Blur
Artist: Blur
Community Score: 7.42

The Great Escape, for all of its many virtues, painted Blur into a corner and there was only one way out -- to abandon the Britpop that they had instigated by bringing the weird strands that always floated through their music to the surface. Blur may superficially appear to be a break from tradition, but it is a logical progression, highlighting... Read More

Box of Bongwater
Artist: Bongwater

This aptly titled Box of Bongwater consists of four CDs aimed at gathering a majority of the duo's recordings -- many of which had been out of print or at the very least difficult to find for several years. Included in this package are the contents of the Breaking No New Ground EP; the albums Double Bummer, Too Much Sleep, The Power of Pussy,... Read More

The Best of the Lemonheads: The Atlantic Years
Artist: The Lemonheads

Evan Dando -- for all intents and purposes, he is the Lemonheads -- is a sporadically brilliant songwriter. Every one of his albums contains as many flops as masterpieces, sometimes more. Hardcore fans have learned to live with this and even cherish his dopey detours, but there are many others who would prefer to have all the best bits on... Read More

Epgyptology/Vanity Fair
Artist: World Party
Shaken & Stirred
Artist: David Arnold

David Arnold, the composer of the Independence Day soundtrack, assembled a talented roster of musicians for his James Bond project. The tracks include the most famous themes from the super spy series, including "Moonraker," "Diamonds Are Forever," and "Nobody Does It Better." The covers by the Propellerheads, Leftfield, Pulp's Jarvis Cocker, and... Read More

When I Was Born for the 7th Time
Artist: Cornershop
Community Score: 5.67

When I Was Born for the 7th Time is a remarkable leap forward for Cornershop, the place where the group blends all of their diverse influences into a seamless whole. Cornershop uses Indian music as a foundation, finding its droning repetition similar to the trancier elements of electronica, the cut-and-paste collages of hip-hop, and the skeletal... Read More

Retrospective
Artist: Pin Group

Siltbreeze's Retrospective is a re-issued collection of recordings by New Zealand's seminal Pin Group (fronted by Roy Montgomery) -- the disc includes the "Ambivalence"/"Columbia" 7" (actually the first single issued on the Flying Nun label), the "Coat"/"Jim" 7", the Pin Group Goes to Town EP, a live cover of War's "Low Rider" and two low-fi... 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

Fush Yu Mang
Artist: Smash Mouth
Community Score: 6.06

The groovy, '60s soul-funk of "Walking on the Sun" disguises the fact that Smash Mouth is a ska-punk band. With its organ riff and breezy melody, "Walking on the Sun" is a great one-shot single, yet Smash Mouth never come close to replicating its easy charm anywhere on Fush Yu Mang. Regardless, there are some moments that'll satisfy third-wave... Read More

Egyptology
Artist: World Party
Community Score: 7.00

Karl Wallinger defined the ornate, Beatlesque World Party sound on their debut Private Revolution, and he never strayed from that blueprint over the next decade, even if he augmented it with other '60s and '70s pop flourishes. Egyptology finds Wallinger at his most conservative, sticking to the basic late-'60s pop and psychedelia that... 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

Blur - AUSTRALIA BONUS TOUR CD
Artist: Blur

The Great Escape, for all of its many virtues, painted Blur into a corner and there was only one way out -- to abandon the Brit-pop that they had instigated by bringing the weird strands that always floated through their music to the surface. Blur may superficially appear to be a break from tradition, but it is a logical progression,... Read More