After hearing their rich and textured songs, it's hard to believe that the Moog Cookbook is only a duo (comprised of Roger Manning and Brian Kehew). Manning first came to the public's attention as part of the sadly ignored retro-rockers Jellyfish, who released a pair of critically acclaimed albums, then split up in 1994. Manning then formed two... [+] Read More

After hearing their rich and textured songs, it's hard to believe that the Moog Cookbook is only a duo (comprised of Roger Manning and Brian Kehew). Manning first came to the public's attention as part of the sadly ignored retro-rockers Jellyfish, who released a pair of critically acclaimed albums, then split up in 1994. Manning then formed two new bands, Imperial Drag and the Moog Cookbook, who couldn't have been more different from each other. Imperial Drag was an excursion into early-'70s glam rock, while the Moog Cookbook played synthesized versions of popular rock hits by other artists, performing in space-suit disguises and adopting the aliases Meco Eno and Uli Nomi.

Signed to Restless Records, the duo released their self-titled debut in 1996, which featured recent alternative/modern rock hits from the likes of Soundgarden, Green Day, and Weezer. It became a popular underground favorite, with early support from MTV, who featured the band in a Week In Rock episode, as well as the Foo Fighters (Dave Grohl asked the band to write music for the opening segment of a Fighters video). Due to the success of the debut, the Moog Cookbook returned to the studio, eventually producing Ye Olde Space Bande in 1997. This time, the band tackled classic rock, covering standards originally written by Kiss, Boston, Led Zeppelin, and others. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide [-] Hide

A Southwestern alternative rock supergroup of sorts, Arizona's Friends of Dean Martinez features past and present members of Giant Sand, Calexico, and Naked Prey. Giant Sand leader Howe Gelb, though not a member of the group, plays guest keyboards on their debut album, The Shadow of Your Smile, a surprisingly retro set of guitar-based... [+] Read More

A Southwestern alternative rock supergroup of sorts, Arizona's Friends of Dean Martinez features past and present members of Giant Sand, Calexico, and Naked Prey. Giant Sand leader Howe Gelb, though not a member of the group, plays guest keyboards on their debut album, The Shadow of Your Smile, a surprisingly retro set of guitar-based instrumentals inspired by instrumental and surf rock of the late '50s and early '60s. With plenty of lounge music and desert country guitar twang thrown in, it's certainly retro in feel, but not revivalist; with Bill Elm's keening steel guitar at the forefront and occasional insertions of found sound and experimental bits, they evoke open dusty landscapes with wit and, one suspects, a bit of tongue-in-cheek irony. At any rate, it's a refreshing change from the often too-serious alternative rock paths that the musicians pursue in their full-time bands. Retrograde followed in 1997, and two years later the Friends returned with Atardecer. A Place in the Sun appeared in early 2000. The group switched to Narnack for 2003's On the Shore and the following year's Random Harvest, and also released Under the Waves on the German imprint Glitterhouse. Aero released the concert album Live at Club 2 in 2005. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide [-] Hide

What to do if you've been slogging away in the rock underground for a decade to slight critical acclaim without making any appreciable artistic or commercial headway? In the mold of David Johansen/Buster Poindexter, the band Christmas decided to retool themselves as lounge lizards. On their debut album, the Providence, RI, group played cocktail... [+] Read More

What to do if you've been slogging away in the rock underground for a decade to slight critical acclaim without making any appreciable artistic or commercial headway? In the mold of David Johansen/Buster Poindexter, the band Christmas decided to retool themselves as lounge lizards. On their debut album, the Providence, RI, group played cocktail jazz, exotica, torch ballads, and B-movie spy/guitar themes. To complete their transformation, the band adopted ice cream-colored tuxedoes in their live performances; one member of the group adopted the pseudonym "the Millionaire," and former Christmas singer Liz Cox called herself "Miss Lily Banquette" as she crooned languid jazz-pop tunes. After debuting in 1994 with I, Swinger, Combustible Edison issued Schizophonic in 1996, followed two years later by The Impossible World. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Strange was a top L.A. session guitarist in the 1960s, and also worked as an arranger for Nancy Sinatra and Dean Martin (he also wrote a hit for Chubby Checker, "Limbo Rock"). He also released instrumental recordings that gave a folk-country-easy listening treatment to country, folk, and pop tunes. Strange's style, with its dextrous, rich, tone,... [+] Read More

