The Spinanes - Manos- 1993

While singer/guitarist Rebecca Gates and drummer Scott Plouf are the only musicians on their debut album, the approach isn't minimalist a la Mecca Normal or some such band. They're a full-bodied rock group that happens to only have two members. That oddity factor aside, this is accomplished but fairly standard alternative pop/rock, a bit on the downbeat side at times, and not diverse enough to keep the interest level from dragging over the course of a full-length record.-AMG



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The Disappointments - Tall, Dark and Hasbeen - 1998

The Disappointments Tall, Dark and Hasbeen is full of 3 minute songs that stick in your head. Melodic, hook laden numbers that have been bashed out in clubs with lots of guitars and lots of sweat.
Since the mid 1990s, the Disappointments have been tastefully digging at the same mine of New Wave, 60s and 70s power pop that bands like Rooney, the Strokes and Fountains of Wayne have found inspiration.
There are even a few hints here of alterna-country and punk pop. But it's no coincidence "the DPs" are from the land of Cheap Trick and Paul Westerberg. Other influences are Nick Lowe, Marshall Crenshaw, the dB's, the Jam and XTC. -CD Baby



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The Hentchmen - Three Times Infinity - 2002

Formed in October of 1992, the Hentchmen were one of the most popular live acts in lower Michigan throughout the '90s. Featuring organist/vocalist Johnny Volare, guitarist Tim V. Eight, and drummer Chris Handyside, the band performed a primitive garage band sound that utilized few instruments and referenced their heroes in '60s music. They began performing around Ann Arbor and Detroit, gaining a small but rabid fanbase. They released their eponymous debut and produced several indie singles, eventually scoring a contract with Norton Records in New York City. "The Hentch" began touring nationally, keeping their home base in Michigan while seeing the rest of the country. They released another album before Handyside was gone, replaced by drummer Mike Audi. With Audi on board they recorded Broad Appeal and Motorvatin', both popular local hits that never quite branched out into larger exposure. Still, one didn't need to pity the Hentchmen. They'd been at it for almost a decade, and had toured ten times more than your average garage rock slickers. In other words, those in the know already knew. In 2003, Norton issued the Three Times Infinity LP to critical and local acclaim; a year later, the band debuted on the Times Beach imprint with Form Follows Function. Italy released Hentch.Forth.Five, a collection of early works, in 2007. -AMG



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Cinerama - Disco Volante - 2000

Indie pop as seductive device? Not a chance, unless you've heard Cinerama. Really -- think about it. Is there anything remotely erotic about Sebadoh, Sloan, or (gasp!) the Elephant Six contingent? No sir/ma'am. Disco Volante seems like a more logical extension of the Wedding Present than Va Va Voom, employing more electric than acoustic guitars and drier production. Though the pairing of the Wedding Present with Steve Albini made sense for 1991's Seamonsters, David Gedge's decision to work again with the engineer seems a bit misplaced for Cinerama. At that stage of the Wedding Present's career, they were thriving on their roughness and angularities, something Albini is an expert at capturing. But for Cinerama, a group with a more rounded, elegant sound, it sounds a little awkward. If it was Gedge's intent to win back some of the Wedding Present fans who found Va Va Voom to be too much of a departure, Disco Volante could succeed in that regard. With Weddoes guitarist Simon Cleave now a full-fledged member, there's some of the trademark late '80s/early '90s roar apparent in the likes of "146 Degrees" and "Your Charms"; but whether or not that and crisp drums fit snugly alongside French horn and accordion is debatable. Regardless of these features, Gedge shows absolutely no signs of dwindling lyrically. His common topics of romance and lust are well-roamed, but the man is perfectly incapable of sounding like a cliché. Despite Disco Volante's rougher sound, the eroticism is in throbbing supply in "Lollobrigida" and "Unzip." Otherwise, Disco Volante echoes Va Va Voom in its well-placed use of chamber pop elements, and if you have that all-too-necessary skill that allows you to not think "Jethro Tull" when a flute pops up from time to time, you're all the better off. And hats (and panties?) off to Gedge for scoring the rhythm section of the disbanded Goya Dress. Bassist Terry de Castro and drummer Simon Pearson are ideal additions to Gedge's vision.-AMG



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Pribata Idaho - Spain Is Pain - 2000

The Byrds are the main influence of the Spanish guitar pop band Pribata Idaho. They have the ringing guitars, heavenly vocal harmonies, classic hooks -- the whole package. The group even titles one of their songs "You Have to Fly to Be a Byrd." Sometimes they turn up the amps and rock out in a modern style, but their hearts are definitely in the 1960s. Standout tracks include the charging opener "Townee From the West," the twangy "Welcome to the Day After," the gently psychedelic (in the manner of Pink Floyd or Radiohead) "After the First Sin," and the total Byrds homage "You Have to Fly to Be a Byrd." Careful scrutiny of the enclosed lyrics is not recommended, as the group's grasp of the English language is not as strong as their grasp of sunny guitar pop. Thankfully, the lead vocals are a little buried in the mix so the listener can gloss over the lyrics and listen to the pretty harmonies. This is not an earth-shattering record, just a pop record that will make you feel good. -AMG

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Eric's Trip - Purple Blue - 1996

