Escapade / Remembrance of Things Unknown / MotherWest This is music that gets work done. When coffee no longer does the trick, up the ante with this speed for cubicle dwellers. Escapade presents six cuts, most of them quite beefy -- as in ten-plus minutes -- and each of them recorded with a single stereo microphone. While long on improvisation and completely bereft of vocals, Remembrance of Things Unknown rarely stoops to Phish-style self-indulgence. Most tracks, cleverly arranged and teasingly presented, keep the momentum up...more» FEATURED ON THE BOOMBOX!
		It's Jo and Danny / Lank Haired Girl to Bearded Boy / Double Snazzy The band never tries to be overly catchy, a la Beth Orton, who mines similar themes with less success (chill-out music is best left in the hands of visionaries). Instead of fumbling with catch-phrases and ethereal emptiness, It's Jo and Danny utilize jangly guitars and warm, fuzzy electronics, peaking their heads from many an angle, as the band achieves an eclectic synthesis of rock and dance styles. This musical synthesis has an "everything and the kitchen sink" feel...more» FEATURED ON THE BOOMBOX!
		Mabulu / Karimbo / World Music Network Mabulu means "dialogue" in Shangana, and even if the listener can't understand the words, the music will speak to you, just as the group's name promises to do. Even better, Mabulu speaks a universal language that most North Americans should recognize: hip-hop. Mabulu is a group project of traditional Mozambiquan musicians and younger, untried Mozambiquan rappers. Some dancehall ragga and the pop stylings of a young soprano, Chonyl, are thrown in for texture on certain tracks...more» FEATURED ON THE BOOMBOX!
		Jello Biafra / Become the Media / Alternative Tentacles Recorded over the summer and early fall of 2000, these speeches capture the frustration of disenfranchised America. Although he touches on many topics, including gun control and free speech, Biafra's monologues focus on the influence the wealthy have on the American political system. In his words, "their job is to protect old money, period." This inequality leaves most environmental, labor and cultural groups spitting with impotent frustration. Biafra, however, takes a more optimistic tack...more»
		BZ BZ UEU / Uhozmerigotz / Wallace/Music á la Coque It's striking how much this CD sounds like John Zorn's Masada project, which is a terrific combination of Zorny noise, really fast riffing and traditional Jewish music. A note from BZ BZ UEU bassist Pino Montecalvo that arrived with the CD clears things up quickly: it says that BZ BZ UEU is a combination of free jazz, noise, punk, children's music and South Italian folk/tarantella music. So here's a potential hint for anyone out there thinking of starting up a sucky rock band: DON'T DO IT...more»
		Sophia Darcell / Love=Pain / RMentertainment All of these songs are built around the idea that pain is a constant part of love. They're fused together by a wonderful band that includes Steve Cunningham on guitar and Sophia on keyboards and drum programming. Like Jonathan Butler, Steve has great command over his playing, and a Spanish touch that recalls Joao Gilberto. Despite some typically excellent vocals from Sophia on the beautiful "Mi Corazon", it is Steve's guitar that captures the emotion...more»
		Delerium / Poem / Nettwerk In today's musical climate, Delerium would be better off recruiting Kid Rock and Fred Durst for guest vocal duties. Luckily for all concerned, Bill Leeb no longer seems to need to make wallet-driven decisions. For Poem, he (apparently minus Fulber) has hooked up with a coterie of highbrow collaborators, who have written their own lyrics to accompany his music. Most of them still sound like Sarah McLachlan -- except for Matthew Sweet, who sounds like he wandered into the wrong studio...more»
		The Fire Show / Self-Titled / Perishable "F. Pilate" starts out all loose and shuffling, with a sparse instrumentation of drums, guitar and bass. Forty seconds into the song, though, a cloud of noise sneaks in and totally overwhelms everything else. The noise reigns supreme for about 20 seconds, after which it abruptly ends and the song continues. I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff. I think anyone who's confident enough to write a great song and then completely block it out with noise deserves respect and attention...more»
		Raz Mesinai / The Unspeakable / BSI We're talking about things like Satan, demonic possession, the opening of gateways to Hell, slime, corruption, decay, pus, maggots, madness, rotting corpses, half-seen things that make skittering noises, abandoned and defiled churches, madness, evil children, beheadings, gibbering monstrosities, yawning bottomless pits and massive, shapeless Lovecraftian Horrors from the Dawn of Time. If things like that send a chill down your spine -- and really, shouldn't they? -- you're bound to be at least a little bit disturbed by The Unspeakable...more»
		$wingin' Utter$ / Self-Titled / Fat Wreck Chords When I opened my mail and saw the new Swingin' Utters CD, I was frightfully excited. Could this spiffy looking, self-titled CD possibly top one of the best CDs of the '90s, the Utters' Five Lessons Learned? Could these San Francisco punk stalwarts live up to everything I'd told my friends about them? Surprisingly enough, there are two distinct personalities discernible on this release. Like clockwork, opening track "Pills & Smoke" lets loose a volley of familiar, quick-paced guitar chords...more»