Cleaning a little house here in the music department at Roverarts, and discovered these previously misplaced record review gems from the end of the year past…

Adam Cohen
Like a Man
(Rezolute/EMI)

Adam Cohen is indeed his own man, though a man whose father just happens to be the legendary Leonard Cohen. Despite a critic’s attempt not to, it’s difficult to avoid comparing his music to his predecessor’s. After spending most of his musical career dodging such comparisons, Adam Cohen has relented by easing into a style that obviously comes to him quite naturally. With smooth vocals and simple melodies, Like a Man has Cohen reentering the music scene with a traditional singer-songwriter sound. And although, yes, there areobvious similarities between father and son, Adam Cohen has picked up his guitar and explored the timeless theme of love in his own right. He touches on tragic heartache in Out of Bed and What Other Guy, while Beautiful plays as a celebratory ballad. Also on your playlist: Damien Rice, Glen Hansard (Rima Hammoudi)

Markéta Irglová
Anar
(Anti- Records)

As half of The Swell Season, Markéta Irglová lent refreshing grace to Glen Hansard’s world-weary cynicism and weathered vocals, helping to make the folk duo uniquely compelling. Irglová has since launched her solo career, releasing her first studio album, Anar. However disconcerting Hansard’s absence might be for fans of The Swell Season, adjusting should be easy for anyone who highly esteemed her contribution to the duo’s success. Like her songs, Irglová possesses an air that is both delicate and passionate, her music reflecting introversion and focus, as if she were singing to herself and you were merely invited to listen in. In the album’s liner notes she thanks love for bringing colour to sound, stillness to movement and for opening her eyes to seeing rainbows in tears of sorrow and joy. Her song lyrics are likewise steeped in romantic (albeit cliché) confessions of sweet longing and mourning over love that never reaches its full potential. Her attention to the aesthetic minutiae of her solo debut, however, gives clear evidence that Irglová set out to make Anar more than just a window into her musings. She finely crafts every layer, from her gently rolling piano notes and softly brushed drums to the song’s ethereal harmonies. Whether Anar is a self-portrait or not: it is lovely. Still, pondering if and how much of this material was drawn from her failed romantic relationship to Hansard is difficult to resist. Even more compelling is when Irglová vents anger (as in the titillating Go Back) and you wonder how much of Hansard’s fire rubbed off on her, how it becomes her, infusing her music with what would have been missing colour. (Nereida Fernandes)

Bad as Me
Tom Waits
(Anti- Records)

As with a lot of Waits music, there are several ways one can interpret his 22^nd album, Bad as Me, beginning with the title. I first read it as “Bad-Ass Me” (which would have been fun) or as some kind of hip-hop challenge: “I’m the baddest, so no one is as bad as me.” Or maybe the title is more of an allusion to the fact that this record, his first in seven years, is for connoisseurs and fans – there’s nothing so catchy on it as there was on Mule Variations or Bone Machine, despite the amalgamation of old friends and new, including his son Casey on drums, his longtime collaborator Marc Ribot, as well as Keith Richards, Flea, and many others, including his wife Kathleen, his muse and writing partner since Swordfishtrombones. Turns out it could be an affirmation of gleeful bar-room pal-dom, or possibly a love song: The chorus goes, “You’re the same kind of bad as me.” Aww. That’s sweet, Tom. I sure hope so. The truth is that Waits has now been at it for 37 years (that’s right, Closing Time came out in 1973), and there isn’t a record that doesn’t have its weepers and its keepers. This time around, it’s that title track as well as Talking at the Same Time, a gentle croon that’s also an eloquent indictment of some dearly held truths of our era, ideas that would have been at home in the camps on Wall Street. (Melora Koepke)

David Guetta
Nothing But the Beat
(What A Music/EMI)

Marking the fifth album of his career, French producer and DJ David Guetta offers exactly what we’d expect him to, or perhaps even a little less. Somehow, the second half of the album destroys the mediocrity of the first half, thus upholding the integrity of the entire track-list. The collaboration with producer and DJ Afrojack on I Just Wanna F and Lunar served Guetta well because they’re the only two tracks that play as true testaments to any real mixing mastery. The rest of the singles are current and could easily chart as hits, but it’s doubtful they’ll hold strong against time’s brutal fist. Still, the album is faithful to the ears of clubgoers worldwide. By fusing the biggest names in R&B and hip-hop with trusted Euro-dance synths, Guetta delivers enough high-intensity sound to make this album fleetingly appreciated. (Rima Hammoudi)

Brixton Robbers
Carved Livers
(Big Wheel)

The first record ever released on Montreal’s Big Wheel Records was Brixton Robbers’ debut record, Rocks and Cranes, back in 2009. Two years later, the label is expanding at an impressive rate, and Brixton Robbers have finally released their sophomore record. Carved Livers boasts a more aggressive sound than its predecessor, bursting at the seams with gruesome vocals and pounding riffs. It’s a high-energy record that isn’t drowning in distortion or under-produced – it’s loud, clear and mixed to perfection. Lyrically, it shows more maturity and a darker side than the band’s first release, spewing rage and frustration at every turn. It’s angry, it’s passionate, it’s punk rock at its best. On stage and on record, these guys have tangible chemistry, which results in a second release that’s tight, fast and strong as hell. An absolute must for any fan of local punk. (Al Lafrance)

Gypsophilia
Constellation
(Gypsophilia Music)

Once again, Halifax-based Gypsophilia offer us an album that is by turns both frenzied and relaxing. As indicated by the band’s name, the music is gypsy-esque, which involves a fabulous fusion of swing, jazz and contemporary classical. Recording as a seven-piece ensemble, Gypsophilia incorporate a wide range of strings and horns, and deliver instrumentals characterized by both incredible talent and inventiveness. With the help of Montreal producer Howard Bilerman, Constellation plays with a more refined sound than that heard on the band’s previous two albums. But don’t be fooled into thinking that “refined” isn’t fun. Constellation is packed with songs that are playful, whimsical and downright entertaining. The songs Bercy and Montréal are particularly mischievous with their undertones of disco jazz and gothic eeriness. The closing track, Vino Griego, includes the only vocals heard on the entire album, which are executed in a bar-like celebratory chant. This album is a definite must-have for any jazz and cabaret aficionados. Also on your playlist: Bell Orchestre, Ben Charest. (Rima
Hammoudi))

Tagged as: Adam Cohen, album reviews, Brixton Robbers, David Guetta, Gypsophilia, Markéta Irglová, MUSIC, The Rover, Tom Waits