A fine selection of metalcore treats. Backtreet Law doesn't skimp on when it comes to prime riffage and funky grooves. Put 'em both together and the result is a fairly intoxicating brew.

Not especially original in style, but excellent on the execution side. Yes, there are huge echoes of Sepultura and Biohazard and Rage Against the Machine. But Backstreet Law is a bit more tuneful than all of those. Not a softening, really, but an acknowledgement of melody as a useful element.

And the sound is great. The mix emphasises the rhythm elements, but only slightly. Every part has its due, and all the parts come together to make some fine music.

Sometimes it isn't necessary to reinvent the wheel. Backstreet Law follows a lot of trends, but in doing so it occasionally outdoes the originals. Completely compelling.

Perhaps the most inventive ska band around. Blue Meanies have a fine sense of humor (note that the band's songs are published by Vim Fuego Music) and an even keener feel for the outer limits of the ska sound.

This is a live disc, and it does reprise most of the songs from the band's first album on Thick Records. Plus a lot more. In general, the band likes to take basic ska, throw in a number of musical asides and speed the brew up an awful lot. As for the lyrical content, the notion of DK ska is not unfounded.

The recordings are uniformly solid. The sound is good, if not great. Good enough to bring forth the greatness of the band without sounding artificial. You can hear plenty of mistakes and goofs. Which is what makes live albums so fun.

It's really amazing that this band can carry off these songs live on a consistent basis. But I guess it does. I'm not a big fan of live albums (go see the show, y'know?), though in this case the album should do a good job of representing. Blue Meanies are a force to be reckoned with.

It still sounds like Guns 'N' Roses playing Cheap trick songs. Which actually is a pretty cool idea. Doctor Hadley writes basic pop songs with some nice riffage, and then really dresses the things up in the studio.

Rearranging song construction, adding in lots of echo and reverb and generally mucking around a bit. There is more acoustic guitar work here than on the last album I heard, but my general sense of the band is the same. A sound worth delving into.

It is the unusual band which can remind me of the Ramones, Poster Children and Law and Order (a not terribly famous early 90s glam metal band), all in the same song. Particularly strange when the band is most obviously playing pop music.

Terrifically textured stuff, with plenty of room to roam. Doctor Hadley has polished up its already impressive studio skills, leaving this album full of some of the more compelling pop music I've heard this year.

Cheap sex references and even cheaper glam industrial riffage. Goodness, might this be a Thrill Kill Kult side project?

Actually, no, but the question looms. To be fair, Groop Dogdrill is a bit more clever with its musical references than with its lyric ones, but come on. That's all this is. One big come on.

Which is fine and fun and dandy, but in the end it's pretty empty. Oh, sure, I enjoyed the ride, short as it was. But there is no meat here. Nothing to encourage further excursions.

Yeah, it's three Brits trying very hard to sound like sex-starved Americans. But hell, it's about time the most sanctimonious nation on earth (the U.S., of course) exported something of value.

She has tamed some of her self-indulgent excesses and trimmed the music down to the glam-industrial core which has worked so well of late for Marilyn Manson. And, you know, I kinda like it. A huge improvement over the EP I heard three years ago.

There still are the egregiously overdramatic moments, bits which even the most self-absorbed goth band would shy away from. Haze's often tortured voice gets more grating the more she "emotes". Honestly, it sounds horribly contrived.

But I like the new, simpler musical direction. Idiosyncrasies are nice, but it's much better when you've got only one or two per song. A pile of them just means your music is a jumbled mess. Haze is centered, and this album succeeds because of that focus.

I'm not convinced this stuff is really all that great. But at least I can listen to it now and again. A huge improvement.

To really know the music of ICP is to understand the kind of extremes humans will go to get their points across. So they release the unreleased EPs and B-sides in "Forgotten Freshness" as a reminder that they are very much alive and ready to take on the world.

