Can you say PJ Harvey? I knew you could. Actually, this isn't bad but it certainly smacks of the label signing up whoever they can to capitalize on a sound. This isn't meant to denigrate the band as they aren't bad at all. If they last in the market for a while perhaps they'll be able to establish their own identity a little more strongly.
Adult Contemporary guitar-driven bluesy funk from this ex-Late Night With David Letterman (that's NBC days) band member. There's some decent stuff here, but it's definitely a slick album. I'd prefer things to be a little more down 'n dirty. Big World Music, P.O. Box 128, 315 Empire Boulevard, Brooklyn, NY 11225, Phone/Fax: (718) 531-1730.
What separates this from a host of other releases is the singing of Anita Suhanin. While she's not in the same class as PJ Harvey, Sam Phillips, Joan Osborne or others, she does possess a certain amount of soul. This is a band to watch for down the road. This album isn't bad, but there will be better things to come from Groovasaurus. Pea Patch, P.O. Box 531, Watertown, MA 02172-0531, (617) 499-6924.
Boston band that falls in between grunge, Phish, Dave Matthews Band, etc. There are occasional brit-pop influences that peek through once in a while. Permagrin Records, 41 Park Drive #TH, Boston, MA 02215-4902, e-mail: Grin4ever@aol.com.
Trio that mixes fairly heavy rock sounds with acoustic stuff. The singer, Eden, is adept at both the near-screams and the slightly-above-a-whisper vocals that their songs require. Pretty cool stuff. I'd say there are similarities to PJ Harvey, L7, Jennifer Trynin, among others. E Pluribus Unum Recordings, 8424a Santa Monica Blvd., #831, West Hollywood, CA 90069, Enormous, 1678 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA 94709.
Mostly light pop that verges on a power-pop sound from time to time. Their previous albums are titled "Great White Wonder" and "Million Seller", so they definitely have a tongue-firmly-in-cheek attitude. This one recalls a good deal of 70s pop with a British Isles vocal flavor. They manage to remind me, here and there, of Barenaked Ladies.
Ashtray Boy are almost two different bands. Or, perhaps more accurately, Ashtray Boy are Randall Lee with two separate rhythm sections. There's an Australian rhythm section and an American rhythm section. Cuts down on extra travel expenses, I imagine. The 13 tracks are almost evenly split between the two rhythm sections. Lee's vocals recall a somewhat drier and lower-fi Nick Cave. Maybe it's just the aussie accent... Things are pretty spare on this recording. Ashtray Boy go for that laid-back, lo-fi Galaxie 500 or Feelies sound with even less clutter than either of those bands. If you'd like to chew on something familiar before diving deep into Randall Lee's world, Neil Young's "Heart of Gold" is covered on track 7. Ajax Records, P.O. Box 805293, Chicago, IL 60680-4114.
Indie-pop thang produced by Stephen Malkmus (Pavement). There's some pretty, but not sweet, guitar-based stuff here with vocalist Shannon Wright blending into the music. There's definitely a Pavement-fronted-by-a-female comparison to be made here, but that doesn't give Crowsdell enough credit. Pretty cool slightly edgy pop. Big Cat Records, P.O. Box 2020, NY, NY 10013-0874, Big Cat Records, P.O. Box 3074, London, W4 4ZN, Crowsdell, P.O. Box 14946, Jacksonville, FL 32238-1946.
Distorted pop rules the day here. I'd almost swear that these guys are fronted by a woman, but all the band members listed are male. The vocals aren't right out front, so their ambiguity can be somewhat explained by being buried in the mix. There's a hidden live track at the beginning (yes, the beginning) of this disc that extends the rest of this EP (6 other tracks) length release to a normal album length. Personal Favorite, P.O. Box 841, Grand Central Station, NY, NY 10163, e-mail: PersFave@aol.com.
These sound like TV themes for shows that have not yet been conceived. There's enough skronking sax noise to make this interesting in spots. Makes for a nice change of pace. This is a jazz setting, but the music really doesn't say 'jazz' to me. It almost says 'techno' at times, but that's a very definite 'almost' - it never quite gets there. They almost sound like they're trying to cross hip-hop beat with lite-jazz. Sometimes it works rather intriguingly, sometimes it's lame.
Good indie-rock that draws from lots of mainstream sources without sounding like a top-40 wannabe band. The singer recalls Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip as often as not. Their sound is somewhat akin to the Hip's, though it is purposefully muddier in all the right places. The band put this out themselves in a numbered edition of 2500. If there's enough demand, I imagine they'll press more in an un-numbered edition. Fine Corinthian, P.O. Box 1145, Hoboken, NJ 07030. E-mail: floyd@mordor.com WWW: http://www.rock.net/ditch-croaker/ or WWW: http://www.rockweb.com/bands/ditch-croaker/
Ex-Poi Dog Pondering violinist offers up her second solo album. It's an album of brittle, bittersweet pop that should mesh well with the Julianna Hatfields, Stephanie Sayers', Natalie Merchants and the Red House Painters of the world. Pravda Records, 3823 North Southport, Chicago, IL 60613, e-mail: pravdausa@aol.com.
There are no niches where this album can be neatly categorized into. Beat heavy (though not thunderingly so) at times with elements of jazz, some songs would fit right in with an acid jazz/techno/ambient set. There are also tracks that would be right at home on a world music show/set. There may be a little too much activity here to call any of this "new age", but there are tracks that could probably be squeezed into an adventurous "new age" set.
Rock-pop in the power trio vein of Minutemen, Chicken Scratch, Husker Du, etc. They throw in a few REM-style pop hooks and some shimmering guitar here and there. Not bad. Free Martini c/o Doug LaGambina, 312 East 81st Street, Suite 5, NY, NY 10028, (212) 717-3904.
Similar to maybe Bettie Serveert or Blake Babies. Sleeper have a fairly sweet sound with just enough guitar fuzz/wanking to give this a little edge. Should go well with Elastica, Bettie Serveert, Lida Husik and maybe even the Pretenders.
This Deee-lite member has jumped onto the trip-hop wagon forging some psychedelic grooves for the 90s. Tripping stuff. Lots of Indian musical influences. Gee, didn't the Beatles do that Indian guru thing almost 30 years ago? Still, this is pretty fresh.
Redneck hard rock that quiets down here and there into a fuzz-laden rock/country sort of thang (with most of the emphasis on the rock side of things). This is somewhat akin to the Jayhawks, Soul Asylum or even some REM.