The Swingin' Neckbreakers - Shake Brake! (1995)

Equal parts Ramones, Rivieras and Paul Revere and the Raiders, the Swingin' Neckbreakers deliver straight-up rock & roll on this spirited outing. Fueled by the genre-faithful songwriting from bassist/singer Tom Jorgenson and a keep-it-simple rhythm section of drummer/brother John Jorgenson and guitarist Don "Shaggy" Snook, the Neckbreakers play a straightforward brand of rock'n'raunch that critics hate but nonetheless resonates perfectly with the average Joe who just wants to shake it down. Split evenly between strong Jorgenson originals "Action Kid," "The Answer Is No," "Wait," and "Help Wanted," and obscure punk and garage classics like Glen Barber's "Ice Water," Bobby Fuller's "Shakedown," and the Underdogs' "Get Down On Your Knees," this thing doesn't let up for a second. Fans of the Ramones will find much to love here. Source: [AMG]

The Swingin' Neckbreakers - Wait


Track Listing
1. Wait
2. Mighty Mack
3. Ice Water
4. That's the Way My Love Is
5. Help Wanted
6. Shakedown
7. The Answer Is No
8. I Wanna Be Your Driver
9. Action Kid
10. I'm in Love With Me
11. You're Gonna Make Me
12. A Thousand Times a Day
13. Get Down on Your Knees
14. The Girl Can't Help It
15. Brown Eyed Girl

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White Zombie - La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Vol. 1 (1992)

Perhaps co-defining the future of heavy metal, White Zombie's major-label debut nearly equals fellow classics Guns N' Roses' Appetite for Destruction, the Cult's Electric, and Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger in significance. With a funky rap-metal undercurrent, these metal monsters combine Black Sabbath's riff sludge and Metallica's rhythmic intensity, a combination that would again resurface in the late '90s. On La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1, Zombie and co. take listeners on a hokey carnival ride capable of inducing vomit yet provide an exhilarating, heart-throbbing metal experience. Tactless and continuously shocking, lyricist Rob Zombie reveals blatant tales of muscle cars, sleazy encounters, and Fangoria-mustered fantasy, clearly paying homage to vintage trash culture. Complemented by Russ Meyer film soundbites and demonic aura, Zombie ridicules middle American Leave It to Beaver values and insolently challenges the politically correct. Diabolical manifestos such as the barbaric "Soul-Crusher," macabre "Spiderbaby (Yeah-Yeah-Yeah)," and sexually indiscreet "Thrust!" will intrigue those yearning for lewd explicitness but may offend traditional hard rock enthusiasts. "Thunder Kiss '65," an ode to Russ Meyer's 1965 busty B-movies Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and Mudhoney, remains this album's most listenable and enduring highlight. Along with perverted lyrics, Rob Zombie's vocal snarls and the band's muscular metal thunder produce the furious concoction that secures La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1's place in heavy metal history. Weak appetites for raunchy, tongue-in-cheek decadence need not apply. Source: [AMG]

White Zombie - Thunder Kiss '65


Track Listing
1. Welcome to Planet Motherfucker/Psychoholic Slag
2. Knuckle Duster (Radio 1-A)
3. Thunder Kiss '65
4. Black Sunshine
5. Soul-Crusher
6. Cosmic Monsters Inc.
7. Spiderbaby (Yeah-Yeah-Yeah)
8. I Am Legend
9. Knuckle Duster (Radio 2-B)
10. Thrust!
11. One Big Crunch
12. Grindhouse (A Go Go)
13. Starface
14. Warp Asylum

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Today Is The Day - Today Is The Day (1996)

Having subtracted bass from Today Is the Day and added keyboards, noise rock auteur Steve Austin thereby altered his outfit stylistically, moving from the warmth and emotional appeal of Willpower to an icily digital landscape of painful, high-frequency tones, screeched vocals, and even more painful guitar. Today Is the Day is a brutal record, owing a bit of its industrial nature to acts like Skinny Puppy and Merzbow. However, this is hardly textbook industrial music. Still utilizing guitar and organic drums, Today Is the Day is not driven by the keyboards so much as augmented sonically by them. The keys produce more of an atmospheric than a melodic effect, thereby leaving the essential constitution of Today Is the Day intact and guitar-driven. Source: [AMG]

