The Shadow of Your Smile
Artist: Friends of Dean Martinez

A post-modern fusion of Santo & Johnny, Dick Dale and the Ventures, with a heaping side order of Tex-Mex border music. Whether or not the musicians are playing this straight or not, they're playing it very well, and the result is good fun, even if it's totally uncharacteristic of the material offered by the Giant Sand/Naked Prey axis in the... Read More

30° Everywhere
Artist: The Promise Ring
Community Score: 6.00

These young Wisconsin boys certainly know how to write sharp, powerful, and beautiful songs. 30° Everywhere, the debut album from the Promise Ring, is still their best; it's basically straight-up pop/emo, very catchy, very intense, very powerful. Beautiful lyrics and melodies move from somber thoughts to moments that will make you smile in... Read More

Casanova - BONUS DISC
Artist: The Divine Comedy

Turning back to a slightly more straightforward rock/pop format turned out to be advantageous for Neil Hannon; Casanova turned into a smash hit in the U.K., while the singles "Something for the Weekend" (at once soaring, cheeky, leering, and truly weird, with lyrics detailing a guy led astray by his lover and attacked by her secret thug... Read More

Fever In Fever Out
Artist: Luscious Jackson
Community Score: 8.00

For all of its sunny eclecticism, Natural Ingredients lacked the darkly funky urban soundscapes that made In Search of Manny so engaging. Fever In Fever Out brings that dark funkiness while keeping the pop hooks that made Natural Ingredients a step forward. Producer Daniel Lanois keeps his ambient tendencies to a minimum, providing just enough... Read More

Strange Country
Artist: Billy Strange

Recorded in the 1960s (the liner notes do not specify the exact date), this was a sessionman supersession of sorts, also featuring Joe Maphis on banjo, Tommy Tedesco on second guitar, Jimmy Bond on bass, and Earl Palmer on drums. Strange offers fluid, crisp instrumental interpretations of a mixed bag of folk and pop tunes, including not only... Read More

Magic Box
Artist: Bel Canto
Community Score: 6.00

It's a sign of the times and relative fame that the opening track, "The Magic Box I," immediately calls to mind Tori Amos, where some years previous it would have just sounded like Bel Canto through and through. While Drecker and Johansen have never achieved the thorough fame of Amos or many other well-known names, the duo still stick to their... Read More

Gotta Get over Greta
Artist: The Nields

Acoustic folk music meets pop/punk/country in a strong and daring shoot out. Listen to the dominating rhythm section and the fuzzed guitar of the opening cut, "I Need a Doctor," you know you are listening to an acoustic band making a strong, rocking statement. They even have Kevin Moloney (Sinead O'Connor and U2) as producer. However, the... Read More

Happy Nowhere
Artist: Dog's Eye View
Community Score: 8.00
Intoxicated Man
Artist: Mick Harvey
Community Score: 8.00

Intoxicated Man is the first of Mick Harvey's tributes to French singer/songwriter Serge Gainsbourg. Released at a time when the icon was largely unknown outside his home country, the album offers 16 English translations. Years spent in a supporting role with Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds taught Harvey the importance of yielding to the song. Whether... Read More

311
Artist: 311
Community Score: 7.41

It is the seamless way the songs on the eponymously titled 311 combine the band's influences into a potent blend of rap, funk, and rock that renders this album a cut above those of their competitors. These riff-heavy and radio-ready songs are underscored by a tight drum sound (often with a piccolo snare), the scratching of turntables, and the... Read More

Running on Ice
Artist: Vertical Horizon
Community Score: 9.50

Fans of Vertical Horizon's breakthrough album Everything You Want may want to add Running on Ice to their collection. First released in 1995, their debut was distributed by Rhythmic Records (home of Jacopierce) for a reason. The album is a folk-based collection of songs with none that resemble the hard rock, electric guitar sounds that made them... Read More