Happiness
Artist: The Beloved
Community Score: 8.00

Happiness, the Beloved's debut album, collects their four major hits -- "Hello," "The Sun Rising," "Love Takes Me Higher," and "Time After Time" -- and sprinkles in a few more club-oriented album tracks to fill out the LP. The post-rave synth-popsters are a bit too heavily tied to the heady days of ABC and Erasure, but Happiness suits its title... Read More

Abba-esque: The Remixes
Artist: Erasure
Community Score: 10.00

Abba-esque was a high point for Erasure because they drew ingenious parallels between Abba and contemporary club culture. Abba-esque: The Remixes only confirms this connection. The original EP was already club-oriented, but these four remixes brings the club dimension to the forefront, and the results are every bit as giddily intoxicating as the... Read More

One Step Ahead of the Spider
Artist: MC 900 Ft. Jesus
Community Score: 6.33

With a tamboura drone and an insistent bass ostinato, One Step Ahead of the Spider opens with a sound reminiscent of Mahavishnu John McLaughlin's My Goals Beyond, but the spoken word narration that commences soon afterwards (mostly courtesy of singer-guitarist Mark Griffin) places this record in completely different territory. The vocals on this... Read More

Star
Artist: Erasure

This is the third Erasure CD-5 from Wild!, and they're maintaining a great average so far: three for three. "Star" is another one of those rip-roaring Clarke/Bell compositions that's as much fun for the ears as it is for the feet, and we get it here in a stupendous single mix, an extended mix that does good things with the tune and lets it carry... Read More

Pureafunalia
Artist: Pure

Pure have released a brash, noisy, riotously invigorating disc that keeps you hooked from start to finish. An anarchic, punk attitude, tight funky rhythms, a splash of 60s psych, and great big hooks combine to beat such British bands as EMF and Jesus Jones at their own game. Ex-Talking Head Jerry Harrison's production captures the right mix of... Read More

Lovegod
Artist: The Soup Dragons
Community Score: 7.50

The Soup Dragons' Lovegod is packed with contradictions; the synthesizers and breakbeats don't match the psychedelic cover art, and the guitars seem out of place within the slick production. If Lovegod is where the Soup Dragons supposedly found their sound -- and it is -- they still hadn't fine-tuned it to the level it would reach in a few short... Read More

Best O' Boingo
Artist: Oingo Boingo
Community Score: 8.85

A gothic, experimental band that utilized a simple blend of R&B and new wave, Oingo Boingo was quite an innovative force in the eight or so years covered on Best O' Boingo. Few bands can claim such a unique spot in the annals of pop music, but thanks to the visionary songs from lead singer Danny Elfman, Oingo Boingo often transcended the... Read More

God Fodder
Artist: Ned's Atomic Dustbin
Community Score: 8.00

Ned's Atomic Dustbin may be one of Britain's most overlooked bands, which is surprising, considering that while their releases may not be groundbreaking, each one is certainly solid. The band emerged in the early '90s, and was quickly grouped (along with bands like Pop Will Eat Itself and Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine) into the English... Read More

Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches
Artist: Happy Mondays
Community Score: 9.00

A swirling, neo-psychedelic kaleidoscope of hallucinogenic drugs, trippy beats, borrowed hooks, and veiled threats, Pills 'n' Thrills & Bellyaches is Happy Mondays' masterpiece and the peak of the entire Madchester craze. Where the Stone Roses were pop classicists, Happy Mondays pushed pop into the ecstasy age. The Mondays' cut-and-paste rhythms... Read More

The Globe
Artist: Big Audio Dynamite II
Community Score: 6.75

The Globe marked the beginning of the second chapter in Mick Jones' Big Audio Dynamite venture and their biggest commercial success in the U.S. With Jones the only member remaining onboard, The Globe is the sound of a reinvigorated BAD, with the engaging "Rush" becoming a surprise Top 40 hit. There are plenty more worthy tracks, including the... Read More

Death Rides a Pale Cow: The Ultimate Collection
Artist: The Dead Milkmen
Community Score: 10.00

Death Rides a Pale Cow is an excellent, 22-track overview of the Dead Milkmen's career, containing all of their cult classics -- "Bitchin' Camaro," "Instant Club Hit (You'll Dance to Anything)," "Punk Rock Girl," "Smokin' Banana Peels" -- plus the previously unreleased "Labor Day" and "Milkmen Stomp," which was previously only available on a... Read More