50,000 B.C.
Artist: Shudder to Think

Pony Express Record might have been Shudder To Think's self-consciously difficult art-punk album, but 50,000 B.C. is their move toward big-rock. Sporting a slick, polished guitar sound and anthemic harmonies, 50,000 B.C. is more accessible than the rest of the group's catalog, at least on the surface. However, Craig Wedren's songs remain... Read More

Split Personalities
Artist: 12 Rods

12 Rods debut full-length is charged with a clever, infectious post new wave pop/rock from beginning to end. Ryan Olcott and co. are great songwriters; their songs are never stagnant, and, despite the album's title, they don't change up unnecessarily in awkward places. Olcott's peculiarly round voice and gorgeous guitar sound, coupled with Ev's... Read More

Because the World Has Failed Us Both
Artist: Falling Sickness
Fantastic Pirate Satellite
Artist: Liquid Gang
A-Sides
Artist: Soundgarden
Community Score: 7.66

For an act that was one of the definitive album artists of the late '80s and '90s, Soundgarden was a surprisingly effective singles band. Their singles effectively conveyed all of their best ideas, from their sludgy early Sub Pop recordings to the elaborate, post-metal psychedelia of their last two albums, Superunknown and Down on the Upside.... Read More

The Action Is Go
Artist: Fu Manchu
Community Score: 10.00

Not that it's unique, yet even with half the band changed from the last time around, the twin-riff action that kicks off "Evil Eye," and The Action Is Go! as a whole, sounds like nobody else but Fu Manchu, somehow. Punk energy, classic rock drive, psychedelic crunch, and heavy-ass grind all at once -- really, is anything more needed? From there... Read More

Retrospective
Artist: Pin Group

Siltbreeze's Retrospective is a re-issued collection of recordings by New Zealand's seminal Pin Group (fronted by Roy Montgomery) -- the disc includes the "Ambivalence"/"Columbia" 7" (actually the first single issued on the Flying Nun label), the "Coat"/"Jim" 7", the Pin Group Goes to Town EP, a live cover of War's "Low Rider" and two low-fi... Read More

Egomania (Love Songs)
Artist: Cobra Verde

Atmospheric, earthy sounds are what Cobra Verde specialize in, and they deliver the goods yet again on Egomania (Love Songs). It's a compilation of new songs, unreleased material, and tracks that have been previously unavailable on CD (from 45s released on the Sub Pop, Scat, Wabana, and Get Hip labels from 1995-96). The band shows off its many... Read More

Black Light Syndrome
Artist: Bozzio Levin Stevens

This power trio has famous roots, and they've brought it all together masterfully. First cut "The Sun Road" starts off like a tune off of David Gilmour's first solo album and then vanishes into a driving, power-chorded surge of soulful rock. Next, "Dark Corners" is a massive rocker that pulls you under its powerful whirlpool of guitar/bass/drum... Read More

The Best of the Call
Artist: The Call
Community Score: 10.00

The Best of the Call compiles all of the hits and best-known songs from the group's career, adding a couple of solo tracks from their leader, Michael Been, as well as two new tracks by the band, which feature contributions from Bruce Cockburn and Jim Keltner. It's a near-definitive collection, and for the casual fan, it contains all the Call... Read More

A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular
Artist: Hooverphonic
Community Score: 7.91

The Belgian trio Hooverphonic haphazardly tinkers around with ambient pop on its debut album, A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular. Overall, it's a decent derivation of post-grunge and a healthy sampling of rising trip-hop and ambient electronica during the mid-'90s, so perhaps it's all right for the album itself to experience floppy production.... Read More

In a Doghouse
Artist: Throwing Muses
Community Score: 7.00

Throwing Muses' classic first album was never released in the U.S., nor was their follow-up EP, Chains Changed. For well over a decade, the two records were only available as imports through 4AD, which meant that Throwing Muses, one of the most influential and individual albums of late-'80s alternative rock, was very hard for anyone outside of... Read More