Braid / Movie Music Vol. 2 / Polyvinyl Movie Music Vol. 2 is a collection of all of Braid's compilation and cover material. Of the two volumes, this is the one that will leave hardcore fans with their mouths agape, as many of the compilations that the tracks are culled from are long out-of-print and were very limited run items in the first place. It's quite possible, therefore, that many tracks on Movie Music Vol. 2 are new to even the most devoted of Braidophiles...more» FEATURED ON THE BOOMBOX!
		Jhno / Membrane / Delicate Ear While Membrane includes elements of "ethnotechno" percussion, its real focus is Jhno's return to his roots as a jazz pianist, narrating a series of shifting soundscapes with sophisticated piano and keyboard melodies. In some cases, such as "Raise and Illuminate", the results resemble Strange Cargo-era William Orbit; the progressions are similar, though less deliberate and pronounced...more» FEATURED ON THE BOOMBOX!
		The Baptist Generals / self-titled / Quality Park Unlike other groups that are eager to duplicate the sounds emanating from old blues records and early Smithsonian field recordings, Flemmons and drummer Steve Hill seem as if they could be the legitimate deal. They come across like peers of Leadbelly, returning from a day of picking tobacco to sing about walls of blood, scary preachers and teeth no less damaged than their hearts...more»
		Console / Rocket in the Pocket / Matador Pairing mid-tempo ambient stylings (think slower Aphex Twin tracks) with new wave sensibilities, Rocket in the Pocket manages to be warm and friendly without ever giving much evidence that humans were directly involved in its creation...more»
		Escapade / Due to a Faulty Premonition / MotherWest Like Eno, Fripp, Pink Floyd and Joe Meek, Escapade's improvisational experimental space rock is all about atmosphere. Jagged guitars are inserted, tumbling piano keys are struck and various synthesized, bulbous sonic blurbs conspire to convey the sense of dislocation and impotence which the mysteries of inner and outer space create...more»
		Kind of Like Spitting / Nothing Makes Sense Without It / New American Dream . "Blue Period", my favorite track, has as emotional investment equal to Bob Mould's "Too Far Down". By coupling the lyrics ("it was just like suicide/in that you really don't want to die/but you said it so many times") with Ben's voice bleeding these words out, you can almost choke up while listening to it...more»
		Grant Langston / All This and Pecan Pie / MSG Langston has served up a plate full of smart-ass pop music -- and I am willing to bet that you're not going to leave your seat until you lick the plate clean. This half-studio, half-live album reminds me of the sort of good, old-fashioned song-writing that I haven't heard since Michael Penn's criminally ignored March...more»
		Mung / Ceramic Eye / Touch & Go If you're unfamiliar with no-core music, here's the quick explanation. A no-core artist begins by writing a perfectly normal, straightforward piece of music -- typically a pop or jazz song -- with a single, central riff, melody or progression upon which the entire piece pretty much depends. He then removes that crucial piece...more»
		Gretchen Phillips / Songs to Save Your Soul / Seasick Sailor Widely recognised for her work with Meatjoy, Two Nice Girls, Girls in the Nose and the Gretchen Phillips Experience, Phillips continues to captivate on Songs to Save Your Soul, a concept album tracing the path of loss leading to redemption...more»
		Smoking Popes / Live / Double Zero Recorded on November 25, 1998 at Chicago's Metro, the performance wound up being the seminal group's last. After seven years, the band decided to call it quits in the wake of lead singer Josh Caterer's decision to pursue a life devoted to the service of God (though this was not made public until a few months after the show)...more»