DAVID MACLEOD - "Strange Biology" - Ships at Night Records [Dec 06]
Canada. Birds alighting on crisp winter days. Intricate finger picking and tenuous piano chords to highlight the beating of their wings. David Macleod's vocals summon all this with a wit and delicacy that is sweet and somehow not saccharine. "Strange Biology" evokes Coldplay's Chris Martin, CSN-style strumming, with lovely female harmonizing support from Katie Moore and Emma Baxter. On "Methodized," a quiet tune that boldly speaks of breaking free of the conventions and expectations that ossify our lives, Macleod urges us, "Oh we're so protected/Let lightning strike the water/ Electrify...Oh we're so tightly methodized/Let buttons fly, lose your alibi/Liquefy." This is thoughtful, folk-rock for adults at it's best. He slips in a few hand clapping, foot-stompers, but Macleod is strongest when he sticks to the mesmerizing folkie territory. The opener 'Long Goodbyes' asks "have you ever listened to a song/ That don't say much but it'll do you wrong?" None of these tunes will do you wrong.--- Nate Fitz 8/11top

MADE IN MEXICO "Zodiac Zoo" - Skin Graft Records [March 06]
There's some interesting stuff going on here to be sure. Most of Made in Mexico hails from Providence, Rhode Island and not Tijuana, but they sound more like they came from Mars than either one of the other locations listed. Ex-Arab On Radar guitarist Jeff Schneider is included in the line-up and the same sort of audio experimentation that typified that amazing band is evident here too. Stylistically the material is all over the map, wobbling through various musical landscapes like a drunken sailor. Some of the harsher noise forays can try the patience a bit but usually throw a curveball just when it seems to be a bit too much. Fans of Sonic Youth noise farming will be pleased to hear this and Rebecca Mitchell's angry yet somehow soft vocal elements invoke Kim Gordon's style of dizzy clashing vocals from way back when as well. This is music to listen to, not to do other things to and their defiance of repetitive grooves or easily accessible arrangements is clearly intentional even while sounding loose. These are for the ones who despise the "catchy", "pop", or "easy listening" elements in contemporary music. That can become a bind when it gets too reactionary as to become self limiting and that is a bit of a danger to listeners if the material is so determined to be "avante garde" or "experimental" as to become unlistenable. I sure as shit wouldn't be able to listen to this if I had even a minor headache or it would kill me. While always interesting and sure to piss off or repel all the right close minded people, I'd have to say that once those people have been banished from the room where the speakers and I had the place to myself I'm not too sure how long I'd leave Made In Mexico on the turntable. Of course I'd be loath to admit it because I can't help but recognize that they're really doing something radically different that most of the other musical projects out there right now. If you need something in your record collection to prove that you hate pop, then by all means get this, but be sure to get the LP, which apparently has a neato pop up gatefold. That's cool as fuck. The Swede. 6 out of 11. top

MAD SIN "Dead Moon's Calling" - I Used To Fuck People Like You In Prison/Sailor's Grave Records[May 2006]
This is one of the best Psycho-Punk-Abilly records I've heard in quite a long time, and it's not surprising considering these boys from Berlin have been swinging their axes since 1987 for fuck's sake! Top notch musicianship and the album's littered with all sorts of fun samples and sound effects between songs. The lyrics deal with real world pressing issues like zombies, vampires, demons, hookers, and cannibals. Okay, maybe not real world pressing issues, but they're funny as hell and the music's so solid they could sing about pocket lint and I'd still listen. I thought I'd pretty much burned out on the genre but this was actually a bona fide treat to hear. Apparently they just swapped out guitar players and got one of the guys from The Necromantix onboard recently for their U.S. tour so you'd be well advised to keep an eye and an ear out for 'em. If you like breakneck paced Punkabilly, this is at the top of the ladder and should definitely be snapped up. 9 on a scale of 1-11. -- The Swedetop

