Music: By Rating

Not as ska-rific as their first record, yet lacking the pop brilliance of their later records. But still, it’s... more

A nice little collection of Les Paul & Mary Ford. As one might expect, Lots of fast harpsichord sounding guitars... more

From here on out, Toys Dolls records and songs start to follow a pretty standard formula. While every release... more

A one-off single featuring drummer extraordinaire Martin Atkins, Jesus Lizard’s David Simms, Bowie clone Chirs Connelly and someone named... more

A pair of arty, ambient soundscapes featuring a nice blend of electronics and natural instrumentation.

Straight forward rock with a slight 60s garage vibe. By its very nature this is derivative music and can... more

This is a scottish punk band from the seventies. They are responsible for the original Destination Venus. The songs on... more

Youth returned to the band prior to Pandemonium with these dancy remixes of “Change” and “Requiem.” Nothing too exciting here but... more

Coatings compiles outtakes and alternate mixes of songs from The Ideal Copy and A Bell Is a Cup… with a few Manscape outtakes. For the most... more

The Pixies debut sets the stage for the better work to come. Raw and punky but not quite there... more

Mostly more of the same from Superchunk but with a lot more non-rock instrumentation like strings and woodwinds thrown... more

I’ve never really liked most of Bob Mould’s solo efforts (and later-era Hüsker Dü for that matter). I thought Black Sheets... more

Poster Children finally return to form after their less-than-stellar New World Record CD. I guess they decided to forget about all... more

I like the cover of this one. This CD continues along the lines of Liar. The songs aren’t as memorable, but... more

It’s kismet, I tell you. Yesterday, driving around town, I was listening to this CD all day. Lo and... more

There is a lot of variety on this soundtrack. It feels similar to the excellent Danger: Diabolik score. But, unlike that... more

When not using the Sandoz moniker to make intense dub reggae albums, Richard H. Kirk’s side project sounds much... more

This bands rocks in a Cramp’s style rockabilly sound with a heavy dose of The Velvet Underground. The mix... more

I wasn’t sure what to think of this album when I first listened to it. It feels more like... more

It took Martin Atkins pounding drums to knock some sense back into Jaz Coleman. The band conscientiously returned to... more

This is a limited issue, three track CD I picked up at a Zebras show. The songs are unlabeled... more

The Pebbles are a fun, all-girl garage band from Japan. They are no where near as frantic as The... more

This CD has a bit of a branding problem. Is it a Potato 5 record? Laurel Aitken? Floyd Lloyd?... more

Lester Peabody is an excellent finger-picking guitarist from Finland. His technical ability is absolutely amazing. At times he sounds... more

More of Jawbox being Jawbox. The only thing that signing to a major may have changed about the band... more

The final CD from the Fear box set is pure experimental improvisation. There isn’t much method to this madness, just jazzy noise,... more

Judging from the cover, Subsonics not only borrowed much of their sound from The Velvet Underground they also adopted... more

This is the point in the Public Image Ltd. timeline where John Lydon decided either a) to completely forgo... more

What do you do when your guitarist/singer packs up and leaves town? You soldier on as an instrumental bass... more

I bought this CD after a talk from one of the members of Negativeland who recommended the band. This is... more

These Superchunk reviews are going to get a bit repetitive from here on out. Another good collection of poppy... more

Another hit-or-miss hodgepodge of redos and covers. Production quality is better than most of the band’s previous releases.

This is a weird little release that contains alternative versions of many of the songs from A Bell Is a... more

First Killing Joke record is not their best, but has a few classics on it: “Wardance” and “Change.” They... more

et another cool Italian movie soundtrack from Cinevox! The title track features Demis Roussos of Aphrodite’s Child(!) on vocals.... more

The opening title track is a dull, schmaltzy pop song, but once you’re past that it ramps up into... more

Although it contains two fantastic easy-beat Edda Dell’Orso songs, most of this is standard giallo experimentation. I also have... more

A greatest hits compilation. The only reason I bought it was to get the tracks “Turn to Red” and... more

Bruno Nicolai is often cited as Ennio Morricone’s conductor for many of his soundtracks. I get the feeling that... more

Cutesy ukulele pop from Japan. Half the songs are just the two girls, their ukes and some sweet vocal... more

Wire has been on autopilot since their 2015 self-titled release. There’s nothing wrong with the records, just none of... more

Technically this CD is titled The Best of Sparks: Music That You Can Dance To. I imagine that horribly misleading... more

Being as it’s the same two people making music, My Pet Fish is a nice complement to Colin Newman’s, Bastard. Both records... more

The importance of this record cannot be understated, however, I do think the quality of the music might be slightly... more

This is quite possibly the most retarded band ever. They are like a friendlier version of GG Allin or,... more

Good 90s post punk music. Much more rockin’ than say, Fugazi, but the songs are not as memorable.

