Junkie XL's debut is often more interesting in theory than in execution; as an attempt to combine rock and electronica on an equal basis, Saturday Teenage Kick is an admirable effort, but too often the ideas simply don't jell. Lacking the dense, complex production of acts like the Chemical Brothers or the Prodigy, the album never achieves the visceral power it's seeking -- it's too dance-oriented for rock listeners, and vice versa. Source: [AMG]
Junkie XL - Saturday Teenage Kick/Billy Club
Track Listing 1. Underachievers 2. Billy Club 3. No Remorse 4. Metrolike 5. X-Panding Limits 6. War 7. Saturday Teenage Kick 8. Dealing With the Roster 9. Fight 10. Melange 11. Def Beat 12. Future in Computer Hell
On Matthew Sweet's early-'90s power pop trilogy of Girlfriend, Altered Beast, and 100% Fun, Richard Lloyd's angular, unpredictable lead guitar functioned as a gritty counterpoint to Sweet's pretty melodies and tales of lost love, giving the music an unexpected depth. Sweet parted ways with Lloyd before he made Blue Sky on Mars, and his departure greatly affects the music. Without Lloyd, the songs are more predictable and the band, even with Brendan O'Brien's warm production, sounds rather canned. However, the music isn't the only thing hurting Blue Sky on Mars -- the songs themselves are considerably more uneven than before, lacking the effortless hooks of its three predecessors. Sweet manages to turn out a handful of good songs -- the swirling "Where Do You Get Love" has an infectious chorus, and "Come to California" has a sunny, Californian feel -- but the simple problem is that most of the songs are colorless, and that comes as a major disappointment after the inspired songcraft since Girlfriend.
Matthew Sweet - Where You Get Love
Track Listing 1. Come to California 2. Back to You 3. Where You Get Love 4. Hollow 5. Behind the Smile 6. Until You Break 7. Over It 8. Heaven and Earth 9. All over My Head 10. Into Your Drug 11. Make Believe 12. Missing Time
Buying time and thwarting bootleggers, Nirvana and DGC released the rarities compilation Incesticide toward the end of 1992. Like any odds'n'sods collection, this is uneven, but that's its charm since it captures Nirvana's character better than any official album. After all, this was a band that was born equally from '70s sludge metal, bubblegum pop, post-punk artiness, and indie rock inclusiveness, each of which are apparent on this collection. There are some non-entities here, particularly on the second side, but the plodding sub-metallic grind was part of their identity, one part of their multi-faceted character. Nirvana meant everything to everyone, from the jangle pop veterans to the garage rock ravers that worshipped the Stooges to stoner metal fetishes and indie rock bed-sits that adopted Sebadoh just as they outgrew Morrissey -- everybody loved Nirvana, and there's something for every kind fan here, thanks to murky sludge, Devo and Vaseline covers, BBC sessions, instrumentals, and limited-edition singles, plus sub-Melvins goop, everything visceral where Bleach was tame. Nevermind doesn't capture this freewheeling indie spirit but Incesticide does, piling on some essentials in the meantime -- the pummeling "Dive," the childhood snapshot "Sliver," the terrific forgotten indie pop tune "Been a Son," and "Aneurysm," perhaps the greatest single song the group ever recorded. Yeah, there's some filler here, but this is the sound of what Nirvana was actually like. Source: [AMG]
Nirvana - Aneurysm
Track Listing 1. Dive 2. Sliver 3. Stain 4. Been a Son 5. Turnaround 6. Molly's Lips 7. Son of a Gun 8. (New Wave) Polly 9. Beeswax 10. Downer 11. Mexican Seafood 12. Hairspray 13. Aero Zeppelin 14. Big Long Now 15. Aneurysm
Junkie XL's debut is often more interesting in theory than in execution; as an attempt to combine rock and electronica on an equal basis, Saturday Teenage Kick is an admirable effort, but too often the ideas simply don't jell. Lacking the dense, complex production of acts like the Chemical Brothers or the Prodigy, the album never achieves the visceral power it's seeking -- it's too dance-oriented for rock listeners, and vice versa. Source: [AMG]
