On Disc: CMW Edition 

ISOBEL CAMPBELL

Ballad of the Broken Seas V2

Isobel Campbell may be floating on the deluge of (slightly lazy) Nancy Sinatra/Lee Hazelwood comparisons she courted by recording an album with ex-Screaming Trees/current Queens of the Stone Age dark lord Mark Lanegan. More interesting than Ballad of the Broken Seas' dainty vs gruff dynamic, however, is the way the erstwhile Belle and Sebastian musician inverts the whole Nancy/Lee formula: aural wispiness aside, Campbell is very much the auteur here, casting her weathered colleague in what are mostly her songs. The pervading note of novelty doesn't always gel with the album's shadowy mood -- particularly on Hank Williams' "Ramblin' Man" -- nor do Lanegan and Campbell really click on the duets. Standout songs "The False Husband" and the title track suggest Nick Cave would've been the ideal sparring partner, while the lilting instrumental "It's Hard to Kill a Bad Thing" evokes Nick Drake. Past Lanegan's leathery window dressing, this album is ultimately a gauge of Campbell's skill for production and arranging. Here's hoping the next one is a pagan British folk album. KIERAN GRANT

ISOBEL CAMPBELL PLAYS REVIVAL (783 COLLEGE) MARCH 4 AT 9PM.

PEOPLE IN PLANES

As Far As The Eye Can See Wind-Up/Warner

People In Planes' clunky alt-rock riffs, Radiohead atmospherics and anthemic choruses are likely to elicit one of two reactions: passionate, slow-motion high-fiving or repulsed heaving (also in slow motion). The Welsh five-piece's debut has some tasteful sonic touches: funky backup vocals ("Rush"), driving handclaps ("Narcoleptic") and undeniably triumphal horns ("Penny"). In particular, the fluid rhythm guitar and explosive chorus of lead single "If You Talk Too Much (My Head Will Explode)" beg you to raise your Bic to the ceiling. But just when you do, the sprinklers go off, soaking you as Gareth Jones' annoyingly over-produced wail ping-pongs between speakers ("Token Trapped Woman") and endlessly echoes ("Falling By The Wayside") as if to remind you that you've been had. JAMES SIMONS

PEOPLE IN PLANES PLAY THE MOD CLUB (722 COLLEGE) MARCH 4 AT 9PM.

TINA DICO

In The Red Finest Gramophone/Defend

PERNILLE

Fire Go Great Guns/Aporia

Move over wind turbines and pig meat because Denmark's got a new hot export: innocuous female singer/songwriters. In her native country, Zero 7 collaborator Tina Dico has already won a Danish Grammy for her self-released international debut, inspiring our inner PR agents to exclaim, "Wow, talented musicians can succeed outside the major-label assembly line!" Of course, our inner cynical assholes are quick to reply, "Yeah, so long as they can approximate a canned corporate sound." Good point, cynical assholes. Produced by Chris Potter (The Verve's Urban Hymns), In The Red is all big shiny vocals, soaring choruses, sweeping strings and crystal-clear guitars. Unfortunately, Dico's tight and sincere songs (such as the poignant "Room With a View") often get lost in this gloss, resulting in a pretty album that is ultimately pretty bland.

Fellow Dane Pernille Gunvad, on the other hand, combines her wispy, vulnerable voice and dark instrumental palette (which includes fiddle, banjo, E-bow, synth-bass and programmed drums) for a thinner, grittier and slightly more electro-infused sound. Like Dico's work, Pernille's soft, sad songs can start to sound the same. What's more, on "I Love You," the artist's awkward lyrics read like a grade-school poetry assignment gone wrong ("Burrows filled with loneliness is what I got"). Still, the excellent closer "Zombie" hints at just how urgent and honest Pernille's voice can be. When the breathy singer moans, "I can lie, it's what I do most," you can't help but believe her. JS

TINA DICO PLAYS THE DRAKE UNDERGROUND (1150 QUEEN W) MARCH 4 AT 11PM. PERNILLE PLAYS THE DRAKE UNDERGROUND MARCH 2 AT 9PM, THE SESSION (512 QUEEN W) MARCH 3 AT 10PM AND THE SOCIAL (1100 QUEEN W) MARCH 4 AT 9PM.