Strange was a top L.A. session guitarist in the 1960s, and also worked as an arranger for Nancy Sinatra and Dean Martin (he also wrote a hit for Chubby Checker, "Limbo Rock"). He also released instrumental recordings that gave a folk-country-easy listening treatment to country, folk, and pop tunes. Strange's style, with its dextrous, rich, tone, virtuosic picking, and easy-on-the-ear arrangements, has been aptly dubbed "loungeabilly" -- roots music for those who need to ease into (or want to totally avoid) the real thing. True, it's not Bill Monroe or Bela Fleck, but as a guitarist he had an interesting, distinctive flavor. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Formed in 1990 by two former punk rockers, Love Jones fit into the so-called "cocktail nation" of the early '90s. In some ways a reaction to the grunge/alternative wave that swept through America in 1992, the members of the cocktail nation celebrated the aesthetics and music of the '50s and early '60s -- the lounge jazz, crooning pop, and... [+] Read More

Formed in 1990 by two former punk rockers, Love Jones fit into the so-called "cocktail nation" of the early '90s. In some ways a reaction to the grunge/alternative wave that swept through America in 1992, the members of the cocktail nation celebrated the aesthetics and music of the '50s and early '60s -- the lounge jazz, crooning pop, and martinis. Love Jones played any sort of pop music that could fit that label -- pop, blues, R&B, bossa nova, doo wop. Former Squirrel Bait and Lemonheads drummer Ben Daughtrey and bassist Barry Thomas formed the group in the spring of 1990; soon afterward, the duo added singer/guitarist Chris Hawpe, drummer Stuart Johnson, and singer Jonathan Palmer, with Daughtrey playing various percussion instruments and singing. After playing for a year in Louisville, KY, the group moved out to Hollywood where they eventually received a contract with Zoo Entertainment. Love Jones released its first record, Here's to the Losers, in late 1993. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Love Jones' debut album predated the resurgence of swing and lounge music. The band's early demise prevented Love Jones from attaining the popularity of groups like the Squirrel Nut Zippers or the underground following of Friends of Dean Martinez. Here's to the Losers is something akin to putting the Squirrel Nut Zippers and Combustible Edison... [+] Read More

Love Jones' debut album predated the resurgence of swing and lounge music. The band's early demise prevented Love Jones from attaining the popularity of groups like the Squirrel Nut Zippers or the underground following of Friends of Dean Martinez. Here's to the Losers is something akin to putting the Squirrel Nut Zippers and Combustible Edison in a martini shaker. The music has elements of pop, bossa nova, and rock, and the lyrics range from overconfident to insecure. Highlights include the grunge sendup "Paid for Loving," which is a Copa-style tune boasting about sexual mastery, and the ode to the "Li'l Black Book." "Paid for Loving" may be familiar, because it was used in the film Swingers. Aficionados of the L.A. music scene will take note that Jon Brion plays multiple instruments (vibes, keys, chamberlin) and Mark Flanagan adds trumpet throughout the record. Love Jones celebrates lounge crooners, especially those lubricated with stiff cocktails. A drunken romp of a CD and one of the great unknown neo-lounge albums. ~ JT Griffith











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There's not much to distinguish Combustible Edison's second album from their debut. It's another menu of cocktail-nation pop, both vocal and instrumental, with nods to exotica, '60s European soundtracks, bossa nova, the goofy kinds of sounds heard on early stereo demonstration records, and such. Because the genres they're aping were so... [+] Read More

There's not much to distinguish Combustible Edison's second album from their debut. It's another menu of cocktail-nation pop, both vocal and instrumental, with nods to exotica, '60s European soundtracks, bossa nova, the goofy kinds of sounds heard on early stereo demonstration records, and such. Because the genres they're aping were so superficial to begin with, there's not much point in dismissing this as revivalism. It's no more or less authentic than the original records of the '50s and '60s, so fans of these forms are about as well off with Combustible Edison as the vintage stuff. It's not wholly a re-creation, though; there's some melancholia and weariness to the torch vocal-influenced numbers in particular, which betrays an ironic, modernist bent absent from first-generation cocktail/lounge. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide [-] Hide

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...

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 past. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide [-] Hide

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

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 "Don't Think Twice It's Alright" and "Green, Green," but also compositions by Lee Hazlewood, Jimmy Bond, and Rod McKuen. It's like a marriage of bluegrass picking with pop arrangements, and as of the late '90s was the most readily available recording of Strange's vintage work. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Combustible Edison's goofy and irreverent mix owes a lot more to the music of the 1950s and early '60s than to new wave; they sound as if they've stumbled on a treasure trove of dime-store albums in their aunt's attic and can't quite get over the experience. Their immaculate recreation of late-'50s/early-'60s cheese is fun...to a point. Treading... [+] Read More

Combustible Edison's goofy and irreverent mix owes a lot more to the music of the 1950s and early '60s than to new wave; they sound as if they've stumbled on a treasure trove of dime-store albums in their aunt's attic and can't quite get over the experience. Their immaculate recreation of late-'50s/early-'60s cheese is fun...to a point. Treading the line between self-conscious irony and the ridiculous, it probably won't prove to be more durable than those old Christmas (the band, not the season) albums. But then, nobody could have predicted the Martin Denny revival, either. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide [-] Hide