To Bring You My Love
Artist: PJ Harvey
Community Score: 8.29

Following the tour for Rid of Me, Polly Harvey parted ways with Robert Ellis and Stephen Vaughn, leaving her free to expand her music from the bluesy punk that dominated PJ Harvey's first two albums. It also left her free to experiment with her style of songwriting. Where Dry and Rid of Me seemed brutally honest, To Bring You My Love feels... Read More

Old Gold: 1989-1991
Artist: The Cows

Serving as both an excellent introduction to the Cows' freaked-out, discordant universe and as a reissue of older, out-of-print album tracks and singles, Old Gold captures this quartet's arc of development from a sloppy, discordant Butthole Surfer-esque punk band to legendary noise rock merchants. Culling tracks from 1989's massively off-kilter... Read More

Untitled
Artist: Cynthia Dall

Though the album cover bears no name or title, this collection of songs is actually the work of Cynthia Dall, best known for her collaboration with labelmate Smog. Smog's Bill Callahan appears on Untitled, contributing guitar and vocals; however, aside from similarly stripped-down production values, that's the only similarity between Smog's... Read More

Trans Am - THRILL JOCKEY
Artist: Trans Am

Trans Am play mostly big dumb rock (of the tongue-in-cheek variety) on their Thrill Jockey debut, trading Boston and Foreigner licks with a talent for technique and not a little ironic displacement. Absent the irony this would be an absolutely horrendous record, but kept in mind it's an enjoyable, if somewhat expendable listen. ~ Sean Cooper,... Read More

Millions Now Living Will Never Die
Artist: Tortoise
Community Score: 8.75

Tortoise's production expertise hit an early peak with Millions Now Living Will Never Die, a work that not only references studio-centric forms like dub and electronica, but actively welds them to the group's aesthetic of sturdily constructed indie rock. The centerpiece is the 21-minute opener "Djed," a multi-part track which brought Tortoise's... Read More

Severe Exposure
Artist: Six Finger Satellite

Herky-jerky pandemonium rife with buzzing guitars and spooky, deliberately melodramatic synth and Moog lines, Severe Exposure is filled with tight, paranoid riffs that fulfills the deepest wish of anyone who ever wanted to find out what the unholy progeny of Big Black and Devo would sound like. Although there isn't much sonic variety -- and some... Read More

Woman's Gotta Have It
Artist: Cornershop
Community Score: 8.00

Tjinder Singh's Cornershop has created the perfect hybrid of Western indie rock and swirling Eastern traditional music: Hindi-pop. It's not like what the Beatles did with sitars nor is it classifiable as worldbeat: Cornershop is unique. "Jullandar Shere" opens and closes the album on an Eastern note but with a hip-hop twist. It's an adventure in... Read More

Greatest Hits
Artist: Half Japanese

As Byron Coley says in his entertaining piece in the liner notes, "They have no hits by standards that Howard Cosell would appreciate." But by the time Greatest Hits came out, Half Japanese had gained an international fan base, released more records than many well-known bands have ever done, and had Kurt Cobain singing their praises. So even if... Read More

Look What the Rookie Did
Artist: Zumpano
Community Score: 7.00

The title says it all. This debut effort from Vancouver's Zumpano is an astounding piece of infectious, guitar-driven pop. The group's original material is outstanding, but the lone cover proves to be one of the album's highlights -- a compelling version of Jimmy Webb's "Rosecrans Boulevard" (previously recorded by the Fifth Dimension and Johnny... Read More

Thank You
Artist: Royal Trux
Community Score: 7.50

I realize that this runs contrary to the beliefs of longtime Royal Trux fans, but the more Royal Trux resembles a standard rock band, the better they sound. If you want a little guitar skronk with your sci-fi surrealism (as in Herrema's lyrics), but like a little funky backbeat now and again, this is Royal Trux at their scuzzy best. It's still... Read More

The Future of What
Artist: Unwound

Taking their punk heritage from the Buzzcocks, Unwound write grinding, but tuneful songs. Most tracks rumble with a wandering bass while guitar fuzz coats the works. The vocals are intense, usually screamed. One atypical touch is the closer, a hypnotic quasi-ambient organ piece. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide Read More

Short Bus
Artist: Filter
Community Score: 6.68
In Memory
Artist: Nevermore

Sporting some of singer Warrel Dane's most extreme vocal workouts, In Memory is an impressive musical display of neo-progressive yet heavy melodic metal. With an identical band lineup and producer Neil Kernon returning to helm the console, the results on this follow-up to 1995's eponymous debut are predictably similar. The bombastic medley of... Read More