Kerosene Hat
Artist: Cracker
Community Score: 6.75

With their second album Cracker have lost the smarmy self-righteousness that plagued their otherwise fine debut, replacing it with a surprisingly solid, rocking core. Kerosene Hat is David Lowery's least affected album yet -- its humor is no stranger than "Dead Flowers" by the Stones or "Fat Man in a Bathtub" by Little Feat, two groups that... Read More

Oyster
Artist: Heather Nova
Community Score: 8.90

In some ways, Heather Nova is more talented than many of her female singer/songwriter contemporaries. She has an appealing voice, strong lyrics, and memorable melodies -- that is, when she delivers. Unfortunately, many of her albums are uneven, with Nova delivering the goods as often as she misses the mark. The best moments on her second album,... Read More

Unplugged + More
Artist: David Byrne

This revamping of a previous bootleg (eight additional songs), called David Byrne Unplugged, has remarkably good sound quality due to a direct recording from the sound board and a mild-mannered audience at the small venue in which it was recorded. It does an excellent job of demonstrating the intimacy that he generates in a small, live setting.... Read More

Pure
Artist: The Golden Palominos

If you live in New York, then chances are good that either you or someone you know has once been the Golden Palominos' singer. With Pure it was Lori Carson's turn, and she was just what this occasionally brilliant but frequently unfocused band needed. This is probably the Palominos' first great album (unless you count the group's brilliantly... Read More

The Rest of the Best
Artist: The Pogues

The Rest of the Best is a solid sampling of the Pogues' output up to 1994, even when one considers that the collection in a way amounts to the second best-of, since The Best of the Pogues was released less than a year before this collection. Though the album suffers from a sequencing problem, with three of its strongest songs out of the way... Read More

Amplified Heart
Artist: Everything But the Girl
Community Score: 8.25

Despite its title, Amplified Heart is one of Everything but the Girl's more acoustic works. A simple instrumentation of guitars and keyboards, augmented here and there by British folk-rock veterans like Richard Thompson, Danny Thompson, and Dave Mattacks, serves to set up a series of songs of romantic disillusionment. Declaring "my life is just... 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

This Is How It Feels
Artist: The Golden Palominos

Lori Carson comes aboard for the sixth album from Anton Fier's Golden Palominos. Her writing and singing provides the emotional backbone of This Is How It Feels, while a usual collection of stellar musicians ranging from bassist Bill Laswell to guitarists Bootsy Collins and Nicky Skopelitis gives the record its sonic grooves. This Is How It... 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

Purple
Artist: Stone Temple Pilots
Community Score: 7.99

Stone Temple Pilots had hits with Core, but they got no respect. They suffered a barrage of savage criticism and it must have hurt, since their second effort seems a conscious effort to distinguish themselves as a band not indebted to grunge. That didn't get them anywhere, as they were attacked as viciously as before, but Purple is nevertheless... Read More

4-Track Demos
Artist: PJ Harvey
Community Score: 8.60

Since Steve Albini gave Rid of Me such an uncompromisingly noisy finish, it may have made sense for Polly Harvey to release her original demos, augmented by several unreleased songs, six months later as an album. After all, the initial British pressings of Dry came with a bonus disc of her demos. Still, the official, independent release of... Read More

Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements
Artist: Stereolab
Community Score: 7.58

Though it was the group's major-label debut, Stereolab's Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements showed no signs of selling out. If anything, it's one of the most eclectic and experimental releases in Stereolab's early career, emphasizing the group's elongated Krautrock jams, instrumentals, and harsh, noisy moments. The album begins and... Read More

Staying Loose (A Compilation)
Artist: H.P. Zinker

Vienna songwriter, guitarist, and singer Hans Platzgumer fronted the H.P. Zinker outfit for several years, establishing a connection with several key American artists and actually creating something of a following for himself in the process. This is more than one can say for quite a few other European rock artists, especially ones from Vienna. A... Read More