Fontanelle S/T Kranky By: Eric G.
I was so hoping that Fontanelle was going to be an electronic tribute to Babes In Toyland, but as you can imagine (from glancing at the label) I am extremely disappointed. That is not to say that Kranky is a bad label, but it’s not exactly [...]

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The Concretes Boy, You Better Run Now Up By: Eric G.
I’m always apprehensive about bands that have more than five members. Maybe that’s close-minded of me, but I like the unity of close-knit ‘bands.’ When you start crowding the stage with backing singers and horn sections, things inevitably start to [...]

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Refused The Shape Of Punk To Come Epitaph / Burning Heart By: Eric G.
Politics and music make strange bedfellows, but when the delivery is as phenomenal as this, I can listen to wacko pinko rhetoric all day long. Throughout the history of punk, politics has plagued the pens of everyone from [...]

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The Jazz June The Medicine Initial By: Brent R.
Ask twenty different music critics to define “emo” and the only common link among their definitions would be the negative connotations of their adjectives. However, Pennsylvania’s The Jazz June just might have added enough math rock experimentation for said critics to think twice [...]

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Assfactor 4 Sports Old Glory By: Eric G.
This is frantic, frenzied, and spastic hardcore played with chaotic craze. The boys in Assfactor 4 scream their often-hilarious stories with absolutely no regard for their vocal chords. You can hear the nodes forming as they shriek against a backdrop of bracing guitars [...]

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The Posers Anti-christian Animosity Cargo/headhunter By: Eric G.
Musical inadequacy and a sense of social anarchy typify the whole idea behind ‘old school punk’, but most hardcore bands these days pretty much play mind-numbing yet perfectly executed heavy metal with dimwitted moral agendas and anti-religious imagery. The Posers sound like an anachronistic [...]

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Glossary This Is All We've Learned About Living Champ By: Eric G.
Only a band from the south could get away with an album like this. Glossary is a quintet from Murfreesboro, Tennessee that churns out fairly melodic, southern-fried rock with pleasant boy/girl vocal interplay and doesn’t sell itself short by limiting [...]

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Vue S/T Sub Pop By: Eric G.
The Audience was forced to change its name to the Vue because of that lame British band that goes by theaudience (one word), but, as far as I can tell, all the changes from name to sound are for the better. The Vue plays a [...]

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Time Code Directed By Mike Figgis Screen Gems By: Eric G.
Forget about the outrageously pretentious missteps in Mike Figgis’ career recently (One Night Stand, The Loss Of Sexual Innocence), and go see this movie. Time Code takes entertainment to a new level. Figgis presents us with four intertwining situations simultaneously [...]

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Michael J. Sheehy Sweet Blue Gene Beggars Banquet By: Eric G.
Michael J. Sheehy sounds disturbingly like Matt Johnson of The The. This is not a bad thing as Johnson has a commanding baritone, and while Sheehy may lack Johnson’s histrionics he has plenty of his own panache. Sheehy’s music, however, [...]

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Xtc Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2) TVT By: Eric G.
I was actually looking forward to the self-proclaimed "electric" and "pop" direction of XTC's Apple Venus Volume 2, but I am sadly reminded of why the band has rubbed me the wrong way throughout its history. Apple Venus Volume 1 explored [...]

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Live At The Blue Room Various Artists Yanstar By: Eric G.
The Blue Room is an art house theater in Chicago that also hosts punk rock shows and the like, but I’m not sure what the point of this compilation is. It’s not a benefit or anything, but who cares? Some [...]

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Belle And Sebastian Fold Your Hands Child You Walk Like A Peasant Matador / Jeepster By: Eric G.
Why can’t successful bands just leave well enough alone? Let’s be honest. What’s the best Belle And Sebastian album? Without question it’s If You’re Feeling Sinister. The Boy With The Arab [...]

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Tiara Again Cast In Anyway Records By: Eric G.
There’s nothing safer than mimicking your favorite groups. It’s an easy road to instant acceptance. At the very worst you’ll be compared to your idols even if it’s in a negative way, and there’s always the crowd that’s too slow to know [...]

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Cobolt Spirit On Parole The First Time By: Eric G.
Cobolt may feature members of the defunct Swedish band the Refused, but these sprawling, melancholic tracks are a far cry from the Refused’s bracing assault. Clean, intricate and jangly guitars weave around loose rhythms and ghostly keyboards to dramatic effect on this [...]

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Darla 100 Various Artists Darla By: Eric G.
This overwhelming four-disc-set from Darla mirrors many more ups than downs in the indie scene over the past six years. Rising above and beyond its DIY roots, Darla has transformed into the definitive purveyor of self-effacing, bookish indie rock and sleek, experimental electronic music. [...]

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