With this release and another all original album soon to follow, it seems that we've been treated to a kind of recapitulated ICP reaching desperately for a wider fan base. Despite the fact that we're dealing with the "songs that got scrapped, songs that suck, songs that couldn't fit on albums, and all that shit," they still remain very skilled in the art of street rap that's both intelligent and maybe brilliant, added to the fact that these guys are really capable of total destruction in their live performances.

Besides the slight disappointment in this ICP album, it's inevitable with the new album they will soon rise to the top of the charts faster than anyone could say "wicked clown" and get everyone back on their feet for the refreshed visions of rap and violence, but until then we must deal with what we've got.

Not to say these songs totally suck, but anyone who knows ICP understands that they can do much better and they will, it's just going to take a bit of time. If these are songs that didn't make it, you can only imagine what it's going to be like to hear the songs that did make it--scary isn' it?

--Brian Chavez

I recently reviewed Joyner's release on Secretly Canadian ("Christine" repeats from that EP of the same name). He's got a way with sparsely-arranged pop songs, a way of cutting through any pretension and laying emotions bare.

Not by howling, but simply saying. Joyner sings his songs softly, lilting his poetic lyrics over a basic musical base of guitar, bass, drums and organ. Sometimes more, but never anything overpowering. Just the basic facts. Basically amazing.

Two discs may not have been necessary (the total of both times in at less than 90 minutes), but I'm happy to have every scrap. Joyner's evocative and wryly anguished voice are amazing to behold. I wouldn't know which songs to omit and cut this down to a single disc.

I am overcome once again. Joyner's simple approach to the most basic of music forms leaves a many-splendored trail. Masterful and fully satisfying. A must for fans of souls laid bare.

Punks who prefer to sample every side route possible. Stabbing at metalcore, pop punk, ska, oi, and just yer basic hardcore. Knowledge does a decent job with the tuneage, even if the playing and sound aren't quite up to snuff.

Not enough energy. Some of that has to do with the strange mix, which seems awfully treble heavy (particularly lacking in the middle ranges). No power. And no matter how frenzied the band might get (and it doesn't get all that hyper), the producer and the engineer have to help things along.

I do like the way Knowledge trips around many different punk subgenres. The songwriting is credible, if not particularly inspired. Solid in that are, anyway.

But this album doesn't give me a rush. Part of that is the production and part is the playing. I can't rightly say which is more to blame. It is a shame that the songs get let down in such a way.

Sort of a musical, based on the 1945 film of the same name. Langille wrote the lyrics and the vocal melodies, and Connors took care of the guitars. That's the basic idea.

But the execution is anything but basic. Langille has a strong, but not husky, voice. It is a voice of experience, a voice which conveys much more information than simply words. Which is good, because sometimes the words are clumsily written.

And while Connors's playing doesn't interfere with Langille's voice, it does not really compliment it, either. There isn't a whole lot going on there. Which leaves the remarkable part of the album, Langille's voice. She is able to create a number of characters, each easily distinguishable from the others.

I like the idea, and I like some of the parts. But on the whole, this albums doesn't quite succeed. I was more interested in Langille's voice than what she was saying. And the rest, well, it's just the rest.

I hate to call anything typical, but Lateral Tension has all the hallmarks of the self-produced industrial band. A somewhat slight overall sound, samples from movies, fairly pedestrian beats and half-whispered, half-hissed vocals.

And so while Lateral Tension doesn't do anything remotely original, I will say it does pretty well with what it has. Oh, repeat listening will undoubtedly reveal a number of flaws, but once through, the disc plays well enough.

Doesn't excite me much, though. I can't work up a spark. Not that it is bad; not at all. A lot of hard work went into this disc, and it is very easy to hear the result of all that work. Perhaps that is part of the problem. Music should sound effortless. I can hear every chisel punch that went into these songs.

Typical of so many self-recorded albums. Lateral Tension needs to reach out, find its own sound. And then put that to tape.

It took me a while to get into the first Local H release. It seemed a little bit coarse, like it really was made by just two people. Although the lyrics were amusing (that Eddie Vedder song was as ironic as it was catchy), I still had this question in the back of my head--are these guys for real?

