Reviews

Space Twins - "No Show" World Domination Records, 1994. by Ric Jordan No show was the first release by Space Twins, a band formed by Brian Bell of Weezer fame, and his former girlfriend.  While there are only 3 songs on this 7" vinyl, they are all pretty good.  They are not great but good.  The lyrics are kinda goofy with lines like, "wooly mammoth is my favorite mammal, hes got more sperm than a sperm whale..." and "Darwin makes more since than fish on Mars". Overall, the tunes are catchy and good. Too bad it's out of print so you will not be able to find it. 2 1/2 outta 5 stars. Starflyer 59 - "Easy Come, Easy Go" Tooth & Nail Records, 2001. by Ric Jordan Easy Come Easy Go is SF59's best release so far.  That's not really a fair statement since its not technically a new album. It's a special box set containing 2 cds and a huge color booklet about the band.  The first disc contains all their "hits" spanning almost every Starflyer album with the exception of maybe 3 eps. It's got all the good songs like "blue collar love", "A house wife love song", and "You're Mean" just to name a few. Disc 2 is the real bonus.  It contains b-sides, rarities, and live versions of some of the hits.  So you didnt ever get that 7" "Goodbyes are sad"--well its here. Even though I was disappointed that "sled" did't make the list, its still a great album.  Starflyer fans are sure to love it and its perfect for those who want to start listening to them too. 5 out of 5 stars New Found Glory - "Drive-thru" drive thru records, 2000. by Mark Baggett Have you ever wondered how fast a band can go from "Rockin" to "Suckin"?  Well, NFG accomplished this in less than a year. Before releasing "Drive-thru", NFG, or as they were called then, ANFG, released "Nothing Gold Can Stay"and "From the Screen to Your Stereo" early this year.  Both cds were awesome and NFG's fan base grew intensely.  Then, came "drive-thru".  The album can be sumed up in one word--HORRIBLE.  The album was produced by Neal Aaron who totally destroyed the bands sound.  Oh yea, and one more thing, Who in the hell came up with the idea to remake "Hit or Miss"?  I mean the song was already awesome.  I guess this would of been ok if the remake was cool but it absolutely sucked!  In the past, bands such as Less than Jake remade songs of their own, but at the time, the songs sucked(I'm of course talking about "Jen doesnt like me anymore" and "Johnny Quest thinks We're Sellouts" which appeared on Pezcore."  The do overs were cool--not at all how NFG's "Hit or Miss" is.  Before I go on anymore about how bad this album sucks, let me make one wish.  Jordan, Ian, or any of you other NFG guys who may be out their, when u play with LTJ on Feb. 15, dont play any new songs.  Thanx--this would be greatly appectiated. 1/2 or 5 stars(Just because the artwork on the album is pretty cool) Limp Bizkit - "Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water" Interscope Records, 2000 by Ric Jordan Limp Bizkit sucks. This cd is "Rollin" staight into the trashcan. 0 outta 5 stars

mxpx "Life in General" tooth&nail 1996 by ric jordan 1996 was a good year for music. Weezer gave us Pinkerton and in the same year mxpx provided us with "Life in General".Life in general was mxpx's first commercial and artistic breakthrough. While most will recognize it for the commercial hit "Chick Magnet" the disc also contains arguably thier best song ever "Middlename"(in contention with "Party,My House be There"). The album starts off with the the kick-ass intro to middlename which gets you pumped up,"my mom still cleans my room" keeps the momentum and stays all the way to the end of the album. Sonically, the record is superior to any of their previous efforts, which is a relief considering production values havent always been a priority for mxpx(Teenage Politcs comes to mind). Chunky guitars combined with super fast drums and Mike Harrera's flat whiney vocals bring what you would expect to hear from the band. It's just that this time they seem to do everything so much better. the songs are better.It's also the fastest album they've produced with songs like "Doin Time","Andrea", and "New york to Nowhere". Lyrically the songs focus on life in general. There's songs about girls, goin to school, weird girls, playing shows, picking up girls on scooters and redrawing a bunch of maps. Some of the lyrics borderline cheesy,"can I leave a message on your machine/Letting you know that your the bomb/and you blew up on me" while some are serious,"Christalena happens to like boys/but not me!" mxpx is one of the more underated bands out there. So, kids go show your support and buy the damn cd. 4 of 5 stars.

The  cootees cd makes a wonderful coaster

Lagwagon - "Trashed" Fat Wreck Chords, 1995. by Billy Ernest This is one cd that i recomend everyone gets.  This is the ulitmate get drunk cd.  That is unless you like country, and if you do, get the fuck off our site.  But for the people who like hardcore punk and drinking beer, this is the #1 cd of all time for you.  With songs like "Goin South" how can you go wrong.  The rest of the cd pack great riffs and perfect words.  This is one cd that is sure to get you going. 5 out of 5 Stars

Pixies - "Doolittle" 4AD Records, 1989 by Matt Chapman What can I say about this one?  Basically, this band's entire output can be partially credited for (or blamed for, depending on your point of view) the start of the entire "alternative" movement of the 90's.  Yup, guitarist/vocalist Black Francis was writing those classic "quiet, melodic verse leading up to heavy punk chorus" songs way before Kurt Cobain ever thought about doing it.  Years of generic "grunge" and "alternative" bands have dulled the edge of the Pixies' recorded legacy, but if you go back and listen to their albums, their style of post-punk indie rock still stands as genius.  Just listen to the way Kim Deal's basslines on 'Tame' underscore Black Francis' quiet, twisted verses which, as they do on so many great Pixies cuts, quickly explode into screaming punk choruses.  Lead guitarist Joey Santiago and drummer David Lovering are no slouches either, as Santiago delivers intricate, angular guitar riffs time after time and Lovering grounds the songs with insistent rhythms (and even sings lead vocals on 'La, La Love You').  This entire CD is a masterpiece of aggressive, melodic, yet totally innovative indie rock.  The band released several albums before and after "Doolittle," but this one is widely hailed as the album that most epitomizes the sound of a great band that broke up just as its influence was beginning to be felt. 4 1/2 out of 5 stars

Sparklehorse - "Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot" Capitol Records, 1995 by Matt Chapman Okay, I know this is probably a little different from the music we normally feature on this site, but I really like this album and it's been on my "What's everyone listening to?" list (as well as Cid's) for a while now and I thought I would review it.  Sparklehorse primarily consists of a guy from Virginia named Mark Linkous and I would say his music sounds something like a cross between Neil Young and Guided By Voices.  This album seems to have three basic types of songs: upbeat country-rock, some nice mellow stuff, and weird "experimental" tracks.  The lyrics are a little on the strange side and the recording job sounds pretty lo-fi, like he pretty much used 4 and 8 track recording machines.  The lyrics and production are the primary reasons I would compare this band to Guided By Voices, but the quality of the songwriting is definitely up there with GBV as well.  Some of the experimental tracks on this album can get a little old, but roots-rock songs like "Tears on Fresh Fruit" and "Rainmaker" as well as soft, pretty little ditties like "Saturday" and "Heart of Darkness" more than make up for that.  All in all, this is a great album if you're open to music that's a little different from the more punk-oriented stuff normally featured on this site. 4 out of 5 stars