Today Is The Day - Marked


Track Listing
1. Kai Piranha
2. Marked
3. Bugs Death March
4. A Man of Science
5. Realization
6. Black Iron Prison
7. Mountain People
8. Ripped Off
9. The Tragedy
10. She Is in Fear of Death
11. I Love My Woman
12. Dot Matrix

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Big Star - Third / Sister Lovers (1992)

A shambling wreck of an album, Big Star's Third/Sister Lovers ranks among the most harrowing experiences in pop music; impassioned, erratic, and stark, it's the slow, sinking sound of a band falling apart. Recorded with their label, Stax, poised on the verge of bankruptcy, the album finds Alex Chilton at the end of his rope, sabotaging his own music long before it can ever reach the wrecking crew of poor distribution, indifferent marketing, and disinterested pop radio; his songs are haphazardly brilliant, a head-on collision between inspiration and frustration. The album is a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy, each song smacking of utter defeat and desperation; the result is either one of the most vividly emotional experiences in pop music or a completely wasted opportunity, and while the truth probably lies somewhere in between, there's no denying Third's magnetic pull -- it's like an undertow. Although previously issued on a variety of different labels, Rykodisc's 1992 release is the initially definitive edition of this unfinished masterpiece, its 19 tracks most closely approximating the original planned running order while restoring the music's intended impact; in addition to unearthing a blistering cover of the Kinks' "At the End of the Day" and a haunting rendition of Nat King Cole's "Nature Boy," it also appends the disturbing "Dream Lover," which distills the album's messiest themes into less than four minutes of psychic torment. Source: [AMG]

Big Star - Thank You Friends



Track Listing
1. Kizza Me
2. Thank You Friends
3. Big Black Car
4. Jesus Christ
5. Femme Fatale
6. O, Dana
7. Holocaust
8. Kangaroo
9. Stroke It Noel
10. For You
11. You Can't Have Me
12. Nightime
13. Blue Moon
14. Take Care
15. Nature Boy
16. Till the End of the Day
17. Dream Lover
18. Downs
19. Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On

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The Makers - Howl (1994)

Garage punk outfit the Makers formed in Spokane, WA, in 1991, originally assembling frontman Mike Maker, his bassist brother Don Maker, guitarists Tim Maker and John Maker, and drummer Jay Maker. Famed for their anarchic live dates and for traveling from show to show in a 1965 Pontiac hearse, the group signed to Sympathy for the Record Industry to issue their debut 10" Hip-Notic; the exit of John Maker coincided with a move to the Estrus label for the full-length follow-up, 1993's Howl! The Makers' debut is full of the pounding, garage punk madness that built the Spokane band a small but devoted following. Unfortunately, that following was built largely on live antics and didn't translate terribly well to record. Blunt production, indecipherable lyrics, and too-tense rhythms keep the listener firmly at arm's length, while the band charges full throttle through song after song, oblivious to everything around them. A good record for people who like to zone out, jump around, and throw glasses, but the Makers' later albums offer much more rewarding and enjoyable music. Source: [AMG]

The Makers - Matter of Degrees

The Makers |MTV Music

Track Listing
1. I Just Might Crack
2. Think About Your Man
3. I'm Hurt
4. Like a Diamond Ring
5. Allright, Allnight, Allright
6. Memphis Chillun
7. Don't Cross Your Man
8. Explosion
9. Ricky Ticky Tock
10. Try to Cry
11. Your Daddy Drives a Big Car
12. Let Him Try
13. Death of Mr. Monster
14. Sometimes, Sometimes
15. Cool, Clear and Sheen
16. Howl

