Lemon Jelly Lemonjelly.ky XL / Beggars Banquet By: Eric Greenwood
With a loungey mix not quite as buoyant or upbeat as Fantastic Plastic Machine but equally as kitschy, Lemon Jelly compiles its first three limited edition, vinyl-only EP's on this disc, warning, conscientiously, that if you already own the aforementioned EP's "there is no [...]

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A.C. Cotton Half Way Down Self-Released By: Eric Greenwood
I've never understood bar rock. Does sweating through generic tunes night after night in a shitty dive really appeal to aspiring musicians? Of course, no band would really consider itself bar rock, but sometimes I wonder. Why would a band purposely adopt [...]

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This Busy Monster Fireworks Barsuk By: Eric Greenwood
According to the band’s bio, I am lazy if I compare This Busy Monster to XTC. I could accept that criticism if that were all I to convey. Lead singer Christopher Possanza also sounds like Joe Jackson. However, in addition to drawing inspiration from both XTC [...]

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Gorillaz S/t Parlophone/virgin By: Eric Greenwood
In his quest to avoid recording a new Blur album this year, Damon Albarn has been knocking off side-projects like he doesn’t have a real job. Gorillaz is Albarn’s latest incarnation, and it’s a rap/dub/punk/electronic collaboration with producer Dan “The Automator” Nakamura (Dr. Octagon, Deltron 3030, Handsome Boy [...]

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Lightning Bolt Ride The Skies Load By: Eric Greenwood
Rumored to be one of the loudest and most frenzied live acts on the touring circuit, Lightning Bolt offers this recorded document of its spasmodic, deafening thrashcore, hoping to convey just as much jaw-dropping awe as its live show purportedly does. The Providence, Rhode Island [...]

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Moulin Rouge Directed By Baz Luhrmann 20th Century Fox By: Eric Greenwood
Baz Luhrmann follows up his unwatchable remake of Romeo And Juliet with more of the same slice and dice, over-stylized editing. Setting itself up as a story about “love”, Moulin Rouge barely even scratches the surface of its hackneyed "star-crossed lovers" theme. [...]

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Radiohead Amnesiac Capitol By: Eric Greenwood
Reading so much about Radiohead has almost made me as sick of them as critics are telling me I should be. However, listening to Amnesiac does nothing but brighten the band's star in my eyes. I love the fact that Radiohead is playing by its own rules. Bands [...]

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Science Knows No Sin Distance Holds Your Mystery Science Knows No Records By: Eric Greenwood
Science Knows No Sin is a Columbia, South Carolina quartet that strews intricate melodies throughout its hazy, effects-laden rock. On its debut full-length, the band struggles with the threat of rock and roll versus a mannered and controlled [...]

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The Icarus Line Mono Crank! By: Eric Greenwood
The testosterone overload on The Icarus Line's debut full-length makes you wonder if there's something the band is trying to compensate for. It's almost too good to be true. The full-throttle punk rock assault may be a carbon copy of Drive Like Jehu's patented [...]

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Weezer S/T Geffen By: Eric Greenwood
I had always hated Weezer until a friend of mine gave me a mix tape with "Pink Triangle" off Pinkerton on it. The band that I had once pegged as hammy and slick throwaway pop punk now sounded self-effacing and intelligent and catchy all at the same [...]

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Film School Brilliant Career Me Too! By: Eric Greenwood
Film School is a self-proclaimed "project" with revolving members. Must be serious. It even has famous special guests. Well, not really. It's just another moody, sprawling, lo-fi rock album that guys from Fuck and Pavement play on. Krayg Burton is [...]

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Saso Warmed Up Melted Snow By: Eric Greenwood
Saso's Warmed Up EP looks like a piece of bubblegum with its light pink and baby blue artwork, but it sounds like a slowly shifting mass, comprised of warm analogue textures. The atmosphere is sparse with steady, unobtrusive percussion and stark guitars. Spoken word [...]

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Depeche Mode Exciter Mute / Reprise By: Eric Greenwood
Depeche Mode flirted with irrelevancy with 1993's overly dramatic and grunge-tinged Songs Of Faith And Devotion, but like so many colossal 1980's holdover bands with too many obsessive fans Depeche Mode talked itself into carrying on, despite singer Dave Gahan's personal turmoil and the prospect [...]

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Modern English Life In The Gladhouse (1980-1984) 4ad By: Eric Greenwood
After sitting through this Modern English retrospective in its entirety (comprised of the 4AD years only, thank you), I am utterly perplexed as to where the early 80’s bubble gum alternative hit “I Melt With You” came from. Not a single other song [...]

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Tortoise Standards Thrill Jockey By: Eric Greenwood
On its fourth album, Tortoise seems content to buy into the hype that it is, in fact, the pioneering band that fawning critics purport it to be. On the band's last album, TNT, it used the old "studio as an instrument" trick to explain away the [...]

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Mogwai Rock Action Matador By: Eric Greenwood
With media culture catering to shorter and shorter attention spans, it's difficult for bands to justify songs that run triple the time of what is universally acceptable in the context of rock music; Mogwai not only thumbs its nose at such absurd notions but runs in the [...]

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The Mother Hips Green Hills Of Earth Future Farmer By: Eric Greenwood
How many different ways can you announce that you're a hippie? Well, you could have the word "mother" in your band name. Or you could mention both "green" and "earth" in your album title. Or, better yet, you could [...]

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Guyana Punch Line Irritainment Prank By: Eric Greenwood
Guyana Punch Line's last seven-inch hinted only slightly as to the direction of the full-length to come. Irritainment is this Columbia, South Carolina quartet's tour de force, melding what are now hard core cliches with a brutal new beat. Where the band's debut, Maximum [...]

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Appendix Out The Night Is Advancing Drag City By: Eric Greenwood
Appendix Out still wallows in the beauty of its own rustic musings on its third album, but this time there's a hint of aggression beneath the fragile discontent. Ali Roberts' voice is the centerpiece of this dark, sparsely arranged neo-folk. His [...]

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The Sisterhood Of Convoluted Thinkers Ume Sour Darla By: Eric Greenwood
To say that The Sisterhood Of Convoluted Thinkers' music is unconventional doesn't even begin to cover it. Underneath all the weirdness you can hear Rob Christiansen's indie rock roots. He played with Mark Robinson and Jenny Toomey in Grenadine and was [...]

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