Somewhat akin to Galaxie 500, Luna, Feelies, etc. This has some extended instrumental wall-of-sound mood pieces. Mix all the fuzz with a sprinkle of Pink Floyd and you've got an extremely interesting listening experience. Tooth & Nail Records, P.O. Box 12698, Seattle, WA 98111-4698.
Kind of a cross between the lesser extremes of Mr. Bungle and Pere Ubu. Their vocalist(s) don't have the charisma of either David Thomas or Mike Patton, but this is well worth a listen.
On the harder edge of alternative rock without sounding grungy. They aren't as inventive or as offbeat as Sonic Youth, but some of their stuff recalls a mixture of Sonic Youth and Soundgarden. Tooth & Nail Records, P.O. Box 12698, Seattle, WA 98111-4698. WWW: http://www.toothandnail.com/
Fluf are pretty heavy hitters. Think maybe Pearl Jam crossed with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion with just a dash of Napalm Death thrown in for the extra edge. Cool cover of PJ Harvey's "Sheela Na Gig".
More rootsy stuff with languid jazz/hip-hop touches, some New Orleans style stuff (courtesy of the Rebirth Brass Band), occasional forays into blues/rockabilly and a solid sense of what 'cool' really is.
Pretty basic alternative rock with a slightly hard edge.
Singer/songwriter in the Alanis Morissette, Liz Phair vein with a little more rhythm to her style. While not even close to a hip-hop album, the beats here have some hip-hop influence.
Decent power pop with some nice acoustic touches. Folk, country and occasional blues touches are present, though this is definitely a pop album. Quite palatable. Ken Boynton, 300 Queen Anne Ave. N. #310, Seattle, WA 98109. E-mail: KenBusker@aol.com
Cross Spandau Ballet with bad David Bowie. Not very appetizing... And their track on the XTC tribute album actually sounded good. Guess they're better with good material. WWW: http://elektra.com/
Dead-like jammin band. They're from New Hampshire and have played often and everywhere in New England. Quite a few spots on this album bring Dave Mason to mind, in addition to the obvious Dead-inspired horde of bands. Percy Hill is the quickest ticket to the 70s this side of a time machine. Percy Hill Productions, P.O. Box 736, Rochester, NH 03866-0736.