DIZZEE RASCAL / Boy In Da Corner (XL)
As a 16-year old East Londoner, Dizzee threw a big bomb at the UK mainstream charts with some serious pirate radio fare raising his hype profile several notches, but luckily delivers some excellent follow-up at age 18 with this new full length. The sentiment is steeped in the legend of UK garage, which seemed to dry up as soon as the economy went wack. Indeed the shadow of the desperate times looming over Dizzee's locale rings loud on this record, with his vulnerability matching his bravado through the chaotic electronic skitter and off-the-mark weird chords that come looming over his thickly-accented MCing. Elements of raga and jungle flow in and out of this great, homemade, paranoid hip-hop for a new Britain in need of some new, angry music.

SOLGER / Codex 1980 (Empty)
Solger existed for six months in a crusty Seattle basement (and really sounds it), opened for Black Flag and then seemingly disappeared into the void. People had been talking about them for years, and I never heard the single, so when this retrospective (well, as much as you can do with a handful of songs, you get the "good" cleaned up tracks, the "bad" quality live ones and the "horrendous" original versions they first put out) popped up I was psyched to finally check it out. Totally nihilistic slopped up punk rock fitting somewhere between the Germs and the Damned (both of whom they covered) with hateful and juvenile lyrics ("Dead Solger (Soldier)": "We're future soldiers and no one gives a damn! We're future soldiers waiting to be shot! We're suture soliders and we're just gonna rot rot rot.") Mudhoney guys, who write the liners, were suitably blown away and confused, and now you can bathe in the no-fidelity sound of Solger.

REV. CHARLIE JACKSON / God's Got It (Case Quarter)
If you're a regular listener to WFMU, then you've know doubt experienced the pure snake-charm that is Kevin Nutt's Sinners Crossroads show (on Saturdays at 9 AM these days). Well, prior to the show taking flight Kevin would circulate to me these amazing CDRs of relatively-unknown (well at least in the McDonalds-sponsored gospel music biz) fellas like Isaiah Owens and Charlie Jackson that would send a chill up my spine like the first time someone around me played Hasil Adkins' "We Got a Date." In fact, ignoring the fact these preachers would never consider cutting their dates heads off like Hasil, there's quite a similarity of vibe in what is going on (much more holier of course). Now running his own label, Brother Kevin's first release compiled 1970s singles on the Booker and Jackson labels from Rev. Charlie, and it's a jawdropper. The raw fidelity here coupled with the universe-altering pulse of the tremelo on Jackson's hissing amp, spare but powerful Fender guitar and primal, astounding voice that combines fierce testifying and sanctified singing is a real stunner. And we're not just saying that because he's a WFMU staffer. This is the real GOLD.