Love And Rockets Lift Red Ant By: Eric G. When Love And Rockets returned from a five year hiatus in 1994 with Hot Trip To Heaven the band’s music was barely recognizable. Electronic samples and atmospherics had replaced the trademark fuzzed-out guitars and Beatles-esque harmonies. It was a huge risk for a band that had […]

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20 Minute Loop S/t Self-released By: Eric G. The name and the Radiohead-esque packaging suggest an altogether different beast, but this quintet sounds more like Poi Dog Pondering than any droning UK space-rock. The band’s self-proclaimed “freak pop” is a strange amalgam of tight rhythms and ultra-quirky songwriting. The two main vocalists, Greg Giles and […]

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Zeena Parkins No Way Back Atavistic By: Eric G. The eight pieces comprised on this album consist only of electric harp, sampler, and tapes all played by Zeena Parkins, who is a staple in New York City’s downtown art-scene of avant-garde jazz/noise/rock. She has over half a dozen solo albums and was a founding member […]

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Melt Banana Charlie A-zap By: Eric G. Tokyo’s Melt Banana is an acquired taste. Frantic and frenetic barely describe the aural assault of this band. It’s not just a bunch of random noise either- at least not at the core. This music is extremely tight and perfectly executed. The stop/start dynamic is so overused that […]

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Lambchop What Another Man Spills Merge By: Eric G. Nashville, Tennessee's Lambchop looks like a two-dollar jug band live, but the sounds come together with a plaintive, nuanced cohesiveness that quickly snuffs out any thoughts that this is some thrown together party band. Lambchop has carefully avoided being dumped into the "no depression" movement by […]

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Flin Flon A-ok Teenbeat By: Eric G. Mark Robinson, whose seminal band, Unrest, defined what became known as "indie rock" in the early part of this decade, returns from a long hiatus with Flin Flon, a trio that plays semi-robotic, angular pop. As the liner notes suggest, this album should not be listened to as […]

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Cinerama Va Va Voom Spinart By: Eric G. While The Wedding Present is on indefinite hold, its founder and leader, David Gedge, has joined forces with its tour manager, Sally Murrell, who also happens to be Gedge’s girlfriend, to form Cinerama. The result is an homage to classic pop with self-proclaimed influences ranging from Burt […]

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