Blah Blah 666
It’s Only Life!
By Glen Hall

If Roberto Benigni was Mexican and a musician, he may have recorded this CD, or something cheerful like it. Coming as it does from some of the musically loopier members of the Toronto improv community, who have banded together under the moniker Blah Blah 666, It’s Only Life delivers a healthy dose of plain old good feeling and “naïve” melodicism. Case in point, “Home Sexuality,” with its rippling melodica lines and Hawaiian lap steel undergirding. Slightly weirder, and also penned by Justin Haynes, “Chico Lympico” lurches along with a unison melody that continually totters near losing it, like a drunken tightrope walker. If you like things a bit more rock, check out drummer Nick Fraser’s “Dogs,” with its rubbery, fretless lead guitar licks sounding like a spunky Ribot-meets-Beefheart’s-Magic-Band hybrid. Ryan Driver’s droopy-eyed vocalizations and his “Distracted by the Moonlight” come with a sweet melodica solo that verges on self-destruction but keeps it together with warm/fuzzy grace. Unlike so much post-modern stuff that drips with irony and condescension towards its plundered sources, It’s Only Life! brims with life-affirming vitality, humour and genuine good cheer. This is a heart-warming listening experience. (Barnyard)
Jim McAuley - The Ultimate Frog
Six years in the making, The Ultimate Frog is a hauntingly heartfelt feat, rescuing Los Angeles guitarist Jim McAuley from obscurity for duo compositions and improvisations with Leroy Jenkins, Ken Filiano, Nels Cline and Alex Cline. While his musical history spans decades, including ’70s sess ...Read More
Alejandrov Franov - Aixa
Nu school multiculturalist Franov is based in Argentina and has collaborated often with Juana Molina. Franov’s previous work, especially prior release Khali, was a combination of instruments from around the world played in unconventional, somewhat ambient combinations; he’ll combine field rec ...Read More
Aidan Baker - I Wish Too, To Be Absorbed
The Art of Oryx - First Book of Sound
Bernhard Gal - Relive
Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky / Michael Greiner - The Salmon
Jacques Demierre / Isabelle Duthoit - Avenues
John Eckhardt - Xylobiont
John Roney - Silverbirch
Louis Moholo-Moholo & Marilyn Crispell - Sibanye (We Are One)
Max Richter - 24 Postcards in Full Colour
Merzbow - Dolphin Sonar
The Dead Are Those Who Have Died - Live Recordings From Summer ’08
Various - Sprigs of Time
Willie “The Lion” Smith / Don Ewell - Stride Piano Duets: Live In Toronto 1966
Women in Tragedy - Dark Passenger
Zbigniew Karkowski / Tetsuo Furudate / Zeitkratzer - World as Will III
Land of Talk - Finding A Voice
"I'm sorry, I'm so soaked!" Elizabeth Powell apologizes as she approaches and immediately leans in to greet me with a hug despite the fact that, just moments before, the skies emptied a sweltering hot summer's worth of pent-up precipitation over downtown Toronto.... Read More
New and Forthcoming Release Dates In Canada - All information is tentative and subject to sudden change
Check out the hottest new releases in Canada this week, including: The Clientele Minotaur, Deep Dark Woods Charlie's, Hot Panda How Come I'm Dead, Interpol S/T, Parkas You Should Have Killed Us When You Had the Chance, Philip Selway Familial, Rae Spoon Love Is A Hunter... Read More
The Magic Kids - Memphis
From their sunny harmonies and chipper arrangements, Magic Kids appear to be the offspring of a Wilson brother or three. Like Big Star before them, these sprightly 20somethings sound more like your standard pop act from California, but instead call Memphis, TN home. Magic Kids are proud of their hom... Full Review
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