The Melvins Melt Banana/vaz Live @ Ground Zero: 8/4/99 By: Eric G. Spartanburg, South Carolina is a pretty unlikely place to attract shows of this caliber, but I won’t question it because I don’t want to jinx it. Ground Zero looks like a converted roller skating rink with a dancefloor still intact, so it was […]

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The Gilroys S/T Mindwalk By: Eric G. Jazz/rock fusion is almost always a genre you want to stay far away from because it invariably ends up being really cheesy. The Gilroys are a five-piece ensemble comprised of guitar, bass, drums, piano, saxophone, and the occasional cello. The band incorporate aspects of prog rock and funk […]

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Cruel Intentions Directed By Roger Kumble Sony By: Eric G. Nothing could be finer than a teen version of Choderlos de Laclos’ novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, a sadistic story of debauchery and back stabbing, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon. I knew this film was going to deliver because you don’t just […]

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Silkworm Blueblood Touch And Go By: Eric G. Blueblood is the sixth LP for Silkworm on almost as many labels. This one keeps the self-effacing lyrics and vocals that teeter on the brink of collapse, but tones down some of the abrasion of past releases. You can still tell that they use huge amps by […]

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Trans Am Future World Thrill Jockey By: Eric Greenwood Trans Am’s fourth album delves even further into the world of Numan-esque keyboards and Kraftwerkian vocoders to create the ultimate amalgam of Atari meets cold new wave steel. The rhythm section drives the record for the first half with abrupt staccato beats and robotic riffs. The […]

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Science Park Futurama Obscure-disk By: Kerry Mitchell Futurama, Science Park’s second album mixes Barlow vocals with Merritt-esque rhythms and New Order hooks and melodies. The band is made up of one Mr. Myke Weiskopf, a talented singer/songwriter with great pop sensibilities and an equally impressive ear for composition. Songs such as “Lay You Out in […]

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Various Artists Everything Is Nice: The Matador Records 10th Anniversary Anthology Matador By: Eric G. It’s hard to beat Matador Records for consistency over the past ten years. The label has been home to such a strangely diverse collection of bands, artists, and freaks that it has become sort of an evil twin of the […]

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