MAE "The Everglow" - Tooth & Nail [May 2005]
Mae's new album sees them mount the indie-rock slagheap and become anointed as the emo world's Coldplay. There are moments of skyscraping beauty and bliss on their new album, songs so full of melody and perfection they make you stop whatever you're doing so you can be still and hear it with your entire mind. Long gone are the moments of stagestruck indecision. Mae have found in their sophomore release the courage to let the inhibitions fall aside as they belt out piano-propelled melodies that hum with righteous mastery of melody - if you're this good, it's time to flaunt it. But like their arena rock evil twins Coldplay, Mae can often take their foot off the gas and turn in songs that are melodically tight but lacking in depth. I've seen Mae live and their debut LP failed completely to capture any of their live charm. "The Everglow" fares better, although the jury's out on how a piano driven ballad like "The Ocean" will be received. It's languid piano and knitted together vocals succeed in spite of themselves: the lyrics and arrangement border on precious but the melody wins out. Sometimes Mae strike me as too squeaky clean, like they're all Mormons or something. I can't imagine this band drinking booze, let alone copping feels off groupies or copping drugs. This is not a disc to play while doing anything other than contemplating the manifold beauty of the earth. This album could see Mae lifted completely out of the post-post-punk trenches and find them opening for big music outfits like Death Cab For Cutie and Doves (and Coldplay). There is a profound grasp of melody and if you can let yourself relax and enjoy a light album, this one is gorgeous. One annoying feature is the decision to split the 13 tracks (and 2 intro/outros) over 99 tracks, which must be a copyright tactic. By song 8 your player will read "55." I'll tell you this though, as a music supervisor, when I make comps for films, if I have to do some extra bullshit like tell someone the middle 11 tracks are really 1 song by Mae, you know it ain't gonna happen. Or maybe this was all just for the pre-release copies, who knows. THIS JUST IN: Mae's lawyers contacted me and confirmed that only the pre-release discs had this "feature" and all discs in stores will have normal track listings. Tracks that make you think Mae are amazing: "Painless," "Ready And Waiting To Fall," and "Anything." ---Leeds 7/11 top

THE MAE SHI / RAPIDER THAN HORSEPOWER" - Split release - S.A.F. Records [June 2006]
Every so often a band comes along that challenges past definitions of music while still having fun and the Mae Shi is one of those rare breeds. I've had the extreme pleasure of seeing The Mae Shi play numerous times in their home turf of Los Angeles and they always deliver a high energy performance that assaults the senses while confounding the ears. They're bizarre approach to songwriting never ceases to amaze and bewilder while maintaining a firm grip on your attention. Strange electronic gurglings, farts, and beeps abound amidst bleating polyphonic choruses or screamed chants, and then just as likely dive bomb into rocking guitar driven spurts that have you banging your head until they pull the carpet out from beneath your feet the very next instant. These boys are cutting a new rug out of their own home made cloth and are definitely worth checking out despite the obvious risk that you might not "get it". Their magic is you can enjoy them without understanding them. 9 on a scale of 1-11. Rapider Than Horsepower are a band from the Midwest that delivers throaty breathy blasts atop weirdly teetering rhythms and like the Mae Shi draw unusual sounds out of the ether while employing traditional rock instruments and highly unorthodox multiple voice arrangements. Unlike the Mae Shi they don't employ electronic or synth effects to their bizarre mish mash sound which they actually should consider as it might lighten up some of the chaos which I found a little overpowering at points. They're definitely good though, and are also guilty of that most terrible musical crime: Being Original! I'd love to see how they pull this stuff off live and would definitely check them out if they played locally because this recording piques the interest. 7 on a scale of 1-11. ---The Swede.top

