Durian / Sometimes You Scare Me / Diver City The opening track, "Range Rover", will scream from your speakers like Evander Holyfield being sprung from a child's jack-in-the-box. Its angular rhythms, wiry guitars and Matt Hermann's psychotically friendly vocals instantly maul you, leaving you staggered but needing more. And that's exactly what you get as "X and Y", "Emergencies and Laughs" and "Press Stop" are dispatched in rapid succession, leaving you battered and bruised but hell-bent on continuing...more» FEATURED ON THE BOOMBOX!
		Steam / Real Time / Atavistic The jazz world of today is a continuum. One jazz publication recently placed ultra-traditionalist Wynton Marsalis on one end and avant downtowner John Zorn on the other. In many ways a Marsalis/Marsalis continuum could be argued as well, since Wynton and Branford have such polaristic musical personalities. Steam is somewhere in the middle. They identify the possibilities suggested by jazz tradition and exploit them...more» FEATURED ON THE BOOMBOX!
		The Billy Dechand Band / Hocus Pocus / Muss My Hair The songs on Hocus Pocus are reminiscent of The Loud Family or Zumpano; they're also remarkably similar to the work of Nick Lowe and, in a more syndicalist direction, early Talking Heads. But Dechand is not an easy musician to categorize. He brings together a variety of influences that merge pop with more sophisticated jazz and folk arrangements. Some of the songs, like "Don't Worry", are a case in point. This tune has the rudimentary structure of a pop song, but leads you through some pleasingly eccentric turns...more»
		The Long Decline / Wisdomism / Wabana/Surefire The instrumentation here is that of a classic pub band: guitars, organ, violin, mandolin, banjo, percussion, bassoon, piano, bandoneon. And in a way, that's what The Long Decline sounds like: a bunch of witty, half-sodden musicians having a good time playing tunes in their favorite pub. Except that this is one strange group of people, so their idea of having a good time playing tunes isn't exactly what you might expect...more»
		Masters of the Hemisphere / I Am Not A Freemdoom / Kindercore In musical terms, this narrative translates to a series of thirteen jangly pop tunes in typical E6-ish, Kindercore style (the band's principals also play in Summer Hymns and Kincaid). There's a healthy dose of keyboard burble and a lot of earnest vocals. Less a narrative than a series of soliloquoys and conversations between the story's characters, I Am Not A Freemdoom probably won't make a damn bit of sense without a careful reading of the accompanying comic book...more»
		Mathlete / Telstar Parthenon / Plastique Obvious comparisons can be made to Gary Numan, but I always got the impression a song like "Cars" was written specifically and solely for synthesizers. In contrast, the power-synth pop of Mathlete's "Steel Wheels '89" and "I Think I'm Power Down" could easily be converted into a Cheap Trick rocker. These and the majority of Mathlete numbers seem held together more by the guitars than the keyboards; they have a rock-n-roll drive which some listeners might not expect from a Wolfie side project...more»
		Mothmus / Le Bombe Neutron / Super Asbestos The first time I listened to Le Bombe Neutron, I had an intense urge to go over every inch of the jewel case, CD booklet and inlay card until I found the AmRep logo. Of course, there's not an Amphetamine Reptile ident anywhere on the disc, but it certainly deserves an honorary one, and I'm sure you'll find a few AmRep releases in the band's record collection. The Mothmus guys dish up some serious crunchy, sludgy guitar hash and top it with ferociously-screamed vocals...more»
		New Bomb Turks / Nightmare Scenario / Epitaph Nightmare Scenario definitely has its roots in the band’s previous Epitaph release, At Rope's End, as the same compressed yet fine-tuned punk aroma simmers from multiple sources. A quick New Bomb Turks menu checklist would include a hefty dose of sarcasm, aggressive, driving tunes, some sneers, a few proverbial, musically-designed middle fingers and tasty lyrics that actually have some genuine substance to them...more»
		Mary Lou Newmark / Green Angel / Green Angel Music Newmark plays her five-string electric violin with such mastery and taste, it is not surprising that the liner notes boast a list of credentials as long as my arm. However, make no mistake, she does not play by the music school rules. On "Voices of Faith," Newmark combines her string-work with tribal chants, spoken word and drum loops to create something more adventurous than academic. During this ten minute head-trip, her violin moves from gypsy fiddle to Irish jig to timbres strange enough to make you double-check that it actually is a violin...more»
		Kathryn Tickell / The Debateable Lands / Park Tickell's Northumbrian pipes go straight for the emotions, sharing ebullient joy or mournful sorrow to palpable effect. She's accompanied by fiddle, melodeon, bass, guitar and -- on "Our Kate" -- by the aforementioned Uilleann pipes. There's authentic rustic charm by the cartload here: the patient temperance of "In Dispraise of Whiskey" segues magically into the impishly pixilated "Swig Jig", while listening to "The Return" with closed eyes will conjure cinematic visions of ancestral homesteads and loving reunions...more»