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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The Feends - Freek Show (1993)

Outside of their love of '60s surf, garage, bubblegum-pop and '70s punk, the Feends also took their surroundings of the beach as a major musical aspiration. Accompanied by their matching thrift store attire, the line-up of Ian (guitar ), Danni (bass ), Sam (keyboards ), Kent (vocals ), Will (guitar), and Henry (drums) first made their splash in 1990. Following three years of playing throughout their native coast of Western Australia, the band hooked up with the small independent label Spinning Top Records, resulting in their 1993 debut, Freek Show. Source: [AMG]


Track Listing
1. Only Loved One Fish Before
2. On The Prowl
3. RPM
4. Bats
5. Supernatural Feet
6. No More
7. Freek Show
8. Haunted Sea
9. Ghost Train
10. Space Girl

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Matthew Sweet - 100% Fun (1995)

Clocking in at 45 minutes, Matthew Sweet's third record of guitar-dominated, hook-laden power pop runs through its 12 songs at a classic speed, piling up songs that lovingly conform to the three-minute pop tradition. Richard Lloyd's gnarled guitars save Sweet's melodies and harmonies from being saccharine or sappy. Behind Sweet's bright hooks lies something darker -- the self-loathing of "Sick of Myself" and the mental manipulation of "We're the Same" aren't evident from the sound of the record, which obliterates any hidden meanings with its chiming guitars and driving rhythms. It might not have the consistent barrage of great songs like Girlfriend, yet it tames the wilder impulses of Altered Beast into an album that rocks its worries away without ever getting rid of them. Source: [AMG]

Matthew Sweet - We're The Same



Track Listing
1. Sick of Myself
2. Not When I Need It
3. We're the Same
4. Giving It Back
5. Everything Changes
6. Lost My Mind
7. Come to Love
8. Walk Out
9. I Almost Forgot
10. Super Baby
11. Get Older
12. Smog Moon

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Thee Headcoats - Heavens To Murgatroyd, Even! It's Thee Headcoats! (Already) (1991)

Thee Headcoats is one of the various band monikers assumed by garage rock primitive Billy Childish (aka Bill Hamper), a native of Kent, England. Over several decades -- and regardless of the fashion of the time -- Childish has churned out no-frills garage rock, the likes of which saw a resurgence in hipness in the new millennium with groups such as the Hives and the White Stripes. The ultra-prolific bandleader/producer/poet/painter/publisher first emerged in 1979 with mod-punkers Pop Rivets. By 1982, the Pop Rivets had become the more musically catchy Milkshakes (akaThee Milkshakes or Mickey & the Milkshakes). The band was remarkably prolific, releasing no fewer than seven albums in 1984 (four of them on the same day). Shortly thereafter, Childish moved on to the similarly minded Thee Mighty Caesars. Nevertheless, since the late '80s, Thee Headcoats -- a trio that includes Pop Rivets/Milkshakes/Mighty Caesars drummer Bruce Brand -- has been Childish's primary outlet for his more accessible, straight-up rock & roll. As of 2000, Thee Headcoats were Childish's most prolific outlet (no small accolade). The group played its final gig that year at London's Dirty Water club, though tracks continued to be released. Source: [AMG]

Thee Headcoats - Girl Of Matches


Track Listing
1. Mantrap
2. No Way Out
3. Reindeer Are Wild
4. Hand to Hand
5. Headcoat Man
6. Girl of Matches
7. I Don't Like the Man I Am
8. Pokerhuntus Was Her Name
9. We're Gone
10. Stewball
11. I Ain't About to Give You My Name
12. Rusty Hook

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The Hives - Barely Legal (1997)

The Hives launched the first salvo in their global assault on all that is lame in our culture with their debut album, 1997's Barely Legal, and there is little arguing that these guys had the right idea out of the gate. Emerging from Fagersta, Sweden (which, at least in 1997, was the rock equivalent of Absolutely Nowhere), the Hives set a high standard with their hot-wired fusion of garage rock tunes and punk rock speed and energy, and they hit the sweet spot just right, sounding tight enough to connect with unified force while still letting the frenzy of their forward momentum give the performances a bit of dizzy sway that indicates true rock & roll. If Barely Legal lacks an obvious "breakout hit" tune like "Main Offender" or "Hate to Say I Told You So," the rapid-fire assault of these songs is impressive indeed, and this disc plays like a brick of firecrackers that refuses to stop exploding until "Closed for the Season" crosses the finish line. And while the Hives rock like nobody's business here (especially the Siamese twin guitars of Vigilante Carlstroem and Nicholaus Arson), the real secret weapon is Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, whose cocky swagger actually communicates on tape, and is the perfect vehicle for his "We are cool, you are nothing" lyrical outlook. Veni Vidi Vicious was the album that let the world know who the Hives were and what they were all about, but Barely Legal let a clued-in few know about their monumental coolness three years ahead of the game, and for sheer rock action, it's as good as anything they've put to tape. Source: [AMG]

The Hives - A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T


Track Listing
1. Well, Well, Well
2. A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T
3. Here We Go Again
4. I'm a Wicked One
5. Automatic Schmuck
6. King of Asskissing
7. Hail Hail Spit N'Drool
8. Black Jack
9. What's That Spell?... Go to Hell!
10. Theme From...
11. Uptempo Venomous Poison
12. Oh Lord! When? How?
13. The Stomp
14. Closed for the Season

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