MAGIC BULLETS - "A CHILD But In Life Yet A DOCTOR In Love" - Words On Music [June 07]
Oh yeah, the singer's wearing cuffed jeans, a v-neck sweater, a pomp, and is swinging the mic in pure Morrissey fashion! Phil Benson may not be a maudlin romantic like the Moz, but you know he's trying. Magic Bullets have a trebly, trembly British sound with reverbed guitars and two-step rhythm section, and a singer with a yearning, searching voice. Think of James, Red Guitars, Bluebells, Raymonde, Biff Bang Pow, any of those Brit bands from the late 80s who were plying an emotionally dense, ringing, jangling sound without much acclaim. The band's bio mentions a lot of bands I like, so we probably have similar record collections, but the bio is pretty far from the mark when it likens them to Gang Of Four, Talking Heads and Felt. I mention this because those bands would be enough for me to pick up this record (and it might work on you). My favorite track is "The Tender Throes" which has a tight, jazzy rhythm and an expressive Wurlitzer sound. All of these songs are tender and spindly, nothing low end or bass-heavy or aggressive, at all. I hear some really interesting, McCartney-esque basslines in "Spilled Milk" and other places that make me think there are greater things to come from this band, especially when Ryan Lynch completes a convincing riff nicked from Johnny Marr. You could say negatively about this band any of the things that were leveled at The Smiths, and their challenged singer, their throwback songs, their flower-fragile sensibilities - but it's exactly those reasons that make me like Magic Bullets. --- Leeds 8/11 top

MAGNET- "The Simple Life" - Filter [Oct 07]
Norwegian Even Johansen is back with another collection of dreamy pop. Magnet's approach is to create an acoustic ballad and then add 100 tracks around it with strings, maracas, piano, banjo, mandolin and whatever else is lying about the studio. The sound is more like ELO than Beatles, but his voice is a genuine find that keeps it from getting too precious. With lyrics like "it's not ok to fuck my body if you're also going to fuck with my mind," Johansen is not writing lullabies. The kitchen sink production creates supremely lazy, golden light acoustic ballads that are rich in detail but sleight as butterfly wings. It all comes down to whether Johansen's voice is enough to see you through the syrupy girlfriend rock while waiting for the lush production to leap out and grab your interest. --- Leeds 6/11 top

MAGNET - "The Tourniquet" - Filter US Recordings [April 06]
Magnet is the project and nickname of Even Johansen, a Norwegian. His music is a foil or counterbalance to the Norge Black Metal albums you've been playing backwards as you try to contact the Dark Lord. Anyway, Magnet is smooth and orchestrated pop music with rich veins of melody that pour out of your speakers as gently as tiny little waves lapping at your toes. At times, Magnet knits his vocals in so many layers it's a giant, warm blanket of criss-crossing notes, as on "Fall At Your Feet." There are occasional moments of production treatments in the style of Dust Brothers, but those are merely to give this a more "modern" sound. The nearest equivalent would be the dreamy tones of Abandoned Pools, but with something shiny and pretty wrapped around it, like a big sonic silver bow. This certainly is melodic and at times begs a closer listen. However, I'd recommend it for people who are interested in pleasant sounding music to have on while friend come over for a bottle of Zinfandel. Magnet also seems a little girlie and precious: like his target group was 20 year-old women. Especially on "Miss Her So," which he repeats ad nauseum. Yeah, some bitch broke my heart too, mate, but you don't see me writing sappy songs about it, do you? No slam on Magnet, but it is very produced, poppy, pretty - and also gutless, wimpy and too much like LiteFM. --- Leeds 6/11 top

MAHI MAHI"(Re) Move Your Body" [Oct 2005]
Repetitive electro fuzz from Rhode Island...I swear! Not sure if I get the DANCE band comparisons, but they're a herky jerky duo that in the right mood you'd find yourself bopping your head right out the door of the club to one of their odd ball jamz. ---Craig Goossen 3/11 top

THE MAKERS Rock Star God - Sub Pop
Not sure what scene this band fits into. They sound like they're all hopped up on T. Rex and the New York Dolls. They wear Chelsea boots and bellbottoms and "Uptown Saturday Night" hats on the record cover. Strings, tambourines, choirs-all round out their sound. They rely on a nostalgia for 70s arena-rock that may or may not exist outside of hipster scenes. The Dolls succeeded in what they did but how many bands (and there's been many) have bit their scene and ended up looking like dandified asses? This record finally gets going by the sixth song, "I'm A Concrete Wall" which fits in with a 60s Blues Magoos or Standells sound. Fuzzbox guitars, one-two snap drumming, rhythmically similar to "Dirty Water." The Makers were probably a 60s garage rock band that hung out too long in New York. The sound here is a fusion. Sometimes it works and other times it's indulgent. The enjoyment depends on if you can accept a band who demand to be afforded rock star status, hero worship in the grand 70s tradition. It comes off as calculated: wah-wah guitars, sirens in the background, spoken intros. I don't get it.-Paul top

