ARTS&ENTERTAINME The Turn Ons — Parallels Brady Ehler, OP Contributor I saw these guys recently at Pub 340 and was quite impressed. As I sometimes do when I am impressed with a band, I went to tell the singer that I enjoyed the show. Thus, I scored The Turn Ons new CD, Parallels. Now, I’ve gotten a fair amount of free CDs at shows in my day, but this one is even better than the Zimmer’s Hole disc that I retrieved from a gigantic silicone vagina on New Years Eve 2004. Sure, Parallels isn’t as hilarious or bone- grindingly heavy as Legion of Flames, but it more than makes up for it in bright, flowing melodies and singable choruses. This album sounds like British Sea Power meets Interpol meets My Bloody Valentine. I know, it sounds strange. Fortunately, The Turn Ons capitalize on the best virtues of each of those bands, and retain little of their shortcomings. The Turn Ons have the steady dialogue and rhythm of British Sea Power, but more hooks. They have the instrumental dynamic of Interpol, but without the flat vocals and awkward musical phrases. They have the roman- tic lyricisms and jagged guitar-work of My Bloody aeditor@egmail.com Valentine, but without the pretentiousness. Upon first listen, Parallels, sounds pretty straightforward. Happily, upon repeated listens, the album’s depth becomes evident. There are fast songs, slow songs, busy songs, and simple songs. One of the best tracks is “Robert Altman.” Featuring ethereal layers of guitars juxtaposed with soft vocal verses, it doesn’t sound like Radiohead, but reminds me of it. The louder songs are just as effective as the restrained numbers. A good example is the slowly building “Strange as Snow,” which showcases the band’s talent in composing pieces conscious of loud/quiet, dynamics, and the virtues or restraint and letting loose. The music is good initially, but it grows on you like. ..I don’t know, sex organs. Anyways, Parallels is all I’ve been listening to. It’s great. You should check it out. Cadence Weapon — Breaking Kayfabe (Upper Class; 2005) Luke Simcoe, OP Contributor f en (Adee ca‘dence n. Balanced, rhythmic flow, as of poetry or oratory. weap‘on n. An instrument of attack or defense in combat, as a gun, missile, or sword. Have you seen the state of Canadian hip-hop lately? The Rascalz are basically defunct, Swollen Members blew their load early, K-Os is breaking promises and yammering about aliens, Tom Green is back in the game, and Kardinal is too busy hating on the Junos and dressing up like a cro- quet player to hit us with anything groundbreaking. Even with the few saving graces of Sweatshop Union, it’s still a sorry state of affairs... But look! Over there! It’s a bird! No, a plane! No, it’s Edmonton’s Cadence Weapon, a.k.a. Rollie Pemberton, come to save the proverbial day with Breaking Kayfabe. The term ‘kayfabe’ is thought to have originated as carnie (small hands...) slang for “protecting the secrets of the. business,” but itis mainly associated wi professional wrestling. A wrestler ‘breaks kayfabe’ when they behave out of character or reveal wrestling events to be staged, as opposed to genuine. I could elaborate on the deeper meanings of all this in light of the album’s content, but it’s just a cool title that reflects Pemberton’s balance of ego and wit. Rollie’s father, Teddy Pemberton, single-handedly intro- duced hip-hop to Edmonton via college radio in the 1980s, and Cadence himself was a former journalism student, who, if you believe his lyrics, dropped out to pursue a hip- hop career, despite a 4.0 GPA and burgeoning writing gigs at Pitchfork and See Magazine (as well as his own Razorblad Runner blog). His upbringing and his education feature prominently on Breaking Kayfabe, an album full of intertex- tual references to music and pop culture (everything from Flavor Flav to Bob Dylan to Monsanto). “Oliver Square,” the opening track, kicks in with “Tt’s corrupt where I’m from: Edmonton,” and proceeds as a geographical and cultural shout-out to E-town. The irony is palpable, but somehow Cadence makes it stick as he raps about having to take the bus to his own shows because he doesn’t have a license. It’s followed by “Sharks,” a “stop biting my shit” number that reminds me of Del rapping over beats-by-Nintendo. The electroclash beats on the album are cool, but they get a little tiring after a while. Luckily, Cadence is able to switch it up enough to keep things afloat as he fills out the album with stories of com- mercialism (“30 Seconds”), a woman prostituting herself to pay her custody-battle legal fees (“Diamond Cutter”), and, of course, himself. With the possible exception of “Oliver Square,” my favourite track on the LP is “Lisa’s Spider,” on which Cadence shows us his skills, shooting a high word- per-minute rate over complex rhyme structures. He even takes a stab at Talib Kweli, who, after The Beautiful Struggle, kind of deserves it, and gives a final shout-out to Capri- Sun! Pemberton is only 20 years old, and although he carries himself well, he either can’t, or doesn’t want to escape from his cultural environment (which is ovr cultural envi- ronment). It’s a good thing though, and as a result, Breaking Kayfabe is kind of like a chill night with your friends: you meet up at someone’s basement suite, drink some beers ciated with the world of mmamdksmokexjaintzmeckseach other, maybe watch some Family Guy on DVD, and just shoot the shit about school, girls (or boys...), and what’s new in music. Maybe you don’t get your crunk on and make-out with some “hotties” on the dance floor, but dammit... it’s still a good time! With some of the most amusing rhymes P’ve come across in a while, unique beats, a vicious sense of humour, and an apparently solid live show (I haven’t witnessed it, but apparently he’s been stealing the show opening for The Islands and he was a standout at this year’s Arts County Fair) the future looks bright for Mr. Pemberton. I bet his daddy’s proud.