Kind of Like Spitting / Performs: Old Moon in the Arms of the New / Hush While they've habitually improved upon each previous song, making the music fuller or the lyrics more honest, the now-well-known ache in a KOLS song was immediately present the first time they shuffled and kicked out a hummable tune. Here, as KOLS Performs: Old Moon in the Arms of the New, they react to the departure of violinist Mollie Hardy by throwing out their potent, successful "emo-ballad" formula in favor of riding their often intense feelings through every genre known to Dion DiMucci -- that is, everything but techno...more» FEATURED ON THE BOOMBOX!
		SPLaTTeRCeLL / OAH / CeLLDiViSioN It's hard to describe OAH, even in terms of blended genres. The music here hasn't so much been blended as recombined, sometimes in an entirely haphazard, cut-and-paste fashion, like a jigsaw puzzle assembled by someone who hasn't been briefed on the whole jigsaw concept and has no reservations about hammering the bits together any way they fit. Elements are pieced together, but the edges are raw and bloody...more» FEATURED ON THE BOOMBOX!
		The Vivian Girls / Self-Titled / Radio One Here's the line-up: on first base is your angry, distorted guitarist (take your pick); on second, John Zornish squawky sax; short-stop, that Flock of Seagulls keyboardist; third, catchy Cure-like bass player; on the mound, a screaming singer who's out to beam the batter in the head; and behind the plate, a needy female vocalist. Scattered about the outfield are tape loops, trumpets and organs...more» FEATURED ON THE BOOMBOX!
		Add N to (X) / Add Insult to Injury / Mute The soft-porn styled video works well with the would-be-single, "Plug Me In." This swaying, sexy number glides by on ambient waves as light percussion and throbbing low-end notes lock into a groove and bathe you in sensual rhythms. This could be the first documented case of stereo-sex! On the opposite end of the spectrum, "Brothel Charge" quickly sends forth a line of dominating keyboard banging that sounds like laser bursts...more»
		Half Mexican Teenage Witch / A Desert Home Collection / Poplash "Lo-Fi" doesn't really do justice to many of the recordings on A Desert Home Collection. When you can hear the tape recorder being switched on and off -- sometimes in the middle of a song -- you know you're dealing with the real thing. The recording levels are all mixed up, there's mud everywhere, and there are no frequencies above about 5KHz. But who cares! Listen to that guy sing! He's howling or something. And he means it...more»
		John Wesley Harding / The Confessions of St. Ace / Mammoth On The Confessions of St. Ace, the man named after Dylan's seminal 1967 album churns out one glistening pop treat after another. Forsaking the folk roots of his namesake, Harding instead relies on lush and intricate arrangements to project his grand musical vision. In doing so, he incorporates elements of rock, jazz, country and classical music, creating wistfully irresistible pop confections filled with effervescent melodies and clever lyrical wordplay...more»
		The Lesser Birds of Paradise / A Suitable Frame / Loosethread Meandering over a number of romantic topics, The Lesser Birds of Paradise provide some really fine bits of songwriting -- take “Row of Lights”, based on a John Steinbeck short story entitled “Saint Katy the Virgin.” In the story, Katy (a pig) performs miracles and attains sainthood; in the song, Janka approaches Katy for mercy and forgiveness. Guess you can add The Lesser Birds to the growing list of spiritually-oriented rock bands...more»
		Radio 4 / The New Song and Dance / Gern Blandsten Like the mod-crazy Chisel before them, Radio 4 is a Gern Blandsten group that revives a past "sound" that deserves far more exploration and respect than the acid bands of yesteryear. To some extent, they deserve applause just for this -- it's retro, yes, but unlike any other retro stuff you're now hearing -- but they earn more cheers by blending their Mercury-poisoned new-wave treatments with the aggressive guitars of groups like Wire and Mission of Burma...more»
		Self / Gizmodgery / Spongebath Self has approached this "toy instruments" dodge from a different direction. Instead of embracing the cheap, tinny sounds of toys, they've decided to push them to their limits, creating a big, loud, garish power-pop album from distinctly low-end sounds. They're also working with a broader palette; among the toy pianos, drums and guitars in the "instruments used" blurb, you'll also find toy cell phones and talking animals...more»
		Sophya / The Age of Sophya / Metropolis The first sound that emerges from Sophya's debut album is Sonja Rozenblum's voice. From this simple, haunting beginning, you are drawn into a captivating old-world atmosphere. Although the trio hails from Israel, they feel more European and sound like the dark tides which flow under Enya's sunnier songs. Rozenblum's vocals occupy a central position on The Age of Sophya, providing inviting and tantalizing textures with a touch of hidden evil...more»