Beat Synthetic / Self-Titled / Beat Synthetic Have Joy Division been reincarnated? Beat Synthetic's self-titled album might lead some to think so. Their brand of electro-pop certainly has enough shades of goth to beg the question. The opener, "Middle Class Anxiety Dream", despite its somewhat hackneyed theme, is a great specimen of new '80s pop. It reminds me of Satisfact and, to some degree, Joy Electric. Its brooding atmosphere is a result of Clyde Rourke's icy vocal delivery and the band's distant, fuzzed out guitars and synths...more» FEATURED ON THE BOOMBOX!
		Tortoise / Standards / Thrill Jockey The jazz leanings and fascination with electronic music remain, and are sometimes imprudently indulged, but in general the band seems to have a renewed awareness of the needs of the people on the other side of the speakers. While none of the songs on Standards stand much hope of fulfilling the album title's promise and finding their way into the broader musical lexicon, they offer tangible support to the listener. There are also a few moments that provoke an unexpected "Hey, is that really Tortoise?" reaction...more» FEATURED ON THE BOOMBOX!
		David Zweig / All Now With Wings / Ebb and Flow A few seconds into "Anything and Everything", I realized that this guy is something special. The playing is fantastic, the voice is intense, "trying not to fall", and his heart is all over each beat. Then the song shifts gears, and a folkie expands his voice to twice the width of Eddie Vedder's pipes, and it begins its emotional downpour over brilliantly orchestrated madness. On All Now With Wings, Zweig pounds us with lyrics in which the angst makes sense ...more» FEATURED ON THE BOOMBOX!
		The Caribbean / Verse by Verse / Endearing This is the group's first full-length, and it promises a bright future for them. They sound like the Sundays after a cup or two of espresso (eyes half open instead of eyes mostly shut) and with the vox run through a filter (not a vocoder). Jangly guitars and great harmonizing create the body of the work -- see "What Would Jane Jacobs Say?" and "Knife Replaces Blade" -- while cute effects polish the work to make the music the fun-fest that it is...more»
		Chroma Key / You Go Now / Fight Evil Synthesizers and keyboards never sounded so good. With the dominance of synthesized voices comes a cold, alien feel -- but it's not so off-putting as to detract from these subtle, slow-motion triumphs. Chroma Key, masters of uber-mellow mini-soundtracks, insert just enough bite here and there to keep listeners from completely evaporating into the ether. "Subway," for instance, evolves the seductive lull of its opening into a Trans-Am-ish smack...more»
		Jaffa / Elevator / Nude If I were getting some (I know it's hard to believe, but "I write for Splendid" doesn't have quite the pants-removing power you'd expect), then Elevator would have been the sound-track to this week's booty bounty. As it is, I've had to make do with mellow head-bobbing in my office as David Kakon and friends lay down some seriously smooth quiet storm jams. Let's see: we've got warm, mellow drums, organs doing the jazzy bits, occasional accents from muted guitars and relaxed, funky basslines...more»
		Super XX Man/Eric Metronome / Home: Vol. 2 / Post-Parlo No, Neutral Milk Hotel hasn't turned folk, and no, Elliott Smith hasn't abandoned his baroque pop stylings. The music on this second volume of the Home series of collaborations, brought to us by Austin's Post-Parlo Records, brings such ideas to mind. Scott Garred of Silver Scooter (aka Super XX Man) and Tiara's Eric Rottmayer (aka Eric Metronome), have crafted that precious, gentle breed of folk that has become all the rage...more»
		Tipsy / Uh-Oh! / Asphodel Tipsy's Trip Tease was a striking and ground-breaking piece of work. Its lightweight, bouncy lounge mood concealed painstaking craftsmanship, each track carefully assembled using a tightly-sequenced, lovingly arranged batch of samples. At the time, it was a masterwork of recombinant kitsch -- and an effort that, predictably, took years to follow up. After nearly five years, during which their label, Asphodel, died and was reborn, Tim Digulla and Dave Gardner have fielded a well-named sophomore effort. Uh-Oh! enters a very different musical market, and its sudden burst of apprehension is justified...more»
		The Turbo A.C.'s / Fuel For Life / Nitro After cramming my tongue back into my mouth and replaying the CD, I realize that there's much more to The Turbo A.C.'s than racy, breasty blondes and massive eighteen-wheeler rigs. While the band likens itself to "greaser rock," I'm more inclined to point towards a misty combination of twisted surf and balls-to-the-wall, speedy hell-bent punk 'n' roll. Each member is adorned with plenty of hair goop and tattoos to make your rockabilly friends happy...more»
		Twitch / Maintain Radio Silence / Tragic Decline When I first listened to the opening track, "Sorry Now", I cringed. Ciaran Daly's vocals bear the tremulous stamp of indie-rock whine, which when combined with the ringing guitar led me to expect yet another take on the guitar-grousing of Dinosaur Jr. Thankfully, I was dead wrong, as "Sorry Now" opened up into a fine pop song. Sure, the guitar is distorted, but what really makes Twitch's sound is Kara Kendall's violin. The dramatic sweep of her bow infuses the tracks with rich emotion...more»