By David Kenney
As frontman for Canadian heavyweights The Tragically Hip, Gord Downie has more than proven his worth through sometimes quizzical lyrics and boastful showmanship. Coke Machine Glow furthers the legend, without Downie repeating himself. Hip fans expecting quirky, radio rock might as well just listen to Up to Here or Phantom Power. Downie almost abandons rock… Continue reading Coke Machine Glow
By Julie Kirsh
The best place to listen to Van Zant II is riding shotgun in a Chevette. The best adjective to describe it is mundane. Instead of being full of twangy-goodness, Van Zant II is a painful rehash of an ’80s hair band–like Bon Jovi and Poison in a drunken jam session. Should you even bother to… Continue reading Van Saint II
By David Kenney
Musing with all-building angst and spillover from a nasty breakup, Kristin Hersh lets it all hang out on Sunny Border Blue. "We were a match made in purgatory," and "We’re still fucking up in a healthy way for now," are typically scathing and lamentful Hersh lines. Her mid-tempo folk tip-toes around the edges of punk… Continue reading Sunny Border Blue
By Mike Carron
Smash Mouth is on a new label, and what better way to celebrate this than by releasing a sub-par collection of unreleased early songs and three songs from their Interscope debut Fush Yu Mang. Some fans of the band might enjoy this rough sounding collection. But those who only know Smash Mouth for their radio… Continue reading The East Bay Sessions
By Chris Tihor
"Energy Surge," the first track on Solutions to Substance couldn’t provide a better description of the entire album. Moose Jaw’s Layaway Plan come out flying and don’t let up for a second in their third full-length release. Combining just the right amounts of punk and metal, this talented group has successfully made the jump from… Continue reading Solutions to Substance
By Mike Carron
For a debut CD, New Killer America is a refreshingly good sounding album. The music flows from one chord to another. The lyrics are not as self-fulfilling as some of the more recent hard rock acts, and the vocals match the music wonderfully. Skrape is a heavy rock group with everything to prove. Their music… Continue reading New Killer America
By David Kenney
As half of the folk-rock duo The Indigo Girls, Amy Ray has always seemed the tense, more political member. Past Indigo Girls songs by Ray like "Touch Me Fall" and "Pushing the Needle Too Far" were seriously focussed to the point of being emotionally detached. Her solo debut, Stag, is coated in these emotional scrapes… Continue reading Stag
By Chris Tihor
Thursday score high marks with their second full-length album and Victory Records debut release Full Collapse. The band successfully combines emotionally-driven lyrics and sound with just enough of a hardcore influence to break out of the emo genre and put out some very original work. Not once in the album does Thursday come out to… Continue reading Full Collapse
By Chris Tihor
This album sounds like it was written at a laundromat. One of many qualities the U.S. Bombs lack is the ability to create a different sound for each of the songs on their newest release Back at the Laundromat Another is the vocals, which are so annoying they almost reach the point of being unbearable.… Continue reading Back at the Laundromat
By Mike Carron
Daft Punk didn’t do it again. In 1996, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo released Homework, a CD that revolutionized house music around the world. Now, it’s 2001 and they’re back with Discovery. Homework caught an entire generation off guard, and the 20-year-old pair blew old school acts out of the clubs. As a whole,… Continue reading Discovery