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

Hatched
Artist: Inqbator

Psychedelic and oddly jittery, Hatched sports an impressive guest list, including Lenny Kravitz (who delivers an incendiary guitar solo on the single "Electra"), Daniel Lanois (who co-wrote and co-produced "Needles") and Karl Wallinger (who co-authored "Be There"). ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide Read More

Move Back Home
Artist: The Queers
Community Score: 6.00

A quick scan of the words ("cretin," "psychopath," "rehab," etc.) in the song titles make it clear that these guys are coming straight out of Ramones-land. And that's just fine, because Move Back Home demonstrates that the Queers are getting better and better at channeling the black leather jacket-clad spirit of their punk forefathers. They, of... Read More

Year of the Rat
Artist: NY Loose

On its one and only major-label release, Year of the Rat, NY Loose delivers powerful performances of a punk-pop musical blend that have nothing whatsoever to do with other '90s platinum purveyors of radio punk. Instead of simply being snide or just plain goofy rock stars like Green Day or the Offspring, NY Loose emits a refreshingly punk... 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

Limbo
Artist: Throwing Muses
Community Score: 7.60

On the one hand, KRISTIN HERSH and mates are guilty of running in place: It's difficult to distinguish between the production and style of this LP with 1995's University. Indeed, one of Limbo's strongest efforts, "Ruthie's Knocking," sounds like a re-write of "Shimmer." Moreover, nothing grabs as much as the spine-tingling "Bright Yellow Gun"... Read More

Shoe Box EP
Artist: Barenaked Ladies

Do they have the worst band name since Haircut One Hundred? Yes. Are they one of the finest pop groups in the world? Almost certainly. Their debut album was a tuneful, slapstick adolescent romp and their second was a remarkably mature folk-rock outing filled with as many irresistible hooks as a good Beach Boys album. This four-song EP previews a... 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
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

Jalapeno
Artist: Value Pac
Community Score: 10.00