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DM3 - Road To Rome (1996)

Power pop fans have occasionally pointed to this, Australian outfit DM3's sophomore release, as one of the best pop albums to come out of the mid-'90s and one of the cornerstone albums of the '90s Australian pop movement. Both may be true to varying degrees: Road to Rome is possibly the "classic" disc in the late-'90s Australian power pop scene, which included similarly talented bands like Ice Cream Hands, Even, Challenger 7, and Michael Carpenter. While the debit of Australian power pop is that it often favors slavish imitation over solid songwriting, Dom Mariani's ear for a hook is what makes Road to Rome stand out. Well, that and Mitch Easter's arena-ready production. Sounding like the Plimsouls playing with Badfinger and the Who, Mariani cranks it to ten more than a few times here. It lends songs like the excellent "Please Don't Lie" or the riff-heavy "Soultop" a glossy, almost '80s stadium rock vibe -- in a good way. Sure, sometimes DM3 can get a little derivative and rest on their skinny tie-shaped laurels, but for the most part the chunky riffage and Easter's boomy production will be more than enough to please anyone who is motivated enough to seek this album out in the first place. Source: [AMG]

Dom Mariani & Rippled Souls - Foolish

Track Listing
1. Can't Get What You Want
2. Please Don't Lie
3. Speed Freak
4. Second Floor
5. Pleaze You
6. I Thought That You Were Foolin'
7. Show You
8. Dead Stars
9. Something Heavy
10. Soultop
11. Fairweather Friend
12. T.V. Sound

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Teenage Fanclub - Thirteen (1993)

Unjustly savaged by fans and critics alike upon its initial release, with the benefit of hindsight Thirteen has revealed itself an eminently worthy follow-up to the classic Bandwagonesque; though not as consistent or refreshing as its predecessor, the album takes simultaneous steps backward and forward, retreating to a darker, sludgier guitar sound reminiscent of their debut effort A Catholic Education even as it blossoms to incorporate lilting string arrangements and glowing harmony vocals. Despite taking its title from Big Star's most gentle and optimistic moment, the record not only expands its horizons far beyond Alex Chilton-inspired pop but also maintains an emotional tenor that's largely bitter and disillusioned -- titles like "Song to the Cynic," "120 Mins," and, especially, "Commercial Alternative" reflect the band's disenchantment with both its former flavor-of-the-month status and the growing creative malaise rampant throughout the alt-rock community (then at its commercial zenith). Although Gerard Love and Raymond McGinley make memorable contributions, Thirteen is first and foremost a showcase for the peerless pop genius of Norman Blake -- the should-have-been hits "Norman 3" and "Ret Liv Dead" boast a crunchy, lumbering sound heavily indebted to Neil Young's records with Crazy Horse, while the soaring "Commercial Alternative" evokes vintage Byrds, a reference point further driven home by the epic closer "Gene Clark." [Original pressings of Thirteen included no fewer than six unlisted bonus cuts assembled from British singles -- the material is consistently excellent, highlighted by the McGinley original "Golden Glades" as well as reverent covers of Phil Ochs' "Chords of Fame" and the Flying Burrito Brothers' "Older Guys."]. Source: [AMG]

Teenage Fanclub - Radio


Track Listing
1. Hang On
2. The Cabbage
3. Radio
4. Norman 3
5. Song to the Cynic
6. 120 Minutes
7. Escher
8. Commercial Alternative
9. Fear of Flying
10. Tears Are Cool
11. Ret Liv Dead
12. Get Funky
13. Gene Clark

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The Vandalias - Match V (1995)

The Vandalias, from Minneapolis, play good power-pop with great harmonies, driving guitars and exceptional hooks. Following the single Build This House (Tenpop, 1992), debut album Mach V (Big Deal, 1995) is successful at what it does: copy the originals (Byrds, Big Star, Raspberries, Cheap Trick). Such is the evocative power of the humbly crafted toe-tappers that these popsters deliver.... The Vandalias high concept--a madcap band of cartoony heartthrobs bounce through zany adventures involving muscle vans and mini-skirts--is pure guile. But the music is so smartly composed and cheerfully presented, the whole shebang actually achieves an intoxicating celebration of teen-dom. Plus, it rocks wicked good.



