In the highly competitive world of schoolyard marbles, there were many desirable orbs to have in one's collection-- clouds, clearies, milkies, and of course, the classic aggies. But no marble beat the King Cobb Steelie. It towered over its brethren, casting its shadow far and wide. If you had one of these babies, you were officially hot shit. Well, maybe not. I've never actually played marbles, so I wouldn't know. But I have read about it, and sources indicate that the King Cobb Steelie was indeed the most powerful member of the marble family.

So, the question, then, is does this troupe of Canadians live up to their moniker? Well, for the most part, yes. For you see, Mayday's sound is both glassy and swirly, and occasionally, even towering. And this isn't even the first time these guys have pulled it off. King Cobb Steelie have been forging a unique groove in the indie landscape for about a decade now, mixing elements of dub, rock, hip-hop, trip-hop, funk, and post-punk in a seamless stew of eclectic goodness. Their efforts even attracted the attention of Bill Laswell, who produced the band's second album, Project Twinkle. Like many experimental acts of the 90's, King Cobb Steelie have typically functioned as a large collective, though the trio of Kevan Byrne, Kevin Lynn, and Michael Armstrong have always been at the center of the proceedings.

Mayday, the band's fourth album, rides in on a driving bass groove, with quasi-melodic modem samples and heavily textured guitars locking in intricately arranged layers. "The Situation" immediately establishes the album as the most polished, accessible offering from King Cobb Steelie yet. The jagged edges of 1997's Junior Relaxer have been smoothed out to create a dense, but incredibly crisp sound. "The Situation" gives way to the sampled strings and trip-hop beats of "Below the Stars," an excellent duet of sorts between Byrne and guest vocalist Tamara Williamson, with some accomplished scratching courtesy of DJ Serious. In a fair world, we'd all be sick of hearing this song on the radio by now, but it remains a hidden treasure, which is usually more rewarding anyway.

One of the things that's most striking about this band is how deftly they incorporate so many disparate strands and make it all sound so natural. "Home" busts out the funk like nobody's business, rushing forth on a bed of pulsing sine waves and metronomic drumming, demanding shaking of the ass and stomping of the feet. The rolling guitar lick would be at home on a Meters album, but it has a dirty, lo-fi tone that lends a whole different dimension to the sound. The dub elements that figured so heavily in the past-- especially on their work with Laswell-- are played down somewhat here, but several tracks still pray at the altar of King Tubby and Lee "Scratch" Perry, most notably "The Situation" and "Lady Toronto."

"Lady Toronto" in particular makes excellent use of dubby guitar parts and mechanized breaks, creating a remarkably transparent arrangement that adroitly buoys the minimal lyrics, giving the feeling of verses and choruses when there are really only two real lines of lyrics. The clarity of sound here probably has a lot to do with engineer and co-producer Guy Fixsen, famous for running the board on My Bloody Valentine's masterpiece, Loveless. The wall of sound put up by that record was similarly multifaceted, but at the same time, very distinct. Of course, Mayday is nearly devoid of feedback, so the resemblance remains passing. Fixsen's production on Junior Relaxer was much closer to his earlier work with UK shoegazer bands, but here, he seems to want to shift the focus to King Cobb Steelie's innate sense of melody and composition.

Unlike past efforts, though, this is the first King Cobb Steelie album that can't quite maintain its momentum the whole way through. Their first three records sported lengthy jams, which are absent here. The sheer energy that carried those earlier meditations is occasionally missed on Mayday. For example, a few of the instrumentals tend to drift by unnoticed, like "Ivan 87" and "Half-Bit Converter," but they're by no means bad or even boring-- they just sort of blur together. The vocal songs are certainly the standouts, and the album is front-loaded with four of the very best tracks the band has ever recorded. As a result, it's difficult for the rest of the record to live up to the expectations raised at the outset.

When the music's over, only a few of the songs found on Mayday will still be with you, but the album is definitely worth visiting more than once. Even a King Cobb Steelie album that doesn't live up to its predecessors is better than a lot of the dreck being fed to the masses these days. Unfortunately, the band's first three full-lengths are out-of-print in the US. This, however, is a fine starting point to decide whether or not pursuing the Canadian imports is worth your while. Mayday still demonstrates a band with a keen ear for detail and an adventurous sense of style. And in the end, that's really what separates the King Cobb Steelies from the aggies.

-Joe Tangari