WYE OAK IF CHILDREN (MERGE) *** Wye Oak's girl-boy, guitar-drums lineup may scream indie rock, but the Maryland duo shows plenty of dad-rock influences, from the Simon & Garfunkel wistfulness of "Regret" to the Pink Floyd narcolepsy of "Archaic Smile" and the "Muswell Hillbillies"-era Kinks feel of "A Lawn to Mow." ...more

June 26, 2008

ELI "PAPERBOY" REED & THE TRUE LOVES: ROLL WITH YOU (Q DIVISION) ***½ ...more

June 19, 2008

WEEZER: WEEZER (DGC/INTERSCOPE) *** Weezer's music sounds so effortless, so borderline smug in the way it sucks in the listener, it's easy to wonder when the jig will be up. ...more

June 12, 2008

DENNIS WILSON: PACIFIC OCEAN BLUE (1977) The middle Wilson boy's solo album returns to print in this elaborate two-disc edition. More famous as the Beach Boys' only surfer than for his musical ability, Wilson surprised many with the beauty and power of this disc. Sadly, the addictions that would kill him six years later also prevented the completion of a planned follow-up, but the second disc culls tracks from those sessions for a look at what might have been. ...more

June 12, 2008

BOREDOMS: SUPER ROOTS, VOL. 9 (THRILL JOCKEY) ** To call the Boredoms extreme would be to damn them with faint praise. The Japanese outfit took noise terrorism to new heights of hilarity on its first few albums, while later efforts have seen them on a major percussion jag. ...more

June 5, 2008

NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS: DIG!!! LAZARUS DIG!!! (ANTI) *** You'd have to go all the way back to - well, maybe there's really nowhere to go back to for this - in order to hear Nick Cave sounding this loose, funny and rocking sans either angst (latter-day Bad Seeds) or psychotic rage (Birthday Party). ...more

May 29, 2008

SOMEONE STILL LOVES YOU BORIS YELTSIN: PERSHING (POLYVINYL) **½ "Dance as if no one's looking" goes the anti-self-consciousness adage. Too bad someone didn't close the curtains when Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin was recording its second album. ...more

May 22, 2008

It doesn't do much good to complain about a job like mine. Example: Person With Normal Job: What a day! A client canceled a major contract, the mail room lost some essential documents and now I'm going to have to work all weekend! ...more

May 8, 2008

HOWLIN RAIN: MAGNIFICENT FIEND (AMERICAN/BIRDMAN) **½ Howlin Rain latches onto the hairy leg of early '70s rock and doesn't let go for the duration of second album "Magnificent Fiend." Echoes of Santana, Traffic and Steely Dan abound, and while Howlin Rain loves to jam, it steers clear of self-indulgence. ...more

May 8, 2008

JACK PENATE: MATINEE (XL) *** It's not just newcomer Jack Penate's accent that marks his pop as unmistakably English. His lyrics are clever but subtle, his melodies as effortless as they are catchy. And like predecessors such as Madness, Style Council and The Housemartins, he guilelessly appropriates non-native musical styles (ska, R&B). ...more

February 21, 2008