Nurse
Artist: Therapy?
Community Score: 6.70

An expanded recording budget does wonders for Therapy? for their first proper studio record, released by new label A&M. But rather than record with a label-approved producer, the Irish band opted to go with their soundman to provide a grunge tinge to their punishing noise. So the band's fans rested easily knowing that Nurse was more than their... Read More

Encendedor
Artist: Dambuilders

Boston's Dambuilders thankfully didn't conform themselves for the sake of their major label debut. If anything, the opening moments of the grating "Copsucker" showed that they were ready to scream louder and rawer than they had in the past. The only noticeable change -- and a refreshing one at that -- is that the slightly polished production... Read More

4AM Friday
Artist: Avail

Opening with the rallying cry of "Simple Song" and winding down with the chugging rocker "Nameless," Avail's third album finds the Richmond, VA, punk band settling into a standard -- but still enjoyable -- formula. Loaded with catchy, singalong numbers, 4AM Friday rarely expands on the group's previous efforts, though an acoustic rendition of... Read More

Peckin' Party
Artist: Southern Culture on the Skids

This six-cut EP features three studio tracks from Southern Culture on the Skids: a re-recording of "Eight Piece Box" with Jim Spake sitting in on sax, a cover of Link Wray's "Run Chicken Run," and a new tune, "Kudzu Limbo" (which, while mostly instrumental, does feature the memorable encouragement to dancers, "How low can you GROW?"). The real... Read More

Tough Guy Problem
Artist: Dambuilders

This rocket of an EP served as a proper introduction to the energy Joan Wasser and her violin were capable of giving to the Boston indie band. The five songs here show the wealth of moods the band was capable of, from erratic mind games ("Dose") to romantic, tumbleweed swayers ("Idaho,") to all-out pogo rock ("Heather"). Most impressible is the... Read More

File Under: Easy Listening
Artist: Sugar
Community Score: 3.50

Given Bob Mould's reputation for searing electric rock & roll, it may be easy to think that the title of File Under: Easy Listening is ironic, and it is to a certain extent. But beneath the loud guitars lie the friendliest, most relaxed pop songs Mould had ever written. "Your Favorite Thing" and "Can't Help You Anymore" are two of Mould's most... Read More

Punk in Drublic
Artist: NOFX
Community Score: 8.05

With their 1994 album Punk in Drublic, NOFX truly hit their stride. The quartet didn't change their approach at all -- at their core, they remain a heavy, speed-addled, hook-conscious post-hardcore punk group -- but their songwriting has improved, as has their attack. Prior to this record, they merely showed promise, but with Punk in Drublic... Read More

Smash
Artist: The Offspring
Community Score: 8.18

The Offspring's second album for Epitaph did the impossible: it landed in the Top Five, unheard of for independent records. The Offspring crossed over due to the raucous, Eastern-tinged single "Come Out and Play," which stopped and started just like Nirvana, only without the Seattle trio's recklessness. The record stayed in the charts because... Read More

Too High to Die
Artist: Meat Puppets
Community Score: 7.23

Although the Meat Puppets' previous album, 1991's Forbidden Places, was one of the Arizona trio's finest, the band wasn't completely happy with the album's sound, courtesy of longtime Dwight Yoakam producer Pete Anderson. So on their second album for London Records, 1994's Too High To Die, the trio hooked up with Butthole Surfer Paul Leary to... Read More

Love Songs for the Retarded
Artist: The Queers
Community Score: 8.00

Even after eleven years, the Queers haven't grown up, as is evidenced by song titles like "Ursula Finally Has Tits," "I Can't Stop Farting," and "Noodlebrain." "Granola-Head" is an ultra-poppy anti-hippie rant that sums up the band's philosophy. Most of the album alternates between the guitar-driven pure pop craft of "Daydreaming" and the less... Read More

Ignition
Artist: The Offspring
Community Score: 7.71
Satiate
Artist: Avail

A tight, aggressive collection of hardcore-tinged punk tunes, Satiate captures Avail at their prime. Thanks to a bare-bones production and subtle -- though not indulgent -- shifts from the standard four-chord punk anthems, tracks such as "March" and "Pinned Up" sound nearly as good as they do during the group's infamous live shows. There's even... Read More