Sizzling CDs
Laura Veirs
“Troubled By Fire” Bella Union $$$$ Ms. Veirs is a twenty-first century Seattle girl pushing a traditional-down-home-back-porch sound. Her third album, “Troubled By Fire,” is nothing less then beautiful, mixing blues with folk to banjo-rock to everything on the in-between. Wi th a gift for quietly intermingling her opinions into her lyrics, she leaves us with insightful songs like,... Continue »
Kristina Sa
“I Never Knew” Nemesis Records $$$ “I Never Knew” is a soothing record filled with sultry pop songs. It is filled with raw emotional lyrics that leave the listener emotional and dreamy. Music is secondary on this record. The things that really stand out about it are Sa’s voice and deeply personal lyrics. Talent runs in Sa’s family. Her... Continue »
Sophe Lux
“Plastic Apple” Zarathustra Records $$$ With a deep throaty voice and highly poetic lyrics, Sophe Lux reminds me highly of one of her influences, PJ Harvey, but Lux has added a unique twist to the old story of solo women singers. The result is splendor, power and a cd that you won’t want to stop listening to. Originally from... Continue »
Mensen
“Oslo City” Gearhead Records $$ Mensen is Norwegian punk rock by chicks that has been described as “dirtier, more honest, and well, nastier than The Donnas.” On their new release, “Oslo City,” the band delves into edgey rock riffs that are both raw and beautiful. The lyrics are emotional and girly but at the same time angry and vengeful.... Continue »
Various Artists
Live & Unreleased From Farmclub.Com Interscope/UTV Records $$$$ It is truly a rare thing for me to listen to live anything. I am not a great fan of live performances from mainstream artist. But after listening to Live & Unreleased From Farmclub.Com, I was impressed. With top rated acts such as Eminem, Limp Bizkit, Powerman 5000, DMX, Mystical, you... Continue »
Mix Mob Social Drunks
Suburban Noize Records $$$ P.O.D. + Methods of Mayhem + 311 = Mix Mob. I’m not into rap, but this CD isn’t that bad. “Madhouse” is a pretty good song. There’s some punk-ish riffs here and there. I don’t know what genre you would classify this band, because you hear so much different stuff in here. In 3 songs,... Continue »
Avail
“Front Porch Stories” Fat Wreck Chords $$$$$ Punk rock with substance seems to be lost these days…but not completely, thanks to a little band from Richmond, Virginia called Avail. Their sixth studio album, “Front Porch Stories,” proves that the band that stuffs themselves into a nasty old van to drive to shows, is not just around to look pretty.... Continue »
Magdalen Hsu-Li
“Fire” ChickPop Records $$ (Minus one point because I couldn’t open the darn CD case)! Magdalen has a Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, Sarah Mclachlan sound. She’s an Asian-American who is also a painter, speaker and poet. The CD is very nice to listen too. It’s not my cup of coffee. Speaking of which, I could picture hearing this CD... Continue »
The White Stripes
White Blood Cells (Sympathy for the Record Industry) $$$$ Okay – so this album came out last June, but it hasn’t yet been reviewed here and it should be. So here I am. Arguably the best album of 2001, the White Stripes’ third full length effort is an incredible collection of extremely simple, divine and unpretentious tunes. Upon first... Continue »
Hot Hot Heat
Knock Knock Knock Sub Pop $$$ You wouldn’t expect much in the way of good music from the Satanist and retirement capital of Canada. But Victoria, BC is where Hot Hot Heat hail from and have been playing they’re brand of synth-rock, prog-rock, art-rock whatever you wanna call it since 1999. I can’t believe they still haven’t moved out... Continue »
Silent Decay
“Do Your Job” $$$ The third release from the band Silent Decay, “Do Your Job” is a pleasant mix of hardcore and rock. In other words-these German dudes can sing…but more importantly SCREAM. “The Ride” alternates from screaming to chant-like rock and freestyle-think a mix between Korn and The Deftones. “For The Crowd” has thick metal guitar riffs and... Continue »
Abandoned Pools
Humanistic Extasy Records $$$ It’s funny that I recieve this CD now, because this band will be opening up for Garbage’s spring tour. I’ll be seeing them on April 26th, 2002. I knew of A.P., but didn’t know what their music was like. The CD’s first single, “The Remedy”, reminds me of something that you would hear off the... Continue »
The Fire Ants
“Imaginary Friend” Firestarter Records $$$$ Dark music has never been so beautiful. The newest release from The Fire Ants, “Imaginary Friend” explores many unexplored areas of the human psyche. Through this journey into night you can experience a lot of emotions ranging from disgust to interest, acceptance and finally the realization that everyone has demons to deal with. “Imaginary... Continue »
Cool Grrrls Kick Ass!
Various Artists Independently released by Coolgrrrls.com $$$$ I’d be lying if I claimed no bias in rating Cool Grrrls Kick Ass! Lying with my fingers crossed behind my back, my toes curled over each other for good measure, and my eyes trained on the floor so no one could behold their deceitful glint. With that said, let me also... Continue »
Swivel Hips
Swivelicious $$ Swivel Hips is a jazzy, pop, rock band from Connecticut. I didn’t like this CD at all. I couldn’t get into it at all. Some of the songs sound like something you would hear at a Mardis Gras party…I could definitely picture myself walking down Philly’s South Street and hearing one of their songs being played in... Continue »
Bad Religion
The Process of Belief Epitaph $$$$ Being that I have never really known the band’s history, except for what I’ve read in zines and stuff. But what I do know is that this is one of the core bands of punk rock, starting out from the early 80’s. I had met their newest addition, the drummer, Brooks Wackerman, at... Continue »
One Bad Habit
“Self Titled” Twin Dragon Records $$$$ The first things that struck me when I popped One Bad Habit’s self titled album into my cd player were the bluesy guitar feel and Alice Templeton’s power vocals. She has a soulful voice that sounds a lot like Blondie’s Debbie Harry. This release from the Tucson, Arizona based band covers a vast... Continue »
Zeromancer
“Eurotrash” Cleopatra Records $$$$ What would you get if you mixed new wave, a killer techno beat and a breathy masculine voice? The answer would be Zeromancer’s newest release “Eurotrash.” These killer songs could easily make a transition from your radio to the dance floor and back. The title track talks all about the band being like a product... Continue »
