Snatch Directed By Guy Ritchie Screen Gems By: Eric G.
Guy Ritchie's second film, Snatch, jolts across the screen so fast it's hard to make heads or tails of it. That could be a ploy to secure repeat viewings, but it's more likely a sign that Mr. Madonna is out to grab [...]

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The Letter E No. 5 Long Player Tiger Style By: Eric G.
While I respect bands that make music only to please themselves, I have to question their motives when releasing products to the public that have little entertaining value. Of course, The Letter E probably thinks this record is very entertaining, but [...]

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The Carter Administration Betty Ford Start Packing, The Carters Are Coming Self-Released By: Eric G.
With middle fingers waving only half-jokingly, The Carter Administration returns with another batch of catchy, unpretentious rock and roll- some old, some new. Categorically, I wouldn't call it "pop" and I wouldn't call it "punk" either even [...]

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Embellish Wake Me Up! March By: Eric G.
All I can say is that the people in this band must be getting laid often. What else could explain ten of the happiest, most unabashedly cheery guitar pop songs I've ever heard? Embellish is a Danish sextet sporting clean, poppy guitars, galloping [...]

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The Convocation Of… S/T Gold Standard Laboratories By: Eric G.
Tonie Joy's effect on the punk rock underworld is overwhelming to say the least. As an integral member of countless influential punk bands (most notably Born Against, Moss Icon, and Universal Order Of Armageddon) Joy has pretty much developed his own sub-genre [...]

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Brassy Got It Made Wiiija By: Eric G.
Apparently, tooting your own horn runs in the Spencer family. Muffin, Jon's sister, yells out the name of her band no less than a bazillion times on her band Brassy's debut album, Got It Made. She moved to England presumably to escape the [...]

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Brassy Got It Made Wiiija By: Eric G.
Apparently, tooting your own horn runs in the Spencer family. Muffin, Jon's sister, yells out the name of her band no less than a bazillion times on her band Brassy's debut album, Got It Made. She moved to England presumably to escape the [...]

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Schema S/T 5 Rue Christine By: Eric G.
All three members of Seattle's Hovercraft team up with Stereolab's Mary Hansen to form Schema, a fluid musical experiment in noise and beauty under the pretext of rock and roll. Unstructured rock music can be quite a chore to listen to but not when [...]

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Cadillac Blindside Read The Book Seen The Movie Soda Jerk By: Eric G.
The name of this band perfectly describes the sound of its music, which charges with a noisy double-dose of punk rock guitars, catchy, pogo-inducing riffs, and a pummeling rhythm section. Cadillac Blindside races through its hyper-energetic punk like the [...]

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The Olive Group Blue Post-Parlo By: Eric G.
A friend of mine walked in while I was listening to Blue by The Olive Group. "What is this?" she said indignantly. "The Olive Group", I replied with no further explanation. "This is horrible", she added, "they sound so local band…are you [...]

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Scientific From The Nest Of Idea Burnt Toast Vinyl By: Eric G.
Two questions I have before digging into this review: why is an album released on a label called Burnt Toast Vinyl even pressed on compact disc, and why do the members of this band dress like Joan Jett's Blackhearts circa 1981? [...]

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The California Oranges S/T Darla By: Eric G.
Two-thirds of the overly cutesy Holiday Flyer comprise this new indie pop trio, whom you may remember from last year's March Records' Moshi Moshi compilation with the quirky “I Know You Feel The Same Way Too.” John Conley and Verna Brock share songwriting as well [...]

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Tiffany Anders Funny Cry Happy Gift Up By: Eric G.
Children of famous people are typically doomed from the start, so I guess Tiffany Anders is lucky that her mother, director Allison Anders (Gas Food Lodging, Sugartown), is still only modestly recognizable on the Hollywood fringe. She does, however, have the added [...]

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Traffic Directed By Steven Soderbergh USA By: Eric G.
Steven Soderbergh's engrossing ensemble thriller realistically delineates both the diffusion of drug trafficking in America as well as the futile war on drugs. Shot through filters and effects, Soderbergh's second film this year unfolds like a documentary without Hollywood's plastic hand getting in [...]

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The Action Time Versus The World Southern By: Eric G.
I've said it before and I'll say it again- it's ok to nick bits of other people's songs and styles as long as you do something original with them. Whether aware of it or not, everybody steals from their influences, so it's [...]

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