Henry Wagons
Expecting Company?
(Spunk/Thirty Tigers)
2.5/5
Henry Wagons’ Expecting Company? really isn’t what I was expecting.
Though it appears to be a country album, Expecting Company? sounds heavily influenced by the gypsy music that people in fedoras or corsets play at Fringe festivals. The album might fit better as the soundtrack to a vampire rock opera than something you’d hear in a dusty saloon.
Expecting Company? comes off as this outlaw piece of Americana, but quite clearly from an outsider’s perspective. Henry Wagons really tries to go for a Johnny Cash sound with his vocals, but it sounds more like an impersonation, and everything else tries to sound like a nightmare Las Vegas carnival.
That being said, there are some interesting instrumental parts scattered throughout the EP, as well as some catchy melodies. Overall, though, Expecting Company? seems like an act.
-Nick Joy
k-os
BLack on BLonde
(Universal Music)
4/5
After nearly 20 years in the music industry, k-os (real name: Kevin Brereton) is releasing his most personal and revealing batch of tunes. Apparently he’s got a lot of friends and a lot to say, as this latest selection is a double album full of rap, rock, and guest appearances by some of Canadian music’s elite.
BLack, the rap disc, pumps out funk with guest vocals by Emily Haines of Metric, Travie McCoy of Gym Class Heroes, and ’80s Canadian icon Corey Hart. k-os never surrenders his eclecticism, playing everything from piano to acoustic guitar, while still bringing club-ready booty shakers. Standouts like “C.L.A.” and “Mojo On” keep your backbone sliding.
BLonde brings less club funk without sacrificing catchiness. Calling this the “rock” album is a stretch, but there’s more of a live band feel here, even with the obvious drum machine. Toes will tap to tracks like the Neil Young-sampled “Play This Game” or the synthy “Alone in My Car.”
-Dan Darling