Fakebook
Artist: Yo La Tengo
Community Score: 9.50

Recommending Fakebook as the best place to begin a relationship with Yo La Tengo is slightly disingenuous, mainly because Yo La Tengo has never made another record like it, and perhaps never will. So, as completely wonderful as this record is, it's an accurate representation of one side of Yo La Tengo, and assuming that everything sounds like... Read More

She Haunts My Dreams
Artist: Spain

Spain's second album She Haunts My Dreams contains more of the dreamy, lounge-tinged pop that made their first album The Blue Moods of Spain a critical and cult favorite. Songs like "Nobody Has to Know" feature Josh Haden's smoky vocals and moody arrangements and continue Spain's compellingly melancholy direction. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide Read More

Californication
Artist: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Community Score: 8.04

Many figured that the Red Hot Chili Peppers' days as undisputed alternative kings were numbered after their lackluster 1995 release One Hot Minute, but like the great phoenix rising from the ashes, this legendary and influential outfit returned back to greatness with 1999's Californication. An obvious reason for their rebirth is the reappearance... Read More

E Luxo So
Artist: Labradford

The underrated but present Labradford sense of humor turns up here in an amusing way -- namely, the six song titles for the band's fifth record which, when read in order, are in fact the album credits: recording studio, side players, and so forth. Besides being entertainingly wry, this emphasizes even more than the one- and two-letter song... Read More

Look Now Look Again
Artist: Rainer Maria
Community Score: 8.00

Rainer Maria's Look Now Look Again could quite possibly be the last great album from the now tired emo rock scene. Using the loud-soft dynamics of emo and the catchy playfulness of indie pop proves to be a delicious combination, and Rainer Maria pull it off with grace and intelligence. Sometimes sentimental, but never too sappy, Look Now Look... Read More

Tracks from the Story
Artist: Arno
Eureka
Artist: Jim O'Rourke
Community Score: 6.50

It's a good bet to expect the unexpected with Jim O'Rourke -- no matter which hat he's wearing (solo artist, bandmate, producer, remixer, etc.), each of the endlessly prolific projects that bears his name takes on a shape and identity all its own while retaining the originality and ingenuity that have become the hallmarks of his singular body of... Read More

Mobile Estates
Artist: Citizen King
Community Score: 8.67

This quintet dishes up a hot platter of hip-hop beats and punk edge on Mobile Estates. Funky tunes like "Better Days" and "Under the Influence" are filled with a positive vibe and textural ingenuity, featuring swirling samples and tasty riffs. A fun-filled disc. ~ Tim Sheridan, All Music Guide Read More

Knock Knock
Artist: (Smog)

Smog's seventh full-length album, Knock Knock, proves to be singer/songwriter Bill Callahan's subtlest collection of songs yet. Indeed, one of the album's greatest accomplishments is its gently optimistic tone; if his other albums made a deadpan joke out of misery, on this album Callahan delivers the punch lines with traces of a grin. It's a... Read More

Joya
Artist: Will Oldham
The Mollusk
Artist: Ween
Community Score: 7.78

On the surface, The Mollusk is a return to the panoramic, multi-genre extravaganza of Chocolate and Cheese, but in its own way, it's as much of a concept album as 12 Golden Country Greats. It just isn't as explicit about its intentions. Nearly every song on The Mollusk has a nautical theme, buoyed by a heavy progressive rock influence. Several... Read More

Resurrection: Greatest Hits
Artist: The Mission UK

Leave it to Wayne Hussey to come back in a unique way. Instead of releasing a collection of old songs in a new package, he reworked some of the best of the Mission's back catalog, bringing the past into the present. The songs are as majestic as ever, this time combined with the keyboard-enhanced sound that first appeared on albums like Masque.... Read More