Belying the Sonic Youth redux implications of their band name, Halifax, Nova Scotia's Eric's Trip (the title of a track from Daydream Nation) were more the epitome of Superchunk's noise-pop aesthetic. On their third official album, Purple Blue, shades of Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh, Eleventh Dream Day, Pixies and Sugar all creep in periodically, but that's merely in line with the sound of most '90s indie rock across the continent, from Seattle to Chapel Hill. The Rick White songs are definitive noise-pop: short, concise, and roughed-up with distortion and occasionally eruptions into the Neil Young style of guitar pyrotechnics favored by J Mascis, while the Julie Doiron songs have the quiet-loud-quiet dynamics and sweet sing-songy vocals favored by Kim Deal and company. This is not to say the band is derivative, but a cursory listen to Purple Blue should allow even an amateur musical historian to place this album in context. The only anomaly is the "medley" "Introduction into The...Parts 1 to 4," an ill-advised song suite that's in reality a muddled hodgepodge consisting of an opening blast of feedback followed by an acoustic ditty sung by White, a dreamy ballad sung by Doiron, a fuzz guitar and brushed drums shoegaze samba, and a slow-motion piano-dappled dreamscape, all tied together with smidgens of lackluster audience applause that only serves to confuse the listener, especially as it's the album opener. The remainder of the album sets forth the band's blueprint of psych- and noise-tinged anthemic pop with just enough dissonance and dynamics to keep the mosh pit moving. It spans the gamut from My Bloody Valentine-esque waltz-time dream pop like "Universal Dawn" to driving motorik like "Sixteen Hours" to rollicking stompers like "Spaceship Opening." It's a fine effort, and in reality not as formulaic as one might think. And with most songs around or under the three-minute mark, if one track doesn't inspire there will be another one just around the corner. It will be a shame if history doesn't remember Eric's Trip in the same canon as their more illustrious peers, but the U.S.'s little brother Canada often seems to get the short end of the stick. -AMG




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Papas Fritas - Papas Fritas - 1995

Papas Fritas' self-titled debut album is a bracing set of indie power pop with an astonishing sense of both playfulness and studio mastery. In spots, Tony Goddess' vocals are as rugged as on an old Replacements record, while the light-touch ballad "Passion Play" is a charming piece of chamber pop worthy of the Left Banke. While the lyrics are a bit lightweight in places, the group's cunning pop sense and the bright harmony vocals of drummer Shivika Asthana produce a stunning pop album.-AMG



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The Faults - The Faults - 2001

Former V-Roy Mic Harrison's new group abandons the twang of old for a sound that swings from meaty power pop to relatively straight-ahead hard rock. Harrison is a strong vocalist, with pipes reminiscent of Elvis Costello's, and his group succeeds most on melodic yet guitar-heavy tracks like "Dishonest Jenny," "Let the Angel Lie," and "Lazy Eyes." "Whispering Goodbye," with its vintage country and rock & roll bounce, is the one clear nod to the V-Roys -- and an ear-pleasing one at that. Even the redundant bluster of the harder rock tracks ("Big Show," for example) don't lack a certain appeal. The album closer, "Poison Land," is the one substantial misstep, coming off like the kind of clichéd, pseudo-Stones balladry that several hair bands had hits with in the late '80s. The production on the album (aided by Superdrag's Don Coffey, Jr.) is excellent, reminding one of the guitar-crunch heavy, massive drum and bass sound on producer Brendan O'Brien's albums.-AMG



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Taking Back Sunday - Where You Want To Be - 2004

Where You Want to Be builds on the hardcore-power-meets-pop-skills of Taking Back Sunday's debut, Tell All Your Friends, and reveals the group to be, in many ways, a quintessential latter-day emo band. Not because they're redefining the style's sound, but because their music is defined by so many of emo's nearly cliché tendencies. A gerund-led band name? Check. Cryptically bittersweet titles like "Little Devotional"? Present and accounted for. Shouty, anthemic vocals, string-driven ballads like "New American Classic," and wordy, confessional lyrics ("Give me a chance? Whatever...you're so hit or miss, and that's so '93") are all in place as well. However, while Where You Want to Be might be more than a little (stereo)typical, it's not embarrassing; songs like "A Decade Under the Influence," "One Eighty by Summer," and "Number Five With a Bullet" do have some real impact, and show some songwriting growth since Tell All Your Friends. But since the band doesn't take the occasionally cringe-worthy risks of some of their emo brethren, Taking Back Sunday sometimes comes off as less than distinctive, and the album can sound like a generic soundtrack to generic teenage angst; even though it's a nearly universal subject, it should never sound routine. Where You Want to Be is definitely a solid album -- especially considering that it was recorded so soon after half the band was replaced. -AMG



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The Riverdales - Storm The Streets - 1997

The Riverdales are a Chicago-based band which formed in 1994 in the wake of prominent Chicago punk band Screeching Weasel. At a time when pop-punk was breaking through to the mainstream, Screeching Weasel front man Ben "Weasel" Foster elected to end the band and get back to his Ramones-based roots. Foster shared vocal and songwriter duties equally with co-frontman Dan "Vapid" Schafer (a proven frontman in his own right from his days in Sludgeworth). Foster elected to write riff-based songs with fun themes, while Schafer tempered this goofiness with catchy, oldies-themed pop songs, as well as a few goofy themes of his own.



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