I used to get caught up in the poser vs. real thing back in the day of glam rock. Was Poison more relevant than Warrant? It mattered back then. Now we don't care, the only ones going to see either band's reunion tours are now late-twenty something working slobs with nothing better to do than wallow in "the good old days."

But back to Local H. The answer for these guys was answered on the first song--a hysterical gem that interchanges chunky guitars with the four word exchange of "All-right! Oh yeah!" on and on and on until the song ends. Musical irony has suddenly taken an upturn. While there are some not so great songs (this happens, I hear, in most CDs), there is enough goodness throughout "Pack Up The Cats" 15 tracks to keep it all moving.

From lamenting the trendiness of youth to a girlfriend's lament of her rocker boyfriend to some songs about cats, Local H has hit a nice plateau. The climb can be a bitch sometimes, but once on top, it's a leisurely walk. Fucking metaphors.

--Matt Worley

Definitely white-boy blues, but still packed with soul. The guitars are cranked up a bit, that's all. Lyerly imbues his songs with all the requisite emotion and instrumentation. He adds piano or organ to his guitar playing, and lets his sides take care of bass and drum work. Nothing more.

Most of the songs are his own, too. Good stuff, solid and original, even while paying direct homage to a number of blues greats. There's all colors of the blues here, shuffles, ballads, some pieces that are more folk or country. Lyerly dances around all of these notions, even as he keeps his own sound on solid ground.

Resonant, in a way I haven't heard in a blues album in a while. Lyerly uses the blues to make a few personal points, but he never lets his lyrics get in the way of a good groove.

Well thought out, well executed. Good, solid blues work. I wish Lyerly would sometimes wring a bit more oomph from his voice, but he does well enough. A fine album.

Macha uses basic pop melodies, but alters them slightly. Just enough to lend an off-kilter feel. Some of the eccentricities can easily be identified as Middle Eastern, but more of them are tougher to parse. Perhaps Indian, perhaps Turkish. Perhaps perhaps. And, of course, under all of this is a Brit pop band.

Yes, that is the end result. And the fusion of Eastern (and Middle Eastern) and Western pop music is very trendy in London these days (so my sources tell me). Macha isn't gimmicky with its sound (like a few other acts), though. It's easy to hear the genuine feeling behind even the most unusual bits.

An intriguing album, one with as much lurking beneath as on top. An iceberg of a disc, maybe. Macha doesn't apologize for itself, however, and I don't think it should. Nope. This disc stands just fine on its own.

Oh so very electronic. All sorts of sounds thrown over generic beats used in some unconventional ways. Very much influenced by Kraftwerk, with a terribly sterile sound. And yet, astonishingly vibrant and alive.

A nice little dichotomy for me to puzzle out. The unusual song constructions help to make the otherwise ordinary rhythms sound fresh and inviting. There is a heavy reliance on samples, which leads to a Vampire Rodents sound from time to time.

And maybe that's what I'm reacting to. In any case, boy do I like this. Fresh, playful and inventive. And considering what Mig uses as a starting point, that's pretty amazing.

Whoa, now. Mig is one of those wonderfully experimental acts which doesn't hit you over the head with how "out there" it is. Instead, like the frogs in the water, the music keeps creeping out over the edge, and it's only when the trip is finished that I realized how far out I was. Impressive and inspiring.

The press release repeatedly says this is Mötley Crüe's first "Greatest Hits". Strictly speaking, but only if an album has to be named "Greatest Hits" in order to be such a thing. I thought that's what Decade of Decadence was. Silly me.

Personally, I like to think of the first two albums (and a couple other bits, like the make-up boys's musical tribute to Kiss, "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)") as the band's best stuff. I know a large number of people who agree with this assessment. And yet there are only two songs total (plus last year's boring remake/remix of "Shout at the Devil") from those two classic albums.

Instead of relying on the good stuff, there's a lot of mediocrity here. The two new songs are positively dreadful (I haven't heard last year's album, and given what I hear of it here, I don't want to), overblown and turgid. The reason the first two albums were so good is because they were fast and mean. As the band members have become older and slower, so has the music. There is no more spirit of fun and adventure, merely bumbling dopers.

