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Epitaph Records -- Millencolin

Though the Canadian music scene has always played host to some terrific output, the artists that are embraced by mainstream culture are often a bit embarrassing. Recently however, some of Canada’s more promising groups are finally getting a spot in the limelight. While most of these come from Canada’s celebrated indie scene, one group is a little reggae-pop act known as Bedouin Soundclash, who had an unlikely rise to national fame a year after a track from their Stomp!-released sophomore album Sounding a Mosaic was featured in a Zellers ad and had a nation of Canucks humming along.

Looking to repeat that success, the group hasn’t changed much for Street Gospels. They remain independent (Dine Alone Records in Canada, SideOneDummy elsewhere), vocalist Jay Malinowski continues to design the album art, Bad Brains bassist Darryl Jenifer is once again behind the boards as producer, and the boys still play their chill mix of rock, reggae, punk, and soul with enough easy-listening appeal that your parents will probably be just as excited to hear it as you are. The largest change to be found is a good one: no remix tracks to end the disc (thank goodness).

From the opening notes of “Until We Burn in the Sun (The Kids Just Want a Love Song)” to the closing ones of “Hearts in the Night,” Street Gospels is solid throughout. First single “Walls Fall Down” has enough hooks to ensure that it will be instilled in your mind after a single listen, while the ska-influenced “St. Andrew’s” might just be the best track the band has produced. “12:59 Lullaby” is among the softest tracks the trio has done, with drummer Pat Pengelli sitting out while bassist Eon Sinclair provides only a few bouncy notes sparingly to accompany Malinowski’s guitar and vocals. No instruments even appear on the strong a cappella track “Hush,” one of the few surprises to be found here.

While Bedouin Soundclash have produced what could certainly be considered a safe album, they have done so in a consistent and focused manner that manages to incorporate a wide variety of influences into their sound. If this is the future of commercial Canadian music, then you won't hear any complaints from me.



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    Posted by AlmostPunkEnough on 2008-04-29 10:08:37
    My Score:

    fuck, i didn;t really give this a chance til recently, but damn... amazing.

    Posted by FrankFF on 2007-11-07 05:02:34
    My Score:

    Album of the year material.
    Beautiful songs, beautiful music.

    Posted by brown on 2007-09-28 22:10:03

    This is going on my end of the year list for sure. I don't know what you guys are talking about, I love hush.

    Posted by baseball on 2007-09-05 15:09:17
    My Score:

    this is the first perfect score i'm going to give out this year

    this album is flat out exceptional and a little better than all their other stuff

    "Trinco Dog" "St. Andrews" "Nico on the Night Train" "Jealousy and the Get Free" "Gunships" are all amazing tracks

    Posted by TheMarc on 2007-09-03 11:58:51
    My Score:

    "Walls Fall Down" should be listened to and enjoyed by just about everyone.

    Posted by GlassPipeMurder on 2007-09-03 03:14:20

    A hasty statement in any year in which The Aggrolites release a record.

    nah, Reggae Hit LA didn't do much for me. good party music, but nothing on it came close to the emotional level of Gospels tracks like "Walls Fall Down", "St. Andrews", or "Trinco Dog".

    Posted by Dodger on 2007-09-02 17:00:24

    "i really thought this was the best North American reggae release this year."

    A hasty statement in any year in which The Aggrolites release a record.

    This album is better than Root Fire, but not as good as Sounding a Mosaic. The production is right where it should be, but there's a lot of filler here. This could have been the best EP of the year, but instead it's an average album.

    Posted by telegraphrocks on 2007-09-02 13:35:50
    My Score:

    Not digging this yet.

    Posted by mustard on 2007-09-02 01:11:50

    Im far from disappointed but Sounding A Mosaic was definitely better.

    Posted by mclz on 2007-09-01 23:49:25

    definitely their best record so far

    Posted by crackpotdemagogue on 2007-09-01 15:56:58
    My Score:

    this album is great!

    Posted by usversusthem on 2007-09-01 14:38:14

    St. Andrews and Gunships are both hot fire. I'd say that 7 is pretty bang on, though maybe... 7.5... I don't know. It's not amazing, but it's solid, and some of the tracks are really fun.

    Posted by skaboom on 2007-09-01 13:31:53
    My Score:

    I'm surprised that so many people are disappointed by this. They took a gamble on "Hush" which didn't really pay off, but everything else is great.

    Posted by BJR on 2007-09-01 12:51:29

    The new Avril Lavigne is good. I think this record sounds great. Daryl Jennifer did a great job. If only they had added the same sheen to the Bad Brains album.

    Posted by patthetic on 2007-09-01 12:13:52
    My Score:

    i expected a lot more

    Posted by ChokingVictim on 2007-09-01 11:30:44

    the songs don't stick out as much as mosaic in my opinion, but walls fall down is an amazing track

    Posted by pasha on 2007-09-01 10:18:45
    My Score:

    dissapointed. "...lullaby" is the best song.

    Posted by MikeStupid on 2007-09-01 08:09:40
    My Score:

    Picked this up yesterday. It's still too soon to say if I like it more than Mosaic, but it's really really fucking good regardless.

    Posted by Matthew330 on 2007-09-01 07:13:35

    Def. not as good as previous effort, but there are individual songs that shine.

    St. Andrews is favorite track.

    Posted by damnitsderek on 2007-09-01 04:15:33

    Good album. "Walls Fall Down" has been stuck in my head ever since I listened to the stream.

    Posted by nocigar on 2007-09-01 02:13:52
    My Score:

    fuckin faggots posting on this thread, that jones kid needs to quit fuckin so many dudes and get a life. score is for the album, not that faggot.

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, September 1, 2007 at 12:57 AM (EDT)

    ban the idiots below please.

    Posted by GlassPipeMurder on 2007-08-31 20:09:09
    My Score:

    i really thought this was the best North American reggae release this year.

    "St. Andrews" is beautiful beyond words.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, August 31, 2007 at 7:46 PM (EDT)

    Nice Review

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, August 31, 2007 at 7:40 PM (EDT)

    hush and higer ground kill the cd

    replace those 2 duds with your average bedouin song, this would be their best release

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, August 31, 2007 at 7:36 PM (EDT)

    1. root fire
    2. sounding a mosaic
    3. this

    this cd does not suck mind you, but it could have been so much better

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