REFLECTIOSTACK

Music For Torching Independent

Eight years since their last record, Toronto violin- and guitar-based duo Reflectiostack finally emerge with their very own Chinese Democracy. While the ladies have failed to grow bitchin' Axl corn-Rose, they have managed to craft a lovely mix of dissonant Velvets-inspired dirges ("Who Is Yuri Popovich?") and velvety-soft electro-tinged ditties ("5 Foot Bridges"). But the group's greatest accomplishment is its stirring cover of "San Diego Serenade," which recasts Tom Waits' near-perfect waltz through old-time schmaltz as a unique and enchanting ethereal ballad. While the songs' slowly escalating structures showcase their delicate melodies and instrumental textures (particularly some much-appreciated percussion), they can occasionally make the tracks seem slightly aimless. Maybe in 2014 Reflectiostack will serve us up a few more choruses. JS

REFLECTIOSTACK PLAY SNEAKY DEE'S (431 COLLEGE) MARCH 2 AT 9PM.

THE BARMITZVAH BROTHERS

The Century Of Invention Permafrost

Sure, they don't all have penises, let alone yarmulkes. But Guelph young'ns The Barmitzvah Brothers are the real deal. On their third album, spazz-rock's Another Bad Creation gather guitars, banjos, Wurlitzers, washboards and pretty much anything else that makes noise for a hand-in-hand stroll through high-speed hoedowns ("Summer Song"), rock 'n' roll cheerleading routines ("Car #7"), soulful doo-wop numbers ("New Orleans"), boozy garage rockers ("Somewhat Conceivable's Evil Twin") and Moldy Peaches-style kids' songs ("Little Jack"). And like the Peaches' Kimya Dawson, singer Jenny Mitchell brings a subtle world-weariness to her charmingly childish voice, creating a sound that feels like a warm hug in a kind kindergarten teacher's track-marked arms. JS

THE BARMITZVAH BROTHERS PLAY THE SILVER DOLLAR (486 SPADINA AV) MARCH 3 AT 10PM.

THE RIDE THEORY

In This City Hang Loose/Sunny Lane

You try to avoid the term "Beatles-esque." After all, comparing a rock 'n' roll band to The Beatles is like comparing some dude's face to God's: duh, we're all made in the same image. But then you hear the sweet melodies and harmonies of The Ride Theory's "All That I Know." You quickly change the subject, mentioning that the Hamilton foursome's excellent second album depicts a world of record stores, cars, kisses, doot-doot-doots and oh-oh-ohs -- how it pays tribute to innocent 1950s milkshake-and-soda pop, Kink-y British R&B, surf guitar and dirty Detroit rock. You insist that, despite that small trace of a Zombies melody in "My Girl June," the group's sound is fresh and refreshing. Still, you can't deny the song's gloriously Beatles-esque chorus, just as you can't ignore those four faces in the back of your mind shaking their mop-tops in disappointment. JS

THE RIDE THEORY PLAY THE HORSESHOE TAVERN (370 QUEEN W) MARCH 2 AT 1AM.

MOBILE

Tomorrow Starts Today Universal

In the bio for this Montreal-to-Toronto-to-Montreal quintet, I am informed that Mobile are alternately "clock-stopping," "gravity defying" and that their album, Tomorrow Starts Today, was blessed with the "magical mixology of internationally renowned mixer" Mark "Spike" Stent. As for the album itself: it's well-played, standard, post-Y2K modern-rock, equally energetic and tiring, with sing-songy vocals and a sound that alternately soars and slows down for atmosphere's sake. It's not heavy but it's stuffed with pomp and bombast, and falls just short of being catchy enough to grab ears beyond those regularly tuned to crappy FM alt-rock stations. In short: I played this album and all my clocks remained in working order and I did not begin to float. Admittedly, though, the magic of the mixology was nothing short of alchemical. NICK FLANAGAN

MOBILE PLAY MARCH 3 AT THE PHOENIX (410 SHERBOURNE), 8:30PM, AND AT THE HORSESHOE (370 QUEEN W) AT MIDNIGHT.