Bonefish Sam and his Power Orchestra / Fake Fun / Coming in Second Working with a curious mix of drum loops, found sound, noise and things gone wrong, Bonefish Sam and his Power Orchestra build an astoundingly cohesive sound from their disparate elements. After opening with a thirty-second beat poem featuring bongos and an amazingly rhythmic dog, the horn from "Smorgasbord" sneaks into the speakers. This track lives up to its name, laying down a simple bass line which weaves between strange squiggles, a reverbed-out saxophone and a hideously insistent laugh...more» FEATURED ON THE BOOMBOX!
		Burn Witch Burn / Self-Titled / Razler/Lightyear Performing on an odd assortment of traditional folk instruments (including tin whistle, mandolin, bouzouki and hurdy-gurdy) they play Celtic-oriented, homespun yarns about pedophiliac grandfathers, plagues and murdered children. In a very punk-rock way, Burn Witch Burn hijacks American folk music in an effort to shine a light into the dark corners of traditional American culture. I think their work is riveting. There is probably some sort of cultural archetype thing happening here...more» FEATURED ON THE BOOMBOX!
		Waawe / Timestorm Was the Signal / Minority If you listen to Waawe with only half your attention, you're going to write them off as another emo band. They've got the loud/quiet/loud guitar thing going on, and the strained vocals too. But they're not throwaway punk rock. There's too much going on here. Perhaps there's a little emo in the group's foundation, but it shares space with a healthy accumulation of prog rock. Waawe starts with the same basic building blocks that Sunny Day Real Estate used to create The Rising Tide...more» FEATURED ON THE BOOMBOX!
		1-Speed Bike / Droopy Butt Begone / Constellation "The day that Mauro ran over Elwy Yost" leads the way with lots of dirty beats, noisy samples and resonant filter abuse. I quote: "First this is a declaration of love for my family, both blood and organic, human and non-human." Okay! Continuing in the live-sounding drum beat/fuzzy samples vein is "Seattle/Washiongton/Prague 00/68 Chicago/Nixon/Reagan circle-fighting machine", only this time the beats are punctuated by moments of delicate bleep-bloop tones and ambient chords....more»
		Baxendale / You Will Have Your Revenge / Le Grand Magistery Their sound is unabashedly retro-leaning Eurotechnodisco -- sort of a less fey Pet Shop Boys fronted by Howard Devoto. It's bouncy, cheerfully mainstream music; like many of their peers, Baxendale may have found an American home on an independent label, but they'd probably be more comfortable with a fresh-faced nightclub crowd than a group of fanatical Momus fans. It's obvious from the first track -- the superlative "Music for Girls" -- that Baxendale aren't afraid to perform dressed in silver jumpsuits...more»
		Cement Head / Self-Titled / Vandalay Coming to you from Any Bar, USA, this three-piece outfit shoves it in your face with abandon. The professed influence of Hüsker Dü and Superchunk comes through loud and clear in each of these five catchy punk pop tunes. And each cut has an amazing alchemical effect: with just one listen, it can bubba-ize even the most uptight, Ivy League Washington insider. Can't you just see ol' President Bush on a campaign stop in some smoky bar back in '92, singing along with these boys from Brooklyn...more»
		King Black Acid / Loves a Long Song / Cavity Search With their third album, KBA weaves together electronic/prog rock that at certain moments sound almost poppy. The album's fairly cohesive in concept, although there are one or two tracks that act as the protruding nail -- sure to stick out. The music would be destined for a radio playlist offering if it weren't too quiet, although you might find it while turning the dial at 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. They've been compared to just about every group that's been described as dreamy, hypnotic, psychedelic, druggy, late-night or spacy...more»
		The Solipsistics / Jesus of the Apes / Frigidisk Continuing his trend for carefully crafted pop ditties that infuse piano and a distinctive quietude that's pleasant, yet noticeably edgy, Mr. McGregor (the driving force behind The Solipsistics) once again invokes his unique form of spiritual manipulation. There's still a genuine pop core at the heart of each Solipsistics song. It's sensible, it's rational and it's inarguably capable of filling your head with tuneful entertainment by itself...more»
		Sunday's Best / Poised to Break / Polyvinyl This record almost does for emo what All Mod Cons did for punk. The songs are melodic, passionately sung and far too diverse to truly be tied to any genre. The only thing they really have in connection with the "emo" genre are Wisconsin genes and a joint sing/yell style that's brought in toward the end of many songs for added intensity. As with Paul Weller's lyrics, the band fills their songwriting with feelings that idealistic youth can connect with, such as distaste for the marketing side of music...more»
		Sybarite / Musicforafilm / The Temporary Residence, Ltd. Though not a soundtrack to any film in particular, the album’s epic scope would have made it an excellent choice to back, say, Run Lola Run or Get Carter. Those comparisons aside, Musicforafilm is a complex mesh of mechanical precision and warm languid tones, employing delicate synth drones, weeping melodies and burbling keyboards to emphasize its false sense of action, mystery or passion. Take for example "Suspiral"’s slowly building beats, which would make it the perfect accompaniment to a climactic chase scene...more»