VARIOUS ARTISTS
Japa-Rico~Rico Rodriguez Meets Japan
(Sony Music Associated Records)

A legendary ska trombon-ist is invited to Japan for a series of sessions with young Japanese ska and reggae bands and—presto, instant classic. Well, not really. Japa-Rico won’t go down in the annals of ska history, but it’s a surprisingly good bit of fun. Songs run from classics like “L-O-V-E,” which features Rico covering the Nat King Cole number, to dub-flavored workouts like “Moonlight Serenade,” to “Monkey Man,” which pairs the 70-year-old Rodriguez with girls-in-kneesocks unit the Oreska Band. The key to all this harmless enjoyment is the charismatic Rodriguez’ still-sharp trombone chops and wonderfully gruff voice. DG

THOM YORKE
The Eraser
(Beggars Japan/Warner Music Japan)

A lot of people who correctly call The Eraser Radiohead-without-guitars are disgruntled that Thom Yorke’s solo debut is up for the Mercury Prize while his band Radiohead have never won it. Should that stop you from listening? Definitely not. Yorke has a way with a laptop, conjuring darkly hypnotic moods that make up a lack of Radiohead-dynamism with a focused consistency. The title track casts a spell with simple piano chords, skittering drum sequences and howling effects. “Analyse” is redolent with the Radiohead’s dark melodrama, while on “Skip Divided” Yorke seems to lose all sanity amid an electronic bedlam of blips and bleeps. Verdict: Revel in the gloom. DG

ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION
Nano-Mugen Compilation 2006
(Ki/oon)

Nano-Mugen, a festival headlined by Ajikan with like-minded alt-rock acts from Japan and overseas, has sprouted two compilations so far. Whether it’s mere marketing or a useful stop-gap release for the band is up for debate, but what we are ultimately left with is a tidy cross-section of young rock acts that are proficient if never groundbreaking. Chatmonchy are the best of the bunch, retaining their garage rock roots while most of the others fall just short of the stadium sound they are clearly striving for. This only serves to show why Ajikan are so revered as the anthemic band of their generation, which may or may not have been the point anyway. RP

KAREN MOK
Without You
(Sony/BMG)

Hong Kong’s Karen Mok could have any number of careers. Part Chinese, Welsh, Iranian and German, she has the stunning looks of a model. Mok’s beauty certainly didn’t harm her eclectic and daring film career, which has seen her become an award-winning superstar in her home territory. But she began as a stage singer in London’s production of Miss Saigon, and 11 pop albums later, her vocal pedigree is also unquestionable. For Without You she’s sporting a new sexy image and letting her hair down, with heavy riffs tearing open the first track. Elsewhere she shows a knack for endearing ballads, catchy, playful pop and, on “24,”a flagrant disregard for genre categorization. Recommended. Robert Poole

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