Album Reviews

ANATHEMA
A Natural Disaster
(Music For Nations/KOCH)
A few stray power chords aside, there's little left of the old death metal Anathema in the current edition. The British quintet has more in common with the spacey prog of Porcupine Tree and Radiohead than anybody with cookie monster growls and double bass drums. There's nothing terribly original going on here, but the surging power of "Pulled Under at 2000 Metres a Second" and shimmering beauty of "Are You There?" are undeniable. Michael Toland [buy it]

SHANE BARTELL
Too Soon to Say
(Lilywhite)
So many artists these days get Radiohead (by which is meant The Bends) and Jeff Buckley comparisons nailed to their foreheads, and so few deserve them. Austin's Shane Bartell actually earns those accolades without too much direct emulation. Too Soon to Say is masterpiece of sweeping, melodic pop; its beautiful songs and stunning vocals combine for a wonderful example of pure emotional expression. Plus it's got some bossa nova. Michael Toland [buy it]

BIPOLAROID
Transparent Make-Believe
(Surreal But Kind)
New Orleans has always seemed to me a natural spawning ground for psychedelia, so it's nice to see a Crescent City band take up the challenge laid down by Dr. John 30-odd years ago. Or, more accurately, by Syd Barrett—Transparent Make-Believe definitely exudes an early Pink Floyd aura. These guys aren't slavish imitators, however; they put their own spin on traditional psychedelic rock (if there is such a thing). Psych fans should take to this like an acidhead to Alice in Wonderland. Michael Toland

RANDALL BRAMBLETT
Thin Places
(New West)
Call it a prejudice, but I'm usually pretty suspicious of artists like Randall Bramblett—blue-eyed soul is always hit-or-miss and I'm not ready to grow up and listen to "Adult Album Alternative" just yet. That said, Bramblett is an above-average songwriter and singer, and Nashville session hack Michael Rhodes' production is so beautifully textured that it's a treat to hear. I can think of a dozen triple-A radio stars incapable of making records this interesting. Michael Toland [buy it]

LEAH CALLAHAN
Even Sleepers
(Leah Callahan)
Former Turkish Delights and Betwixt frontperson Leah Callahan reloads herself as a cabaret chanteuse on her first solo album. Tango, bossa nova and torch song are more significant presences than rock. Callahan's cool alto is comfortable with anything she throws at it, and the tunes are all the more impressive for being originals. Michael Toland [buy it]

EBON TALE
Blanket Skies
(Dusklight)
About ten years ago we'd have called Sweden's Ebon Tale "modern" or "alternative" rock. It's dynamic, tuneful and passionate, with enough dissonance to avoid predictability and enough melody to sidestep arty noise. Frontperson Frida Franzén sounds tortured, but not at all self-pitying, which makes Ebon Tale more than just another angst rock outfit. And at only four songs, Blanket Skies dispenses with filler, always a good thing. Michael Toland

HANOI ROCKS
Twelve Shots On the Rocks
(Liquor & Poker)
This remixed version of last year's Finnish release is actually 17 shots on the rocks, but who's counting? Rock legends Michael Monroe and Andy McCoy make their first collaborative album in almost two decades, and it's a headbangingly satisfying blast of sleazy, hooky hard rock, more Alice Cooper than Aerosmith (or, for the hip kiddies, more Backyard Babies than Hellacopters). I could do without the ballads, though, which give me flashbacks to bad 80s soundtracks. Michael Toland [buy it]

THE HISS
Panic Movement
(Sanctuary)
My goodness, this young Atlanta group is certainly…zealous. The boys perform their melodic rock anthems as if they were rescuing puppies from a house fire. You can hear echoes of everybody from the Stone Roses to the Verve to the Music, but the main spiritual inspiration seems to be mid-period U2, when that band really believed rock music could save the world, and made you believe it too. Michael Toland [buy it]

