The Carps

This five-song EP from Toronto duo the Carps has some similarities to the sounds coming from Montreal’s Think About Life — a smashed-up smorgasbord of dance punk hop — an all the more frequent happening now that everyone seems to listen to everything. The main difference here is that things are a little more rock than punk and little more pulled together, where TAL pulls them apart. The 800-pound gorilla in the middle of this CD is that the singer, Jahmal Tonge, often sounds a whole lot like Lenny Kravitz, if he was starting out now, and frankly, who the fuck wants to listen to Lenny Kravitz? Does he even exist anymore? "Compton to Scarboro” starts off with a BBD "Poison” riff that drops into a hot mess of rock where Tonge displays an impressive vocal range that better illustrates his skills, from slangin’ a hot soul chorus to pissed off punk screams. The third track (with an infuriatingly long Harry Pottery name) starts off perfect then goes a bit boring, and "Let’s Fall in Love” is addictive and up-tempo, but not, as it’s deemed, "the rawest thing I’ve ever heard.” These guys have an amazing album in them, no doubt, but until then, if this is the difference between Toronto and Montreal, I’m living in the right city for me.