Starvin Hungry Damnesty (Grenadine) It's rare that, within 24 hours of one of their shows, I don't get a couple of people coming up to me in full regale, braying tales of righteous rockosity at the hands of Montreal quadruped Starvin Hungry. They're
Starvin Hungry launch Damnesty at Sala Rossa with Jiangxi Blue and We Are Wolves starting at 10 p.m., May 21; DJ Johnson Cummins will be pulling beard hair out of the belt-drive between sets
Twenty2 The Dudes of Hazzard (New School Records!) The great irony of nu school punk is that it's now anything but. It just kind of stacks up in the back of the great Warshaw store of rock, having long ago exhausted its shelf life, a kind of uniform and banal canned good that can't compete with the fresh stuff up front. And signing to a label that's actually called, of all things, New School Records! just kind of seems like asking for it. Anyway, these four ex-members of Subb, Thirdfall and Bugs Of Budland got their start back in the '97 heyday of nu school punk, so they come armed with an excuse of sorts. And to be fair, they smoke at what they do: They're tool-and-die tight and have their sound down pat, punching out all the notation and punctuation prize-fighter style, never missing an obvious melt-in-your-mouth melody, and keeping a sense of humour about all the emoting. And they do well to balance the sappier poppy stuff with credibility-rescuing heaviness when it counts. Dudes of Hazzard is an unquestionably professional package marred only by the old expiration date stamped on it.
Twenty2 launch Dudes of Hazzard at Café Chaos, May 14
Courtney Wing Starlight Shuffle (Independent) If I had a nickel for every album on my desk by a neophyte singer/songwriter (a descriptive that comes as close to meaning nothing as nothing gets) with a bone-deep belief that they have something profound to add to the vast poetic lexicon of musical humanism, and apparent unlimited access to cheap recording, I'd be a very rich man. Trouble is Cheap Thrills won't give me a nickel. Damn you, Cheap Thrills! Damn you all! Lucky for, ahem, singer/songwriter Courtney Wing, it's more than just a catchy name that keeps his wheat separated from their chaff. There's a more worldly aspect to Wing's broad writing than you get from most of his contemporaries, which is not surprising considering this new Montrealer has stacked his palette "playing reggae in Belize, flamenco in the south of France, Latin American folk music in Mexico and Guatemala, and busking in New Orleans." With a mutable singing style that ranges from the soulful to somewhere betwixt and between a Dylan and a Ron Sexsmith, Wing augments his simple, frequently country-leaning-to-chilled-R'n'B guitar constructions with piano, light percussion, bass and a wealth of other carefully deployed instrumentation. If I have a complaint, it's that the album is decidedly safe - no real highs or lows - which leaves the nagging impression that something's missing. That and the mild sedative effect that creeps in after the first few songs. But hey, in the right setting, that's quite okay.
Courtney Wing plays a Green Party benefit concert at Casa del Popolo, May 23, starting at 8 p.m.
Rosebuddy Settle for Silver (Independent) Fitting that the last track on this latest by the looooong-running old-time punk influenced pop-rock trio should be Last Band Standing, which could figure as a de facto tribute to themselves. And why not? Over the course of 10 years, two full-lengths and four EPs, singer, guitarist and principle songwriter Neil Briffett has shown a dedication to music that seems to almost transcend the purity and sanctity of even the most abiding faith. Or maybe it's just sheer stubbornness. Either way, we're happy he's still kickin' at the can because Settle for Silver is their most considered, best-realized album so far. Seemingly oblivious to reigning musical trends, Rosebuddy indulge that early '80s, American Midwest, Replacements/Hüsker Dü pop punk approach, both musically and philosophically. Though the vocals are still on the thin side, everything's in its proper place. Briffett's fattened up his guitar sound (which here is the richest I've heard it), organ smartens things up in places, the band comes off like it just shot itself up with confidence, and by playing with different tempos and touch they've diluted somewhat the same same-iness that always seems to be an unwelcome by-product of this genre of song making. Settle for silver, sure, but it's pleasing to see Rosebuddy still taking a shot at gold.
The Couch Addiction Filthy Hands (Petawawa Records) While my feelings about ska-punk aren't wholly dissimilar to those about nu skool punk, I will say that far more ska-punk bands are putting the grit in integrity than are the nu school outfits. So it's particularly enjoyable to note that The Couch Addiction come with double helpings of both on this, their sophomore album following a split-release with Yesterday's Ring in 2001. You've got the tunefulness of a Mighty Mighty Bosstones combined with the meticulously laid-out aggressive messiness of a Rancid all under a lyrical umbrella of social awareness. And if you think the band doesn't merit that level of comparison, you haven't heard the album: The playing is top-notch, equal to the big production and some really, really grabby writing. But I think the thing I like the most about this local septet is the way the unobtrusive, now-you-hear-'em-now you-don't keyboard lines settle in with the horns just behind the guitars, curious little touches of class that move the band beyond the reach of so many of their peers. Sometimes just a little bit of risk makes all the difference, which is the case on the very successful Filthy Hands. As with their Dare To Care Records friends and brethren, 25 cents from the sale of each CD will go to support Dans la rue. Sweet.
The Couch Addiction launch Filthy Hands at Dare To Care Fest 3 at L'X (182 Ste-Catherine E.) featuring The Planet Smashers, Fallout Project, La Descente Du Coude and Final Baton, May 14; tix are $10 and include a copy of the DTC band compilation Montreal Spirit
Last writes Do yourself a favour and put your ass in Petit Campus tonight, May 13, for very up-and-coming, young singer/pianist Katie Sevigny. "Piano rock," as she calls it, is her thing, but the extent of her ability puts her in a wide writing comfort zone that ranges from the McLachlan-esque to much darker, exotically touched and impassioned places. She plays with other much-skilled piano man Mike Evin for only seven at the door.... The vocally well-endowed Cheryl Sim is pleased to advise that she will be part of a triple bill at Sala Rossa on May 14 opening up for Toronto's Quartertones and Kobayashi. "There's a bit of a scene happening again in Montreal of the soulful, jazzy nature," says Sim, "and more of these types of shows are being planned for the future." Purchase your place in the future for $10 at the door; show time is 9 p.m.
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