THE MALL - "Emergency At The Everyday" - [Oct 06]
There seems to be a sort of eclectic musical movement emerging from the Bay Area, with bands like Deerhoof and Erase Erata at the head of it and now the Mall has emerged with their own unique contribution. This three piece specialize in an unorthodox sound that relies heavily on strangely sterile keyboard sounds combined with jagged guitar bursts, breathy screamed vocals, and disjointed rhythyms. The Los Angeles band the Mae Shi has a similar sound, one of post hardcore deconstruction that insists on arranging songs out of seemingly disparate chunks and calling the result songs, creating a patchwork quilt of sound that's more interesting than a monochrome blanket of musical style. This is good stuff with an twist to it, and worth checking out. 8 on a scale of 1-11. ---The Swede top

ELENI MANDELL - "Miracle Of Five" - Zedtone Records [June 07]
Eleni Mandell's been spooling out a thread of graceful retro-pop for over a decade now, and the sultry sounds on Miracle of Five will be welcome to mature ears looking for something beyond the pop-starlets of today. The steamy opener, "Moonglow, Lamp Low," is a lullaby that urges us to turn the lights down, while you ease into a make-out session in the back of your '57 Chevy. Mandell's vibe makes me think of my old L.A. retro-buddy Curtis, who would give his wingtips to be Mandell's boyfriend. Her black and white French New Wave music videos, bobbed hair and poodle skirts would make that swinging cat daddy purr. But the beauty of Mandell is you don't have to be retro 24-7 to dig her music. There's solid craft behind the kitsch. Whether you dig Billie Holiday, Pink Martini, Cat Power or Hem, songs like "Girls," "Wings in His Eyes" and "Make-Out King" are compelling tales of the rakish men, some sweet, some philandering, that fill Mandell's world. She leads with her acoustic guitar and luscious vocals, then her boys add texture throughout the record with marimbas, violin and upright bass. While the album is serene, in a couple of her live performances on YouTube, ("Pauline") she comes across feisty like PJ Harvey, a nice side to see. Catch this sweet-heart live and let her rip your out. ---Nate Fitz 8/11 top

MANDO DIAO - "Ode To Ochrasy" - Mute [April 07]
Song to song I kept thinking Mando Diao sounded exactly like another band. Sometimes they perfectly mimic The Libertines, other times, hey we're The Strokes. Sometimes even Robbers On High Street. It took me awhile to try and figure out "where" MD were as a band, what their take on rock music was all about. I've skipped (unintentionally) their first two records, so I come into this with nothing preformed. They start with a song about former LA Kings' captain Luc Robitaille, which just makes my head spin. It's a tight, fast, Brit-flavored rocker. But they're Swedes. Some of them. They blow a heart-shaped smoke ring to Libertines on "Long Before Rock N Roll" with a rushed, twin vocalist led song. A song I like a lot better, that feels more authentic, is "The Wildfire." The more I listen to this record the more I can just relax and quit trying to spot reference points, and just enjoy the music. The generally upbeat, quick tempos and harmonized vocals suggest an equal love of The Beatles as any of the heroin-addled rockers of today. "Morning Paper Dirt" is one such Beatles-esque song of great pop. This album also feels like some of the parts were re-recorded live, like the basic drum and bass tracks were done, then the guitars came back and jammed in some loose and live sounds. Sure cure for the studio blues that generally rob a song of its vitality. Everything here is very kinetic and snappy. I think I was resistant to this band because they look like they're trying really hard to look cool, half Oasis, half Dandy Warhols. As they say though, the proof is in the pudding, so if the music is good, who cares, right? Overall, this is a damn fine enjoyable album, but it did take me several listens, so give them a few chances. --- Leeds 9/11 top

