Knocked Out Loaded EP 7 Elemo By: Eric G.
Blonde Redhead has only recently pulled itself away from the enveloping shadow of Sonic Youth references in both its music and reviews. Knocked Out Loaded is the next generation of New York City experimental noise pop, trailing just behind Blonde Redhead, and you [...]

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Boss Hog Whiteout In The Red By: Eric G.
You really can judge an album by its cover (to mangle a cliche). Well, Boss Hog albums, anyway. The band's major label debut (five years ago) featured a semi-goth cartoon on the cover that was like a cross between the Umbrellas Of [...]

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The (international) Noise Conspiracy Survival Sickness Burning Heart / Epitaph By: Eric G.
Former Refused frontman Dennis Lyxzen gave up punk for sixties mod garage rock? What is going on? His style of music may have drastically changed, but his message remains the same as Bart Simpson’s and Public Enemy’s: fight [...]

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The Busy Signals Baby's First Beats Sugar Free By: Eric G.
This is not exactly the type of record you’d expect a guy who used to be a roadie for Babes In Toyland to make. Howard Hamilton III patches together analogue electronics with a cut and paste sample style that favors melody [...]

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Sgt. Rock Live The Dream Wiiija / Beggars Banquet By: Eric G.
If Fatboy Slim hadn’t already cornered the market on stoopid beats and funky samples, Sgt. Rock might be sitting on a commercial goldmine, but, as it turns out, he’s about two years too late. This type of techno party jam [...]

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Bluebird The Two Pacifico By: Eric G.
At first Bluebird seems to have one leg in its obvious post-punk roots and the other stretching desperately to reach MTV’s Buzz Bin.’ The thick, thudding bass and the frequent starts and stops give way to the punk shadow that looms large over Bluebird, but [...]

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Take Me Home A Tribute To John Denver Badman By: Eric G.
I never thought that I would find myself extolling the virtues of John Denver songs, but here it goes… Yes, John Denver was a goofy hippie. The bowlcut…the glasses…he was a cheeseball for sure- the type of guy who [...]

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Weston You Kiss Like An Angel 7 inch Mojo By: Brent R.
It’s interesting to note that the last words before the “Thank you” list on Weston’s last studio album, Matinee, are “Long Live The Pixies!” because the opening of its brand new 7” sounds just like “Where Is My Mind?” off the indie-rock [...]

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Flare Celebrate The Misery 7 inch Mother West By: Eric G.
My only complaint about The Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs was Stephin Merritt's frequent shirking of his vocal responsibilities. I understand the reasoning behind his decision to bring outsiders into the fold; he didn't want listeners to get sick of his [...]

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Tommy Guerrero A Little Bit Of Somethin' Mo' Wax/beggars Banquet By: Eric G.
When you’re famous for one thing it is rarely a good idea to try your hand at another, especially in the public eye. How many paintings do you own by Eve Plumb? Did you pick up a copy [...]

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Modest Mouse The Moon Epic By: Eric G.
It only makes sense that Modest Mouse signed to a major label. It’s really not that big of a deal. The good bands almost always do, and the ones that don’t usually end up slipping into obscurity by way of their own stubborn [...]

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Pluxus Och Resan Fortsatter Har Slowball By: Eric G.
Pluxus’ analogue synthetics are too edgy to be described as merely electronic pop music, but I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you this was catchy as hell. Where Kraftwerk hid behind a cold ironic pose, Pluxus removes the distance intrinsic to electronic [...]

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Bonfire Madigan Saddle The Bridge Kill Rock Stars By: Eric G.
Sorry to bring this up, but do you remember the way Jewel sang her breakthrough-hit song “Who Will Save Your Soul?” You know the way she sang the word ‘save’ to sound like ‘sayhehave’ in particular? How it sounded all [...]

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Built To Spill Live Warner Bros. By: Eric G.
Let’s pretend for a second that live albums are a necessity. Let’s also pretend that they sound good. Built To Spill’s version of the bloated beast that is the live album makes it easy to suspend disbelief and accept these as givens. [...]

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Herrmann Kickboard Girl Ep Morr Music / Darla By: Eric G.
This Berlin-based duo cranks out soft, gelatinous beats with escapist melodies and warm synthetics. One of the fundamental functions of electronic music is to make you forget where you are so that you aren’t aware of the technical aspects of the recording. [...]

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