Paul Van Dik, “Reflections” ***

The world has changed drastically since Paul Van Dyk released his last artist album (“Out There and Back 3”) few years ago. For his new CD, duet out on MUTE October 7, Paul has crafted over a dozen songs that he describes as, “…every track is a snapshot of an experience that inspired me to write a song about a certain issue. The whole album feels different for me. The last couple of years, especially with my experience in India, matured me a lot. And the more mature you get, the more self-confident you become”. On “Reflections”, Paul Van Dyk continues to create a distinctive brand of electronic dance music that continually expands the horizons of an ever-growing electronic music culture. With vocalists like Jan Johnston, Brit-rock act Vega 4 and German hip-hop artist DJ Tomekk “Reflections” is Paul’s most ambitious an accomplished album to date.

Michael Brecker Quindectet, “Wide Angels” ****

There is no living tenor saxophonist more imitated than Michael Brecker, who has imprinted his sound and conception upon almost every form of progressive jazz and pop music through his 34-year career. “Wide Angels”, the most ambitious work in a discography marked by creative achievement and great acclaim, shows that he is certain to have an equally consequential impact on the world of jazz in the first decade of the 21st century. With “Wide Angels”, Brecker has attained new heights as a composer. The ten songs on the album function as an extended saxophone concerto, with Brecker’s instrumental voice front and center as he spontaneously orchestrates and colors, varies his timbre and attack, never wastes a note or utters a clichéd phrase. His legendary technique is fully on display, subordinated entirely to serve a set of vivid, acutely realized musical stories of his own creation that cover a novelistic spectrum of experience.

Atticus, “Dragging the Lake II” **

This is the second CD in a series of compilations produced by Los Angeles based independent label SideOneDummy records. “Draggin the Lake II” is a who is who of today’s punk, emo and hardcore scene, everyone from The Transplants (featuring Tim Armstrong from Rancid an Travis Barker, from Blink 182), Mighty Boss Tones, Box Car Racer, Hot Water Music, Rocket From The Crypt, Suicide Machines and Taking Back Sunday to rare and unreleased material from Blink 182 (bonus track from limited first pressing of “Take Off Your Pants and Jacket”), Alkaline Trio (live version their recent BBC sessions) Dropkick Murphy’s, Lagwagon, Finch and Sparta making this a great collection of strong and original sounds in varying shades of styles in the most contemporary, and sometimes most controversial music of our times.

Danger Mouse & Jemini, “Ghetto Pop Life” ***

When you listen to this album rock your Calvin Kline jeans, roll one leg up, and make sure your doo rag is pulled tight, bitch. On their new CD, “Ghetto Pop Life”, the lead off cut, “What You Want?”, sees a full church choir sing about a “bullet in the clip” and “good dick for a bitch” like they’d sings about Jesus Christ himself. If you told me these two had Britney Spears butt-naked on a tour bus. I’d believe you. And you can bet that within a week of the Olsen Twins becoming legal, pimpin will be in effect. These two young rap stars, Danger Mouse and Jemini, symbolize the oxymoron of a CD like this. Danger Mouse on the tracks, Jemini on the raps and harmonies. It’s like the Backstreet Boys visit the Evan house in the New York projects on “Good Times”. Guest artists include Tha Liks, The Pharcyde, Prince Poetry and some kid named J-Zone.