MANIC - "floor boards" - [April 07]
I'm actually really glad that I got to hear this Debut EP from LA's band MANIC. At first, I was very afraid of hating it just by judging the name and album art. I was expecting something completely different, maybe like a hard rock or metal band. The one tough guy word reminded me of Terror, and lets really not go anywhere near there. In reality this release was very enjoyable. The opening track "Chemicals for Criminals" does not set the tone for the rest of the album and I wonder why it was included. It did act as a good prerequisite for the following "Caf? Barcelona" which rings right in with a great intro and falsetto vocals. The last 3 songs can be compared to At The Drive-In, Radiohead, Coldplay, and As Tall As Lions. Ending quick with 5 songs this debut Ep does its job of keeping the listener wanting more. Very original. 7/11 ---Dennis. top

Man MANIC HISPANIC "Grupo Sexo" - BYO Records[Oct 2005]
A group of OC Vato punks whose members have been in and are currently in: The Adolescents, Cadillac Tramps, The Grabbers, Punk Rock Karaoke, The X-Members, 22 Jacks, Final Conflict, and Agent Orange. This disc contains 11 covers of classic punk tunes, some played straight up and others with a hispanic flair, all of which is killer. With renditions of Green Day, Circle Jerks, Fear, Vibrators, Descendants, Weirdos, 999, Ramones, The Crowd, Minor Threat and The Clash, there's no shortage of great grindz performed to perfection. Must be fun as hell live! ---Craig Goossen 7/11 top

MANIC HISPANIC The Menudo Incident - BYO Records 2003
Old School Punk Rock with plenty of tabasco and a twist of lime. Manic Hispanic have got to be one of the funniest parody punk bands on the planet, and certainly have one of the best tastes in music of any one of them, up there with the Vandals. The covers are tight and so close to the original rough-cut versions it's uncanny. It helps if you're already acquainted with their musical sources and have a sense of humour to get it, but that shouldn't be too hard since they deal in the classics. Originally released in 1996 by the now-defunct Dr. Dream label, this first effort pretty much encapsulates the fun-loving Punk Rock Vato attitude that carries them through the same waters in later efforts ("The Recline of Mexican Civilization" and "Mijo goes to Junior College"). The individual band members could all be considered punk rock royalty themselves, boasting ex or current membership in such great combos as The Adolescents, The Cadillac Tramps, The Grabbers, Punk Rock Karaoke, The X-Members, 22 Jacks, Final Conflict, and Agent Orange. Their hilarious but excellently executed homages include covers of songs by such greats as The Sex Pistols, X, The Damned, Black Flag, The Clash, The Circle Jerks, Iggy and the Stooges, The Buzzcocks, and other greats, all lovingly filtered through the Homeboy filter. You can tell that they're having fun with music they truly love and it's nice to hear. Lyrics are bent and tweaked to accommodate the wry barrio humour. "God Save the Queen" is delivered all en Espanol and the music sounds as good or better than the original version. The Damned's "New Rose" is transformed into "New Rosa" and X's "L.A." moves over a little bit to become "East L.A.". The greatest punk rock classics take a bus ride through the barrio on Cinco De Mayo. 8/11 -- The Swede top

MAN IN GRAY - "I Can't Sleep Unless I Hear You Breathing" - Serious Business Records [Sept 2007]
Man In Gray is an odd name for this rock band fronted by yelping, yowling femme Christina DaCosta. MIG take their sonic inspirations from PJ Harvey and Boss Hog, Morningwood and 70s rock. Not bad influences at all. There is a more modern rock sound accompanying DaCosta's manic singing, with guitars feeling the need to bring some big superfuzz distortion. A song like "Commodity 1" veers from this buzzing guitar sound to spidery delay fretwork. That's kind of the dynamic of MIG in a nutshell. They have an on/off switch that determines if a portion of a song will be half-time and suggestive, or if it will be full throttle and losing control. DaCosta will sing feathery and pretty on the former parts, and on the latter parts she's trying to strangle herself via throat manipulations. "Crawl" crawls along for a couple minutes of introductory music before propelling itself into a shouting middle 8 and then back out into some double time rock. Because I can't really hear where they are at with their style, I am having a hard time figuring them out. The album art does you no favors either, because there are no pictures, it's mostly black, and no lyric sheet. The look of a band is actually important to me, forgive the superficialities. MIG have ducked this issue, so I don't know if they're NYC hipsters like Boss Hog or out of touch 70s rockers. The songs are fairly consistent so I guess this is the sound they're after but I have a hard time getting into it because it really sounds like it's years too late, and DaCosta's style, although full of energy and conviction, is not very compelling. --- Leeds 5/11top

