Hear This: Off the Beaten Track
Neko Case, The Tigers Have Spoken (Mint Records)
Recorded at shows in Toronto and Chicago, The Tigers Have Spoken features covers, originals and live gems (including the hard to find track “Favorite”) from one of Canada’s best-loved alt-country singer/songwriters (and part-time New Pornographer). But do we really care what Case is singing? The woman has a strong, husky set of pipes that could make the Yellow Pages sound beautiful and powerful. Some will complain that more than half the songs on this live album are covers (including a great version of Loretta Lynn’s “Rated X”), but the album should be enough to hold fans over until Case’s next studio album comes out in early 2005.
The Telepathic Butterflies, Songs From a Second Wave (Rainbow Quartz)
Winnipeg psychedelic retro rock threesome The Telepathic Butterflies aren’t shy about their influences. On the band’s third release, their British-invasion influences—The Beatles, The Kinks, The Who—are all over the place. Looking for modern day comparisons, think: Matthew Sweet, Teenage Fanclub, or, closer to home, The Super Friendz. Name dropping aside, Songs From a Second Wave is an album full of jangly guitars and catchy power pop melodies (even if lyrically bleak songs about infidelity, like “The Uncomfortableness of Being,” are anything but poppy).
Stars, Set Yourself on Fire (Arts & Crafts)
The third full-length album from Montreal indie quintet Stars opens with a booming man’s voice and the words, “When there’s nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire.” A rather dramatic (and some might say pretentious) start to what turns out to be an album of spacey, soft, sweet pop sounds. There’s the beautiful “Your Ex-Lover is Dead,” featuring co-lead singers Amy Millan and Torquil Campbell, with epic riffs and electronic blips as a backdrop. But it’s not all about love—there are also songs like the George W. Bush-inspired “He Lied About Death,” with its “I hope your drunken daughters are gay!” line. Bush bashing aside, there’s lots of beauty and tenderness here (just listen to Millan’s voice on album closer “Calendar Girl”). —Lisa Whittington-Hill
