The Eternals / S/T / DeSoto Following the break-up of their seminal art-punk group Trenchmouth, former members Damon Locks and Wayne Montana set out to do something completely new and totally original. Enlisting the services of drummer Dan Fliegel as well as the production techniques of (Tortoise main man) John McEntire and Casey Rice, the duo have achieved exactly that. The Eternals is an album chock full of new and exciting sounds...more» FEATURED ON THE BOOMBOX!
		The Intima / No Lullaby for Sleep / Zum The opening "Death Ship Intro" immediately draws me in with its combination of Andrew's dissonant guitar and Nora's sawing violin. Combined with the rolling rhythms from Alex on drums and Themba on bass, the result lies somewhere between the avant-garde of Sonic Youth and the country-punk of the Geraldine Fibbers. The quartet's sound opens up in "Tundra'd", with occasional guitar and bass notes chiming over top of an insistent violin pattern...more» FEATURED ON THE BOOMBOX!
		The Vice Principals / After School with the Vice Principals / Sympathy for the Record Industry The Vice Principals stick to dishing out round after round of the Humpers' familiar-sounding formula, rocking without racing down your throat at ungodly speeds or attempting to be musically so-fis-tee-cated. It's rock, baby, and the guitars are the Head of the Student Body here. Side A starts out alright as The Vice P's do a decent job of covering "Jack the Ripper," stalking the streets with a gutsy, raucous energy. However, the band's rendition of "Glad All Over" may cause aural distress for some of you in the listening audience...more» FEATURED ON THE BOOMBOX!
		33.3 / Plays Music / Aesthetics Guitar and drums provide the stuff we've heard before -- loose-knit, semi-improvised instrumental rock songs filtered through a precise, jazz-inflected tempo. Trumpet, trombone, cello and double bass fill in the "voices" and textures, and this is where Plays Music derives its individuality. Dominique Davison's cello lends warmth to all it touches, its earthy chords giving humanity to the mathematical progression of "Power Failure at the U.N."...more»
		The I Live The Life Of A Movie Star Secret Hideout / autumngirlarchershorsemenbringarrows / March Aside from challenging Fiona Apple's record for longestsongtitlethatmeansnothingtoanyoneexpcepthewriter, autumngirlarchershorsemenbringarrows manages to charm with its simplicity. TILTLOAMSSH's shoe-gazing pop has been compared to Pale Saints, who certainly may have influenced the songwriter's lyric sensibilities, if nothing else. The songs and their arrangements are simple and spare, and the vocals are generally plain...more»
		Je Suis France / S/T / Pitch-A-Tent Whether they like it or not, Je Suis France are hereby decreed the rightful heir to the Some Velvet Sidewalk throne. Before the coronation, however, someone should check the history books and make sure I'm bequeathing the proper crown. Wasn't Sidewalk's reign distinguished by Al Larson's goofball lyrics and guitars that sounded more wrestled than played? Note to you history buffs: I'm not talking newer, slicker, Steve Fisk-ified Sidewalk here. I'm all about the old school...more»
		Moose / Highball Me / Le Grand Magistery Highball Me isn't a a particularly striking record, but it's one of those albums you can leave playing all day and be reliably certain that it won't drive you to commit murder. Moose's smooth, sophisticated approach has been refined during their five year hiatus. Their sound is accomplished, but far from dry -- a fair degree of singer/songwriter snarkiness, a la Lloyd Cole or even Robyn Hitchcock, plus a touch of grandiose pop-rock craft (the stuff the Church could write if they had a sense of whimsy)...more»
		Otaku / Bitwise Operators / Malvado San Francisco dub duo Otaku is comprised of brothers Colonel 32 and NaN. They've been performing as Otaku since early 1998, but Bitwise Operators is their debut full-length. It is heavily influenced by the Orb, Bill Laswell and illbientism. As you would expect, boxy drum snippets, phat, repetitive basslines and moody atmospheres prevail. Track one, "Hmmmm…", starts out like something from DJ Spooky's Songs of a Dead Dreamer, but moves right into "Barbarian Whores"...more»
		Frankie Sparo / My Red Scare / Constellation Tom Waits (the slower stuff) is a reasonable starting point to describe the music on My Red Scare -- but Sparo doesn't over-do things nearly as much as Waits does. The music here sounds more sincere, somehow, more direct and less produced, although technically the production is just fine. It's a compelling mix of acoustic and electronic, of other-wordly soundscapes and back porch blues. Holding it all together is Sparo's unpolished, expressive voice and odd, melancholy lyrics...more»
		Terry, Blair and Anouchka / Ultramodern Nursery Rhymes / Cherry Red First released in 1990, Ultramodern Nursery Rhymes justifies your purchase with "Missing" alone. As of 2000, this song stands as the most moving in Terry Hall's illustrious career ("The food is burning/But we are learning to get by without you/Although we're missing you") by handling the subject of missing an ex-wife with more intelligence, honesty and humor than even Randy Newman's "Miss You"...more»