisons can be made between the 69 Eyes and their Finnish comrades HIM. In fact, it was these boys that gave HIM vocalist Ville Valo a boost by having him do backup vocals on their 1999 release “Wasting the Dawn.” The 69 Eyes, as I have been learning, are a major name in their homeland and have been a rising force for many years, having released dozens of LPs and singles since 1990. Being on the rock side of goth, these “Helsinki Vampires” bring a party to the frequently moody and mundane “goth” music scene. Jackass alumnus Bam Margera is getting behind these boys, as he did with HIM before them, with movie support, which can only mean more exposure to the North American masses. Excellent! William O’Donnell, Volunteer Staff