Wacko Magneto
Artist: Ednaswap

Had things worked out differently, Wacko Magneto might have been Ednaswap's commercial breakthrough; hard-edged and tough-minded, its smart combination of metal textures, punk intensity, and alt-rock melodicism seemed an ideal fit for modern rock radio circa 1997. Instead, the record went nowhere, becoming something of a curiosity only when... Read More

Sparkle and Fade - UK
Artist: Everclear

Everclear's major-label debut is a tough, melodic set of gnarled post-punk hard rock. An easy comparison is Nirvana, but Everclear's music is closer to the country-rock leanings of Screaming Trees -- underneath their loud, grungy guitars there is a distinct rootsiness lacking in most Seattle bands and that gives Sparkle and Fade its edge. ~... Read More

In a Doghouse
Artist: Throwing Muses
Community Score: 7.00

Throwing Muses' classic first album was never released in the U.S., nor was their follow-up EP, Chains Changed. For well over a decade, the two records were only available as imports through 4AD, which meant that Throwing Muses, one of the most influential and individual albums of late-'80s alternative rock, was very hard for anyone outside of... Read More

How Does Your Garden Grow?
Artist: Better Than Ezra
Community Score: 8.75

Rightly suspecting that the days of grunge and alt-rock were finished in the late '90s, Better Than Ezra wisely decided to revamp their trademark post-grunge sound for their third album, How Does Your Garden Grow? That they chose to revamp in the most predictable way -- mainly electronica and trip-hop, but with a touch of space rock and Brit-pop... Read More

Split Personalities
Artist: 12 Rods

12 Rods debut full-length is charged with a clever, infectious post new wave pop/rock from beginning to end. Ryan Olcott and co. are great songwriters; their songs are never stagnant, and, despite the album's title, they don't change up unnecessarily in awkward places. Olcott's peculiarly round voice and gorgeous guitar sound, coupled with Ev's... Read More

The Action Is Go
Artist: Fu Manchu
Community Score: 10.00

Not that it's unique, yet even with half the band changed from the last time around, the twin-riff action that kicks off "Evil Eye," and The Action Is Go! as a whole, sounds like nobody else but Fu Manchu, somehow. Punk energy, classic rock drive, psychedelic crunch, and heavy-ass grind all at once -- really, is anything more needed? From there... Read More

Seen a Ghost
Artist: Honeydogs

Like their pair of indie records, the Honeydogs' major-label debut, Seen a Ghost, is a charming collection of Beatlesque pop, demonstrating the group's knack for bright, catchy melodies and ringing guitars. Seen a Ghost is a solid, craftsmanlike collection of pop that doesn't offer any new thrills, but there are nevertheless thrills in the hooks... Read More

Adam and Eve
Artist: Catherine Wheel
Community Score: 10.00

Even by Catherine Wheel's lofty standards, Adam and Eve is boldly realized. It's infused with unusual moods, textures, and ambitious touches -- such as built-up volume shifts, or keyboards and acoustic guitars that suggest endless wide-open spaces. The album is also an impressive thematic whole formed by two untitled tracks that start and finish... Read More

Egomania (Love Songs)
Artist: Cobra Verde

Atmospheric, earthy sounds are what Cobra Verde specialize in, and they deliver the goods yet again on Egomania (Love Songs). It's a compilation of new songs, unreleased material, and tracks that have been previously unavailable on CD (from 45s released on the Sub Pop, Scat, Wabana, and Get Hip labels from 1995-96). The band shows off its many... Read More

Black Light Syndrome
Artist: Bozzio Levin Stevens

This power trio has famous roots, and they've brought it all together masterfully. First cut "The Sun Road" starts off like a tune off of David Gilmour's first solo album and then vanishes into a driving, power-chorded surge of soulful rock. Next, "Dark Corners" is a massive rocker that pulls you under its powerful whirlpool of guitar/bass/drum... Read More

Pushing the Salmanilla Envelope
Artist: Jimmie's Chicken Shack
Community Score: 7.95

Jimmie's Chicken Shack is the type of name one would expect from either a country act or Southern-fried country-rockers, but Pushing the Salmanilla Envelope hardly falls into either of those categories. Rather, this promising debut album showed Chicken Shack to be hard-driving alternative rockers whose music is as intense as it is melodic. As... Read More

A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular
Artist: Hooverphonic
Community Score: 7.91

The Belgian trio Hooverphonic haphazardly tinkers around with ambient pop on its debut album, A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular. Overall, it's a decent derivation of post-grunge and a healthy sampling of rising trip-hop and ambient electronica during the mid-'90s, so perhaps it's all right for the album itself to experience floppy production.... Read More

Third Eye Blind
Artist: Third Eye Blind
Community Score: 8.35

Third Eye Blind's eponymous debut is catchier than the average post-grunge album, and that fact alone reveals a lot about the band. Instead of relying on standard, plodding grunge influences, Third Eye Blind draw heavily from the simple hook-laden traditions of classic arena rock, which makes the album more immediate. Unfortunately, this also... Read More

Holy Bible - JAPAN BONUS TRACKS
Artist: Manic Street Preachers

It's difficult not to look at The Holy Bible as Richey James' last will and testament, yet that only makes the record all the more powerful. A remarkable step forward from the Manic Street Preachers' first two records, The Holy Bible is a tense, harrowing collection of tortured, cryptic declarations of depression -- the diary of anorexia "4st... Read More