CD Reviews

Ben Harper and the Inncocent Criminals Lifeline Virgin/ 2007 ♥♥♥♥	Months of marketing research by pop music corporation types cannot seem to pull off something that Ben Harper and his band, The Innocent Criminals, took only seven days in Paris to do — a soulful and often groovy album with delicious mixtures of American blues, R&B and folk. Harper’s lyrics are refreshingly poetic. I say ”refreshing” because I am mentally making comparisons between Lifeline and other new releases that attempt soul, such as R. Kelly’s latest release. I digress, there is no comparison. Songs about reckless sex, money and other fickle pleasures are not in any league close to what Lifeline offers. When I hear Harper show us how it’s done, I recall classic performers like Ray Charles and more modern fighters of the good soul fight like Martin Sexton. Harper is not always belting his voice, but he doesn’t have to be; that’s all I need to say. The album’s liner notes boast that “no computers or pro-tools were used anywhere in the process” of making this album, which is reflected in the music. Both Harper and the band are funky and boisterous when the mood suites, but know when to break it down. Lifeline flows along until reaching “Paris Sunrise #7” (an instrumental homage to the recording session no doubt) which is followed by the title track as the finale; both feature just Harper and his guitar: a fitting and poetically simple end to an interesting journey and experience for both these artists and the listener. William O’Donnell
The Consumer Goods Happy Bidet Grumpy Cloud/ 2007 ♥♥♥♥	The Consumer Goods is the latest incarnation of local political folk/rock musician Tyler Shipley (formerly of the Poets and the Horribly Awfuls). His seemingly inexhaustible creativity has resulted in 10 albums in just over five years, satisfying fans of the local folk scene and venting the political frustrations of a generation without a voice. Happy Bidet exhibits his ever-evolving approach to composition, experimenting with sound samples and unconventional song structures over an accessible sound. Along with a poetic assault on U.S.’s obsession with capital gain and global domination, the Consumer Goods were able to answer the late Frank Zappa’s existential question, “Does humor belong in music?” A Nintendo-sounding keyboard hijacks the outro to the album’s most aggressive track “Lebanon” complemented by a falsetto chant. The music may pull the listener in, but it’s really the lyrics that shake things up. Shipley avoids typical rhyming clichés, and he has no problem psychoanalyzing politicians, asking, “Did your daddy call you a fuck, Richard Cheney?” — or sarcastically sympathizing with Mayor Sam Katz — “I know, it’s not easy running a city, a business and a baseball team today.” If this group’s popularity continues to grow, Rage Against the Machine will have some new competition for “most banned unpatriotic songs” a.k.a. the artistic integrity test. Nick MacMahon, staff
The Details Draw A Distance. Draw A Border Parliament of Trees/ 2007 ♥♥♥	I set out to write a good review of the Details’ Draw a Distance. Draw a Border. Call it a violation of journalistic standards, but I did; the local band, just formed in 2006, and with the release of their first CD coming up this week, I thought, deserved it. The whole problem is that the Details are a classically Winnipeg band, for better and for worse. The worst thing about Winnipeg bands is that it’s far too easy to compare them to the Weakerthans.And it can be so tempting to pine for John K. Samson when so many of the songs on Draw a Distance. Draw a Border. sound like: “I wrote a clever song/ I wished the crowds would sing along/Into my empty box/Killed the poets to save their dying out.” However, equally powerful is the best thing about Winnipeg bands: you can hear them live. You can be entertained, and probably uproariously so, for a minimal price. And, having heard a few snippets of the Details live — free shows here and there, opening acts and the like — I can wholeheartedly pre-endorse their CD release party, to be held Sept. 8 at the West End. I’ll be there. And that’s really saying something. Tessa Vanderhart, staff