THE IDITAROD
Yuletide
(Camera Obscura)
Though ostensibly a compilation of winter-related recordings made by the now-defunct acid folk duo the Iditarod, Yuletide is also a concept album about death and rebirth. Listening to these enigmatic tracks is like standing out on the back porch of a mountain cabin as the sun rises the morning after a heavy snowfall. The barren trees and snow-covered ground seem deceased, as if only ghosts call the woods home, yet you know that new leaves and grass wait for their time to burst forth and fill the forest with life once again. It's beautiful and unsettling, all at once. Michael Toland

DENISE JAMES
It's Not Enough to Love
(Rainbow Quartz)
Sometimes retro works wonderfully. James, as produced by Outrageous Cherry guitarist Matthew Smith in the vintage Ghetto Recorders in Detroit, comes up with an excellent pop record that sounds like a lost mid-60s classic. The songs are so good and her voice so perfect for them that it's simply too Grinchy to complain about the deliberately dated production. Michael Toland [buy it]

DAVID KRAKAUER
Live in Krakow
(Label Bleu)
Klezmer—of the future! Clarinetist/composer Krakauer and his freethinking ensemble (accordion, guitar, bass, drums and samples) soulfully romp through traditional-sounding pieces ("Gypsy Bulgar") and more boundary-stretching fare (the funky "Klezmer a la Bechet 'Remix'," the rock guitar-laced "Turntable Pounding," the free jazz-informed "Love Song For Lemberg/LVOV"). Live in Krakow is groovy and fun, and proof that tradition doesn't mean stagnation. Michael Toland [buy it]

KVLR
KVLR
(It's a Trap!)
Postpunk as a style, rather than a timeframe, is best heard and recognized rather than described. That said, KVLR (formally Kevlar) should be in the music dictionary in place of a definition of postpunk. The quartet recalls the glory days of Gang of Four, Wire, Mission of Burma and even Sonic Youth with infectious enthusiasm and subtle melodicism. Plus KVLR is Swedish and has that magic Nordic pixie dust with which every other band from the region seems to be sprinkled. Michael Toland [buy it]

LAGUARDIA
Welcome to the Middle
(Republic/Universal)
Philly's Laguardia brings together the best bits of two worlds, combining indie rock's willful angularity with major label production values. That the quartet writes absolutely fetching melodies (check out "Sensation," with its appropriately sensationalist lyrics and lush tuneage) and boasts an appealingly distinctive lead singer in Joshua Ostrander doesn't hurt either. This is the kind of band that gives "alternative rock" a good name. Michael Toland [buy it]

LAMBCHOP
Awcmon
Noyoucmon
(Merge)
Not sure why these were released separately instead of as a double-disk set; two Lambchop albums are apparently better than one, I guess. Especially when they're as good as these. Though still regarded as some sort of alt.country band, the dominant noises here come from 70s soul and orchestral pop (plus some actual rock & roll on "Nothing Adventurous Please"), both of which are perfect settings for leader Kurt Wagner's best bucket o' songs yet. Or buckets. Whatever. Just listen. Michael Toland [buy Awcomon, buy Noyoucmon]

JAMES MCMURTRY AND THE HEARTLESS BASTARDS
Live in Aught-Three
(Compadre)
James McMurtry seems to always be tagged as a folkie, just because he's from Texas and writes his own songs. But he's always been a rock & roller, and if his dynamite last album Saint Mary of the Woods didn't convince people, this live disk, which finds McMurtry and band in power trio mode tearing up most of Mary and prior hits like "Levelland" and "Too Long in the Wasteland," surely will. Michael Toland [buy it]

RIC MENCK
The Ballad of Ric Menck
(Action Musik)
Before forming power pop deity Velvet Crush with Paul Chastain, drummer Ric Menck pounded the skins, jangled the strings and worked the larynx for a variety of pop combos. The results of those brief liaisons, mostly demos and one-off singles, can be found on The Ballad of Ric Menck. It's pretty glorious stuff, in a modest sort of way, as Menck and cohorts pay homage to the era of the Byrds, the Monkees and the Beach Boys with a bunch of sparkling melodies and a whole lotta heart. It's not Velvet Crush, but the seeds are well planted. Michael Toland [buy it]