LADY SOVEREIGN
Vertically Challenged
(Chocolate Industries)
recommendedrecommendedrecommended

Here it is, the stateside debut from Jay-Z's favorite Brit-FADER cover girl, S-O-V, the rhythm vandalist. The newest breakout star of London's stuttery, guttery grime scene, the "White Midget" is oft compared to Eminem, a choice that at first seems lazily race-based—'til you hear her rock. Sov shares with Marshall that rare skill of flipping a squeaky, high-pitched voice into a deadly weapon; sneering, mocking, as ready to break into a litany of buk! buk!s as she is to giggle at her own impish impertinence. Toss in a wicked propensity for comedy, as well as a yen for viciously deflating pop stars (as on her previously released 12-inch "Sad Ass Strippa"), and yeah, you've got a good case for her reading Slim's playbook.

Before Sov drops an LP with Def Jam, this collection of previously released nuggets serves as her belligerent intro to us Yanks; if you've been following her via the Run the Road comps or those good ol' MP3 blogs, then you already know about surefire shit-starters like "Ch Ching" and "Random." But it's hardly worth getting this disc for lockstep remixes that don't add much dimension to Sov's formula. Until we get a collection of new material, it'll be difficult to tell if Sovereign is going to be here for the long haul. If, however, you're new to her cheeky stylings, do follow the words of Clinton Sparks and "Get Familiar." LARRY MIZELL JR.

BOLT THROWER
Those Once Loyal
(Metal Blade)
recommendedrecommended1/2

Bolt Thrower haven't altered their sound in two decades, a fact that was much more flattering several years ago, when the power-riffing quintet resembled a high-horsepower classic car next to sputtering rap-metal hybrids. But while contemporary groups such as Cryptopsy and Nile stretch extreme music's technical boundaries, Bolt Thrower resist innovation to preserve their steadfast stance. Listening to Those Once Loyal is like using a rotary phone: It's pleasantly nostalgic and it's serviceable, but it involves unnecessary slowdowns and requires listeners to stay tethered to the coiled cord of '80s thrash.

Karl Willetts's muffled-roar vocals were ahead of their time in 1988, but they're still a poor fit for the band's material. Guttural growlers fare best when paired with blastbeat-heavy song structures that are too complex or fast to facilitate enunciation. Bolt Thrower's ominous mid-paced chugging, similar to South of Heaven–era Slayer, calls for a more decipherable delivery. Not coincidentally, the album's highlights, such as the title track's eerie, slow-simmering wordless chorus, occur when Willetts disappears and lets the dual guitars carry the melodic weight. This is his third stint with the group, and any thrice-repeated wedding begs the question of whether this union was really meant to be. ANDREW MILLER

ENNIO MORRICONE
Crime and Dissonance
(Ipecac)
recommendedrecommendedrecommendedrecommended

Trying to get into excellent Italian soundtrack composer Ennio Morricone is daunting. He's recorded over 500 scores, and you have neither the time to do the research nor the money to purchase his albums willy-nilly. So where do you start? Well, Sun City Girls' Alan Bishop—courtesy of Ipecac boss Mike Patton's largesse—has made your life much easier by curating this two-disc compendium. Plucked mostly from Morricone's insanely fertile 1969–1974 era, Crime and Dissonance proves there's much more to the maestro than his revered spaghetti-western work for Sergio Leone. Consider this the best (and strangest) Morricone DJ mix you'll probably ever hear, thanks to Bishop's phenomenal scavenging prowess and ear for the bizarre.

Detached from its origins, Morricone's music makes you want to view the films he scored. They must be amazing if they inspired such idiosyncratically brilliant sounds. Either that or Morricone's scores totally overshadow the images they accompany (most of these Italian films probably can't be found even at Scarecrow).

Over Crime and Dissonance's 30 tracks, elements of musique concrète, jazz, psych rock, avant-garde composition, and exotica intermingle like interesting socialites at elite European soirées. The players executing these pieces must have been plied with the finest wines and hallucinogens, promised the most mind-blowing sex, and placed in Italy's most souped-up studios. There's no other explanation for the deluge of otherworldly, endlessly fascinating sounds that issue from these maestros. Simultaneously disturbing, disorienting, and suspenseful, Morricone's compositions form a unique fold in psychedelia's über-brain. DAVE SEGAL

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Gilles Peterson Digs America
(Luv N' Haight)
recommendedrecommended1/2

Dusty groove archivist Gilles Peterson has always been a collector. His fascination with soul-jazz began at 15 after perking up as Grover Washington Jr. breezed through the slap-funk of "Sausalito." And the BBC Radio 1 on-air personality's attempts to recapture that wicked buzz have continued unabated since. Along the way it hasn't been unusual for Peterson to snap up 30,000-piece record collections—storing them in his Brownswood home entirely dedicated to rare vinyl.

Digs America collects 16 of Peterson's favorite as-of-yet-not-reissued sides culled from his travels through America. The result is more James Bond than James Brown in many of the swinging arrangements for artists, including piano-driven Marva Josie, Jon Lucien, and string-swept Ira Sullivan. Tracks by select artists (Ellen McIlwaine, 47 X Its Own Weight) reclaim Stevie Wonder's elastic airy strut, while strains of Marvin Gaye/Al Green's insistent flow can be identified in standouts by J. R. Bailey and Dorando (who will see a full-length reissue on this label). Imbued throughout additional tracks are more vocal soul and danceable Latin jazz fusion, as well as styles of rhythmic direction that such exploratory jazz/funk figures as Pharoah Sanders, Yusef Lateef, and Bernard Purdie would be reputed to attempt. TONY WARE