Mötley Crüe hasn't put out a decent album since Dr. Feelgood, and it hasn't put out a good one since 1983. Fifteen years of coasting, and I guess some label hacks are still willing to bet on future success.

The sad thing is, I can still go back to those first two albums and hear the greatness. I know where it all went (up Nikki's arm, down Vince's throat and out of Tommy's hands), but it's such a damned shame. Greatness squandered is always a horrible thing.

Still hoeing the grunge path, Sacrifice Isaac issues forth a somewhat evolved sound. Evolved in that the band has discovered some of the joys of emo, though those moments are quickly eclipsed by truly excessive pounding.

Indeed, I can find many small bits and pieces in this sound I like. But the overall temptation to wail away with full sonic abandon does not serve the more delicate pieces well at all. There¹s no dichotomy; Sacrifice Isaac is about loud music all the time. It just slips u once in a while.

Well-produced, at least to say that the music comes across very well, with a decent mix for the grungelism. The band has moments where it proves it can do things other than rehash Black Sabbath riffs, but those tend to get washed away in the excess.

I¹m confused. Is this still a viable commercial sound? I didn¹t think so, but I don¹t pay a whole lot of attention to such things. On any other scale, the stuff in general isn¹t particularly interesting. I wish the band would give in to more of its "strange" notions. That would make for much better music.

New singer Derrick Green isn't a dead ringer for Max Cavalera, but he's in the same ballpark. And anyway, the point of Sepultura isn't beautiful, melodic singing. It's about throbbing rhythms and pounding riffage.

And as such, well, Sepultura has straightened out. There are still remnants of the "tribal" rhythm underpinnings, but the stuff on top is very much rote death metal ramblings. A little disappointing there.

Roadrunner is in an odd position, playing Max's new project, Soulfly, against the franchise, Sepultura. Soulfly sounds more like Sepultura, honestly, and this Sepultura sounds more like someone trying to rip off Sepultura. Some element of soul is missing.

Not bad by any stretch, but a little dull. Kinda like Chaos A.D., an album which simply didn't live up to the band's standards. After everything the guys have been through, it's amazing there is still a Sepultura. Perhaps the next album will properly restore the roar.

Shana and her guitar, occasionally accompanied by a few other acoustic instruments. She has a very affected singing style, probably heavily influenced by Ani DiFranco. The singing is definitely folky, but the music is more like the later pop days of Michelle Shocked and k.d. lang.

Am I making sense yet? I get the feeling Shana would like to flesh out the music behind her songs a bit more, though she's done a pretty good job with what she has. As for the lyrics (which are easily the focus of this project), they cover a wide variety of subjects, with varying results. Sometimes it sounds like Shana is trying to pander a bit too much to a pop audience, and sometimes she hits the nail just right.

Basically, though, her adventurousness keeps the set lively. While not the greatest singer or guitarist, Shana does a good job of selling the songs. I do think some live seasoning would help curb some of the more idiosyncratic impulses, or at least help her figure out which ones work with an audience.

Most importantly, Shana knows how to write songs. That's something that can't be taught. It has to be learned.

I remember SMP's Reconstriction album from more than three years ago. A hardcore rap take on the cold wave sound that label is well-known for propagating. There's a bit more techno in the mix here, but the rap and cybercore elements are still going strong.

And, yes, it's still addictive as cheese popcorn. The beats and the rhymes work together exceptionally well, and what music there is simply propels the proceedings.

Nothing particularly deep, of course. We're talking about channeled anger, angst and pain. SMP isn't out to make the world a better place. It merely complains. But at least it does so in a highly entertaining fashion.

You know, if Devo and Ice T had a bastard baby... Yeah, I know, it sounds weird, but this is an idea too cool to miss. Pretty good, y'know?