Track Listing
1. In
2. Hey Now (Motor City)
3. Build This House
4. Have You Seen Mine?
5. Mach V
6. I'd Be a Boy
7. Knife
8. Watch My Baby Cry
9. Mighty Song of Joy
10. Fall Girl
11. Cathy's Back
12. Sky High
13. Done for You
14. Wait and See

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Oblivians - Soul Food (1995)

On Soul Food, Jack Oblivian, Eric Oblivian, and Greg Oblivian trade off on guitars and drums (no bass) in a 30-minute album of guitar chicken scratching with bent note solos, some church organ, spitting vocals, and thud-and-crash drumming. The songs are delivered like a fire-and-brimstone preacher who dabbles as Mr. Hyde on weekends, full of spirit and depravity. Few bands sound as possessed by the belief in the power of rock & roll. Like similarly veined groups the Cramps, Tav Falco, and the Gories, the Oblivians often sound deranged in their preservation of the raw shaking beat of pre-Elvis manic and dark blues. The Oblivians honor the same canon of musicians, opening the record with a stomping cover of Lightnin' Hopkins' "Vietnam Blues." A legacy to the past is established but the party has just begun. The lonely screaming anthem "No Reason to Live" elicits both sympathy and a pumping fist in the listener. No one wants Greg Oblivian to end it all, but it sure is fun to bomp around to this track. Testimonials of faith in the culture and music that they love continue in "Never Change" and "Static Party." "Sunday, You Need Love" and "And Then I Fucked Her" would have some people looking for dust on the needle if it wasn't a CD. The bare-bones live production heightens the urgency; the Oblivians are desperate to get these songs off their souls. The Oblivians ignore the speed, grunge, and artsy angles bands pass off as the next stage of rock. They are dedicated to a sound: "Never Change" declares, "Like a broken record/I play the same sad song." Production and perfect playing are overrated; Soul Food's greatness is found in emotion and devotion. Source: [AMG]

Oblivians - She's A Hole


Track Listing
1. Viet Nam War Blues
2. And Then I Fucked Her
3. Big Black Hole
4. Jim Cole
5. Mad Lover
6. Sunday You Need Love
7. Never Change
8. No Reason to Live
9. I'm Not a Sicko, There's a Plate in My Head
10. Blew My Cool
11. Cannonball
12. Nigger Rich
13. Bum a Ride
14. Any Way You Want It
15. Static Party
16. Ja Ja Ja

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Hüsker Dü - Candy Apple Grey (1986)

Moving to a major label doesn't affect Hüsker Dü's sound greatly -- although the production is more full-bodied than Spot's razor-thin work, the Hüskers don't change their blazing attack at all. Much of Candy Apple Grey charges along on the same frenzied beat that propelled New Day Rising and Flip Your Wig, and both Bob Mould and Grant Hart are in fine form, spinning out fine punk-pop with "Sorry Somehow" and "Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely." However, the sound is beginning to seem a bit tired, which is what makes Mould's two acoustic numbers, "Too Far Down" and "Hardly Getting Over It," so welcome. Demonstrating that punks can mature without losing their edge, Mould inverts the rules of conventional confessional singer/songwriter songs with these two haunting numbers, and in doing so, he illustrates the faults with the relatively staid post-hardcore punk that dominates the remainder of the record. Source: [AMG]

Hüsker Dü - Eight Miles High


Track Listing
1. Crystal
2. Don't Want to Know if You Are Lonely
3. I Don't Know for Sure
4. Sorry Somehow
5. Too Far Down
6. Hardly Getting over It
7. Dead Set on Destruction
8. Eiffel Tower High
9. No Promise Have I Made
10. All This I've Done for You

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