MAN OR ASTRO-MAN? Eeviac - Touch And Go Records
Not the newest MOAM album but it is the most recent we bought. This is a funny band to develop a relationship with. I have only 3 of their albums out of the 400 or so they've put out, so I can't really chart their adventures. They haven't strayed from the formula yet: sci-fi movie dialogue, Jazzmaster guitars through Fender-twins and a fast, punk rock surf music. At times the drum frenzy and chord changes bury the fine guitar leads. MOAM exist in their own bracket. Few bands play surf music: Phantom Surfers and a defunct south bay band Bookmobile, come to mind, but none are doing it with the punk glee and abandon of MOAM. (Allegedly Theologian Records has a Bookmobile disc in the works, finally those surf classics will be heard). MOAM steer us into the future. Songs like "Interstellar Hardrive" (a title parody on the classic Pink Floyd song), and "A Reversal of Polarity" nod to the silly sci-fi past, of robots, flying saucers, and thinking computers. Someday future historians will recognize surf music as a true American music form that cannot be duplicated anywhere else, and maybe MOAM will be studied in colleges as great, underground heroes. --Paul top

MANIFESTO JUKEBOX Remedy - BYO Records
First off, BYO is a kickass label that's been going for 20 years now. That's long before anyone was making money off punk rock and God bless them and their perseverance. Manifesto Jukebox are using the red, black and white graphic that you can see from this page is a pretty popular new look. Strangely enough, MJ are from Finland. While they aren't the only Finpunks, the list is pretty short. They probably turned to English bands like Snuff for inspiration. Like Snuff, MJ have that deep resonant singing and guitars that sound like they're frying their amps. The lyrics either are artistically obtuse or they were more eloquent in the original language. Example: "We are asked to slash our own veins to provide nutrition to considerate parasites." Without the lyric sheet it would be years until you could discern what was being said. You can tell it's English but the howling delivery obscures the words. In a good way. MJ rock. At times I hear the vocal stylings of early Saccharine Trust and other times I hear Econochrist or Lungfish. They can pull this off and sound natural while doing it. It's melodic enough to really get into but not so clean that your teeth ache from the sweetness. This band does everything right. MJ are a 3 piece consisting of Antti, Jani, and Jukka. It indicates how rockin' they are that the 3 of them can make such a thick growling sound. This is great punk rock. Intense. Intelligent. Guitars trying to break down your door. Very stoked on this band. The malls may have killed most American punk but hooray for Finland and their devotion to the one true music. --Scott top

MARATHON s/t - Reignition Records [June 2005]
Maybe it's just the volume of bad music being vomited up recently by My Chemical Dipshits and their legions of brainless imitators, but this Marathon record ain't half bad. It's hard listening to any band who wants the cred of punk with the album sales of corporate rock, it's never a good mix: someone is always yelping like a muppet or practicing metal scales. Marathon, to their credit, are more or less a straightforward rock band eschewing the cliches of the FuseTV staples. Their lyricist is witty, their guitars can shred without pandering, and the drummer knows he's not in a metal band. On a few songs you could even say they've got a singer with a cool rock voice. He reminds me of Alkaline Trio (Skiba's songs) and Bad Religion. I would guess that their roots are legitimately traceable back to hunting for punk 45s and that they do not own any Motley Crue. Their contemporaries are of the Against Me school and not the eyeliner whiners and pretty boy poseurs. "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" is one of the best cuts, pitched right in the singer's vocal sweet spot and the midtempo chords move throughout the verses to buttress the song and keep it floating along. "Courting My Soul" is another darker pitched Alkaline Trio type of song. Most of this album is confident and hews close to one style. There are a couple momentary departures, and some work ("Gravity's Temptation" is a gutsy piece of solo busking) and some are overly influenced by lesser bands ("Some Lovely Parting Gifts"). "Don't Ask If This Is About You" had the potential of being a classic but I feel the chorus needs to be about an octave lower. Still, this song, like most of the album, is interesting enough in its own right with solid, meaty guitars and steady drumming without crowding the music. This is mostly a sound that knows punk is deader than fried chicken and has moved on. Gold star for the bird heads on people artwork, it's cut 'n' paste dirty but humorous. --- Leeds 6/11top

