Listen Up!
What to rock and what to not
Jordan Bimm, Rae Matthews, Suzannah Moore
Sally Shapiro – Remix Romance Vol.1 (Paper Bag)
On the heels of her October North American debut Disco Romance (Paper Bag), Swedish princess Sally Shapiro presents us with a subtly sweet remix album that is energetic and lowkey at the same time. Owing to her slot on Toronto’s Paper Bag Records roster, this record pours on the Canadian remix talent featuring workouts by Holy Fuck, Woodhands, and The Cansecos, as well as Rhode Island’s The Juan MacLean and Germany’s Tensnake. Mixing trance-like electronics with the occasional funky disco beat, the record lacks sonic cohesion but remains consistent in quality. These are dance tracks, but they rely more on their sensuality and bittersweet lyrics than kinetic, throbbing beats. Not that anyone’s examining the lyrics, especially once she starts singing in French, but there are occasional tracks that bend the listener’s ear. Her spoken word song, “Jackie Junior” (fi ttingly remixed by Hamilton’s Junior Boys), showcases Shapiro’s adorable accent as she recites what sounds like a monologue from a student play. Shapiro’s voice is mostly sweet and sometimes sexy, complementing her beats, which are intense but sometimes soft.—RAE MATTHEWS
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No No Zero – Rough Stuff (Signed By Force)
Every once in a while, I come across a record that’s so bad it’s good. Rough Stuff by local garage punks No No Zero defi nitely falls into this category. Channelling the Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, and The Ramones, No No Zero’s sound is loud and full of fuzzy distortion. The vocals are often mixed lower than the guitars and drums, with most songs wrapping up in under two minutes (the 16-song offering is only 27 minutes long). The low vocals may be a mixed blessing, as most of the lyrical content on Rough Stuff sounds like it was penned by a horny 13-year-old psychopath. For example, on their song “Ass Commando,” singer Pius Priapus offers the following insight, “ass commando, ass commando, get into the ass undetected, you’ll never know, how I come and go, your ass can’t last, detonate ass blast.” Genius? Not a fucking chance. Hilarious? Yes, defi nitely. Pretty much every song has some explicitly sexual overtone, “Screw,” “She Jerks,” and “Why Won’t You Let Me Fuck You?” being the prime examples. They also have a song entitled “Brown Shower,” which I’m scared to even speculate about thematically— suffi ce to say that the only lyrics to this three-minute slowmo epic are “Brown shower, bend and devour, taste the power.” Enjoy your nightmares.—JORDAN BIMM
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The Populars – A Pill for Everyone (Kindling)
It’s hard to say which is worse, the title of the album, or the album itself. The aesthetics of the cover photos for Prescott, Ont.’s The Populars come across as a bright American Apparel ad, as the band members sport fl ashy colours while jumping and smiling at you. The back of the album features a shelf of pills (get it?), selling the band as an enthusiastic, anti depressant advertisement for the wannabe preteen population. Their lyrics are obvious, overly simplistic, and repetitive, the only shock being how comfortable they are with blatant clichés in song titles such as “Teenage Party Girl” and “Weekend Warrior,” perfect fodder for a ninth-grade pool party. This album fails on account of their awkwardly contradictory image and their mediocre instrumentals. Their live show would probably be endurable, most likely the opening band that gets instantly upstaged by a mediocre headliner.—SUZANNAH MOORE
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