This record doesn’t reach the level of greatness that was established on Orange. There’s a level of polish or, dare... more

While it starts out on a high note with “One of Us,” Object 47 doesn’t quite live up to the promise... more

This is the debut LP from this New Orleans frat-rock combo. This is a really good album. The opening... more

Having veered off course for a few records, this CD seems like the natural progression from Thousand Suns. The band... more

This starts out as a chicken themed EP but it turns out SCOTS only had two chicken songs in... more

The band has certainly gotten much more proficient since those early Planet Pimp singles. The formula remains the same:... more

There are lots of echoes and percussive bursts that elevate this mostly run-of-the-mill film score. It’s the appropriate music... more

Part of a Cabaret Voltaire three-pack I bought. Natural sounds take dominance over the usual electronic noise. If you... more

This was my introduction to Ween. At the time I thought of them as They Might Be Giants with... more

This is the Poster Children’s electronic side project. The music is generated mainly with analog and/or cheap synthesizers and... more

This one’s a short little five song tease of some great big band exotica. If you haven’t heard Yma,... more

As the band name may suggest, this album contains a bunch of songs about smoking dope. This trio is... more

This Champaign-Urbana trio was the first band with which Nonagon ever played a show. The songs are very much... more

I have a on-again/off-again relationship with modular synth music. The majority of what’s out there is just arty-types feeling... more

Satan’s Pilgrims are one of the better surf bands to have emerged during the 90s surf revival. Despite the... more

Another solid giallo score from Morricone. There are three main themes here: “Bambole”, “Spasmo”, and “Stress Infinito”. The first... more

The first Strummin’ Mental CD compiles thirty or so surfy guitar instrumentals from the early 60s. The aesthetic here is raw,... more

This is a compilation of instrumental music from 1957-65. It’s equal in quality to the stuff in the Back From... more

Superchunk has followed a rather standard indie band trajectory by starting their career with a rough, punky debut before... more

The title of this great release refers to the recent glut of surf bands out there. The cover art... more

Four pretty good songs and 45 minute long recording from a community radio program in which the hosts deconstruct... more

I got this CD as a gift from my brother several years ago. I understand why he got it... more

They may have been a fake band and all, but they had Neil Diamond writing songs for them and... more

This is a compilation CD of some of Monty Python’s most memorable skits. Many of the tracks are live... more

This is a surprisingly straightforward Phantom Surfers record. The premise behind this record is that it is with Dick Dale.... more

Yeah, I get it. You went to art school you clever bastards. Fun, smart pop songs, it’s no surprise... more

While this disc starts out with a couple of great Tar tunes it doesn’t quite keep the energy up... more

Ministry with Ian MacKaye on vocals. Pretty much sounds like all of the Ministry side projects of that era.... more

Another new record label and another quick cash in on the band’s older songs. This time it’s a live... more

Polysics were another band (along with Lolita #18, Spoozys, Mummy the Peepshow, and Number Girl) that I saw at the excellent... more

Well, Gene Wilder died a this week so it’s fitting that the next CD in my queue would be... more

Another early MorA? release with a new version of “Destination Venus” and several other good songs.

After loving Servotron’s latest, and hearing about the similarities with that band, I decided to give Supernova a try.... more

My band has played with Quatre Tête a few times now. They share our taste for weird time signatures... more

Competent and straightforward surf music from this Portland group. This record isn’t the most exciting stuff this band has... more

This is far from the best starting point if you want to listen to The Untamed Youth. It’s a... more

The Back from the Grave series seeks to uncover raw sixties garage rock that has a punk-rock sensibility. It’s been well... more

Although still a dance music record, Balls feels a little more like a rock than Gratuitous Sax ever did. I don’t think I... more

This is a side project by Big Sandy’s guitarist. They rock in swingin’ western rockabilly style, not unlike the... more

This is the bands first full length offering with their new drummer and it is their clearest sounding stuff... more

More studio knob-twisting and ambient rethinkings of “Change” and “Requiem.”

This is a 4-song CD single that includes two tracks from Tool of the Man and two new songs. “Everything Burns”... more

This is a double CD set of Mario Bava soundtracks. Cipriani’s work is a little corny at times. To... more

This is one twisted piece of work. It contains a bunch of fun rockabilly tunes. All of them are... more

I think this is my least favorite Shellac album. Sure there are some great tracks on it, as there... more

I bought this CD based on their cover of Grand Master Flash’s “White Lines.” It’s a great cover, albeit... more

This CD includes the embarrassing bonus track “Turtle Crazy!” which is a song about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.... more

Although there are some great songs on this record (“Nashville Toupee” and “Daddy Was A Preacher But Mama Was... more

This is a bootleg CD release of The Mummies’ shelved debut record. The recordings are uncharacteristically clean and professional.... more

Gli Intoccabili opens with the tense and pounding, “Ballad of Hank McCain.” It’s reprised three more times on the record... more

The first full-length record from Martin Atkins all-star review. Very drum centric as one would expect—on many of the... more

Hedwig and the Angry Inch is the greatest musical about a statutory rapist since Subway! The Musical. I saw the off... more

When this record arrived, you could sense the downward trajectory of this band. Not that this is a bad... more

I originally bought this dual soundtrack CD because I wanted the music from La Tarantola Dal Ventre Nero. That soundtrack is... more