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CDs of the week

Tori Amos: sex, shame, anger, all that stuff

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: all very well, but...

Feist: The Reminder

Rush: Snakes And Arrows

Tony Scott: a life in jazz

Fanfare Ciocarlia: sizzling Roma brass merchants

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Some classy pop from Tori Amos, more of the same old rope from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and a nice send-off for the late jazzman Tony Scott are among the week's offerings.

POP
Tori Amos
American Doll Posse (Universal)
****
A consistent class act, Tori Amos hardly does herself justice by opening her album with Yo George, a mini-lament containing the rather tired message that George W Bush is, like, bad. Right kids? Thankfully, things move steeply uphill. The catchy melody and power-chord-fuelled chorus of Digital Ghost bring the power ballad within a whisker of the cheese zone - however, a hint of genuine anguish brings the song back from the brink. Musically complex and as dark as night, the gritty rock of Teenage Hustling brings out familiar themes of sex, shame and anger, as does the snarling mini-track Fat Slut. With a touch of Southern blues and oozing with sexual longing, You Can Bring Your Dog has a more playful touch. Amos has come back with an accomplished and unpredictable offering that allows her freewheeling musical and lyrical spirit to run riot in glorious style. CHRIS ELWELL-SUTTON

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Baby 81 (Island/Drop the Gun)
**
All change, again. Having dumped their Jesus and Mary Chain-esque guitar burble for Americana on Howl two years ago, the strangely unsinkable (they did split up for a week or so in 2005) San Francisco trio have rediscovered their old sound for their fourth album. Such regression means murky guitars everywhere, ensuring Peter Hayes's feminine vocals are buried in a maelstrom of feedback, which prevents most of the melodies seeping through. American X is nine minutes 11 seconds (that'll be a reference to 9/11, then) of impassioned grandstanding and the taut Weapon of Choice is probably what Kasabian think they sound like. All well and good, but those who purchased the first two albums might not feel the need to hand over some more money for this old rope. JOHN AIZLEWOOD

Basia Bulat
Oh, My Darling Rough Trade)
****
With so many strong female Canadian songwriters around at the moment - Feist, Emily Haines and, imminently, the returning Joni Mitchell - it would be a great pity if Basia Bulat were to get lost in the crowd. The Ontario-based singer's gorgeous debut is an old-fashioned delight, full of waltzing rhythms, twinkling piano and delicate strings, topped off with a voice so warm it barely needs accompaniment. The title track is a simple, lovable love song, while The Pilgriming Vine starts off similarly modestly before bursting into a blissful swell of keys, flutes and marching drums. Throughout, the sense of pure melody and its charming delivery makes for a low-key gem that should not be overlooked. DAVID SMYTH

Feist
The Reminder (Polydor)
*****
Leslie Feist has been knocking around for a while now. The Canadian singer-songwriter has played with overrated hipster group Broken Social Scene and once lived with potty-mouthed sex-funk singer Peaches. Three years ago she nearly had a hit with her wonderful cover of the Bee Gees' Inside And Out and now she's back with her best album yet. The Reminder is simply staggering, a collection of ragged but unceasingly lovely pop songs that career from folk to gospel, through country and all the way to rockabilly. The Park is bare bones beauty, with a backdrop of birdsong, while Brandy Alexander courses with longing. Feist's rich but sweet voice deals with gospel too on Sea Lion Woman. Indispensable. PAUL CONNOLLY

Rush
Snakes And Arrows (Atlantic)
***
Formed in 1968, Canadian power trio Rush have never been critical favourites (for excellent reasons during their dire Eighties period) but despite tragedy (drummer and songwriter Neil Peart lost his daughter and wife within a year of each other) they've never stopped. The 18th studio album offers a neat sample of the Rush modus operandi: sinuous hard rock embellished with folky touches, Geddy Lee's tremulous voice and Peart's vastly pretentious lyrics (witness Workin' Them Angels: "Driving down the razor's edge between the past and the future"). But they sound more relevant than the likes of the Rolling Stones these days, and with the tough pop of Far Cry, a return to the charts wouldn't be out of the question in a more just world. PAUL CONNOLLY

JAZZ
Tony Scott
A Jazz Life (Kind of Blue Records)
***
Tony Scott, born Antonio Sciacca 86 years ago, did what many Italian-Americans do: he went home to die. Shortly before succumbing to prostate cancer on 28 March, the New York clarinettist recorded this unique album in Rome. Eccentric and charming, it encapsulates his long jazz career and lifelong love of the music. After a scat-sung blues, the clarinet that once played with Charlie Parker oozes character on quirky versions of Caravan, Come Sunday, 'Round Midnight and other staples, skilfully abetted by friends including pianist Adam Benjamin, tenorist Ben Wendel and drummer Nate Wood. A companion DVD comes with the album, a copy of which was placed in Tony's coffin at the funeral while its Lush Life track was played. A simpatico jazz send-off. JACK MASSARIK

WORLD
Fanfare Ciocarlia
Queens and Kings (Asphalt Tango)
**** Fanfare Ciocarlia are a brass band from northeast Romania and they play some of the most sizzling music on the planet, propelled by punchy rhythms and superfast solos. On this disc they are the superb backing band for a hand-picked group of Roma or Gipsy vocalists, including the amazing Esma Redzepova from Macedonia, Saban Bajramovic from Serbia, Mitsoura from Hungary and the group Kaloomé from Perpignan in the south of France. These, and others on the disc, are formidable performers in their own right, but the album also brings these individual talents together in celebration of their passionate Roma heart. The most irrepressible Gipsy disc of the year. They hit London for the 1000 Year Journey festival on 30 May. SIMON BROUGHTON

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