AUGIE MARCH - "Moo, You Bloody Choir" - Jive/Zomba [Oct 07]
Are you afraid of someone named Augie? This Augie is a quintet from Australia, playing a big pop sound not entirely unlike mixing (fellow Aussies) Powderfinger and Paul Kelley. Augie March sound right down the middle of the mainstream. I'm not sure if Australia is harking back to the good ol' days of 4/4 ballad rock, but this band certainly is. They mix it up, "Honey Month" being a petal-soft whispered ballad, and "Just Passing Through" designed to get the Westie yobs to hold their bottles of beer aloft in unison. Overall musically competent but artistically not very interesting unless you missed out on basic rock pop in the 80s 90s and 00s. --- Leeds 4/11 top

MASSIVE ATTACK - "Collected" - EMI [Sept 06]
Massive Attack is the hugely influencial trip-hop collective from Manchester that paved the way for the entire genre yet failed to generate any heat for themselves. The MA formula uses sophisticated and sinuous rhythms that tickle the dancing foot without being obnoxious, and then over the top the enlist some guest vocalist, absolving them of the problem of not having a proper singer. In later songs, the 3 man core of MA solidified and found Robert Del Naja practically being a real singer. Some of the most memorable gems of MA's career include songs sung by Everything But The Girl's Tracey Thorne, ("Protection"), Sinead O'Connor ("What Your Soul Sings") and Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser ("Teardrop," heard on the intro to the TV show "House"). This collection here features a greatest hits CD, a rare songs CD, and a DVD with all of their videos (16), inside a hard-backed gatefold package. In short, it's a pretty stellar package, and if you've enjoyed a few MA songs but were a fickle fan, pick this up. Along with Portishead, MA were responsible for creating the chilled out, beat heavy indie music known as trip-hop. Hate to say it, but no one ever improved on those 2 bands' efforts. MA did have some missteps, though, not limited to working with the child-molesters in Soul II Soul, rapper Mos Def, and even a dreadful collaboration with Madonna. i Still, this is a nice addition to your collection. Thanks also to Roger That for turning me onto this band. ----Leeds 8/11top

THE MASTER PLAN 'Colossus Of Destiny' - Total Energy Records
Shut up and pay attention, motherfuckers, these 4 rock veterans have gotten tired of all the poseurs slopping out 60s retro rock and they're here to conduct a master class in rock 'n' roll booze rock. The Master Plan features one former Dictators (bassist Andy Shernoff), 2 Fleshtones (guitarist/vox Keith Streng and dummer Bill Milhizer), and a Waxing Poetics player (Paul Johnson, guitar). These guys are all about 20 years older than you but on wax you'd never know it. They strut and swagger and rock like teenagers just busted into daddy's liquor cabinet. There are some covers on here that I don't recognize and aside from that, Shernoff, Johnson, and Streng trade songwriting and singing duties. "You're Mine" is a bristling and roaring garage anthem with harmonized vocals, like The Shadows Of Knight on crack. You also get the rockabilly bass-lead "I Got Loaded" that sounds like the Didjits playing doctor with Hazel Atkins. That's not a pretty picture, so forget that, and just assume it's a cool song. "Find Something Beautiful" plays like the Ramones covering Beach Boys (which they did), the bright pop chorus riding burning guitars. The Master Plan cover a wide range of styles and sounds, from 50s faux do-wop to 60s buzzsaw protopunk, rockabilly to surf, to the sweet 'n' sour mixtures that take familiar formulae and breath new life into them. The guitar work is top notch stuff. The tube amps and guitar tremolos glow. These guys lay down burning leads like it's no big deal and give you the sense that they didn't even break a sweat doing it. If you like any of the bands these guys have been in, you'll dig this. While this is not my favorite genre of music, the guitar skills do impress and overall The Master Plan has a lot of juice and power. RIYL: garage rock, rockabilly, 60s revival --- Paul Leeds 7/11top