Putting your best foot forward. The first impression must be the best. And on an album by an unknown band, put the good song at track #1. Sonichrome does this well. "Over Confident" is one of the catchiest songs I've heard in ages (well, that Harvey Danger song is catchy, but it's also so damn annoying), reminding me a bit of the feeling I had when first listening to Ruth Ruth's Epitaph EP, "A Little Death." But then the stumble happens. Sonichrome put the worst song on track two. Best then the worst. Not sure what this means.

For an unabashedly pop band, Sonichrome has its moments. There is a bit of Matthew Sweet-ness to the singer's voice, a bit of disfunction to the guitars (a la Altered Beast?), and blasting energy through every song. Sometimes it gets supremely Beatle-esque (not bad for a pop band, but do we need more of that blatant reference?). Sometimes it gets 70s indulgent ("Dirty Water"), sounding as if these are the 90s sonic counterparts to the new Fox Sunday night line-up.

But these are the lakes and rivers pop is swimming in these days, so what can I say? Even though I sometimes feel evil and dirty when I like an album like this, I cannot tell a lie. These guys are a lot of fun. Instantly disposable and singable. Give 'em a video in heavy rotation, and they'll be in every teenager's CD player.

--Matt Worley

Just yer basic roots rock. Kindly harmonies and jangle guitar skimming along with uptempo backbeats. Fun stuff. Take the top off and feel the wind stuff.

And so it's easy to overlook the shallow song subjects (or, at least, the less than perceptive lyrics) and the way everything comes together so predictably. Squish isn't reinveting the wheel. Indeed, it's riding on the latest model.

But all that doesn't matter a whole lot. The way to judge this sort of music is how it makes me feel. Does it lift the spirits, add a bit of a spring to the step? Yeah, sure. A nice little pick-me-up. And as long as there's no need for anything further, then we're cool.

I know, I'm a sucker for this stuff and all of you are tired of me saying things like this. Tough. I've got a nice little smile going and no one is going to take that away.

Another set of rare and unreleased tracks from one of the more creative acts around (the first five tracks were originally released as Music from the Amorphous Body Center). And don't think this means Stereolab has gone indie. This is just for this particular release, something that Elektra might think is a little too weird for the general public.

Plus, you know, two-disc sets by marginally profitable cult groups are a recipe for fiscal bloodletting. Better let the little guys take care of this. Not a horrible strategy, on any front.

As for the contents therein, if you don't know Stereolab, this is not the way to get introduced. Go find one of the major-label releases and work yourself in slowly. A lot of these tracks sound like demos or songs which haven't quite been worked out. Devoted fans love this kind of thing. You get to dig into the heads of yer favorite stars. A friend of mine scored a bootleg tape of the Actung Baby sessions just before the album. I've gotta tell you, a lot of good stuff got left on the floor. Here, it's not too difficult to hear how Stereolab puts things together.

Stereolab has this larger-than-life image among many folks who claim to know something about music. There's a good reason for that. Few acts take chances like this. There is always a good reason to listen to Stereolab.

Supermodel does two, UJM one. I'll try this in alphabetical order.

The Supermodel style is something like a glam reworking of the AmRep sound. Bright guitars slashed about in a sludgy style. The recording itself is pretty meager (awful amounts of unintentional distortion. Maybe it isn't so much glam as bad recording, Hard to say. But in any case, certainly worth a spin or few.

UJM's tune is called "Vermillion". I associate that name with a tributary of the Kansas River (we always crossed the Vermillion on the way to Grandma's house...). Suffice it to say this song doesn't have much to do with my memories. UMJ tosses off some sloppily-played emo bits, though with enough verve and attitude to almost pull the trick off. Almost.

More interesting in musicological terms than for the music itself. Seven-inches are where the next trends in music arise from these days, and, well, this one seems to be right on the line. The music, well, it's okay.

A collection of some edgy industrial/electronic music acts. Some signed, most not.

The sounds vary greatly, as does the general quality. For the most part, however, the bands involved felt no need to pander to any ideas of "popular" music and instead cranked out some truly interesting fare.

And so, while the collection is not particularly cohesive, it does a fine job of exploring the frontier of electronic music, from pop to experimental fare. There truly is something here for just about anyone. And I mean that in the best of ways.