THE MATCHES/ NEAR MISS / REEVE OLIVER 3 way split - Takeover Records [July 2005]
Three new bands joining forces for your ten bucks. Best of the lot is The Matches. Their throwback punk/new wave sound is both catchy and gritty. Their music branch completely bypassed the screamo and isn't-metal-cool trends that have polluted so many newer bands. The Matches throw in a pair of acoustic songs to confuse you. Right when you're digging their sound, it's all different. These acoustics aren't acoustic ballads, more like someone forgot to turn the mic on that records the guitar and all you got was the room mic on the strings, plus the band sound like they're in the middle of a party or a hootenanny. Reeve Oliver have one good song (I Play The Sensitive Songwriter Card) but the other two fall into Jimmy Eat World -lite territory. It's a little too pretty for my taste. Some interesting uses of stripping back on the verse changes, just letting guitar churn in one speaker. The singer has a lower range like Minus The Bear that has a lot of character but he also likes to sing too high and harmonize, which does not work nearly half as well. Near Miss are a straight forward nu punk band. Desperate vocals teetering on the edge of screaming, chugging chords that Swiz would approve of. So far so good but in the middle of "At The Seam" two singers intertwine in a style that just ain't got no more jam left in it. I don't need harmonizing then you go HIGH while I go l_o_w note switching. Anyway, 3 bands, each band has at least 1 good track, consider it a bloated seven inch. ---Vermin 5/11.top

MATES OF STATE Our Constant Concern - Polyvinyl Record Co.
Like the other celebrated two-piece band of the moment, White Stripes, Mates of State feature the boy-girl combo of Kori and Jason. MOS use keyboards and Kori sings, which makes them sound totally unlike the 'Stripes. MOS have a wit and sensibility and earnestness about their music. Standout songs like "10 Years Later" and "I Know, And I Said Forget It" show a manic keyboard and and smart lyrics. Kori's sings clear and high, no phony riot grrl growlings or forced huskiness. Often Jason adds harmony vocals, which works to great effect. The last time I can remember a guy-girl vocal team working in a band was with X. This record really grows on you. There's a faint kitsch flavor, an in-the-know hipsterness to the band which would make MOS the music people at downtown loft parties would dig, and people who rifle used bins for obscure LPs will definitely love. MOS have a candy-coated approach to their music. They know it's amusing to hear low-fi keyboards and drum machines, but they use these simple tools to create hooky pop songs you can feel good about listening to at your next art opening. --Will top

MATMOS The Civil War - Matador
Ah, Matmos. Another output from the maestro's behind the beats and riddims of Ms Bjork's latest album. Their new album appropriately titled "The Civil War" comes at you with the duo's normal palate of CPU-drenched beats but this time in addition they hit you up with some good old "Deliverance"-infused banjo grooves. Well not quite "Deliverance" but definitely Americana-inspired instruments. So now I have you confused...you are thinking...How could that be ... Matmos meets Deliverance....How could that possibly be good. Well they have done it and to my surprise it is fucking good. Don't get me wrong these guys are not going to make you hum and dance around your office at work. These boys do not have pop radio or for that matter pop anywhere in them, thank god. They do however make quite a statement with this album. They take two styles of music that are so far apart (electronic computer beats and earthy Americana) and interweave them harmoniously together. They are truly fearless in their pursuit of autonomy, which I have to say, deserves at the very least some respect. To sum it up it is quite an eclectic and eccentric disk and will challenge the mind and listening ability of any listener. Whether that is good or bad you choose. --- Sonic Brian 7/11 top

MAXEEN - "Hello Echo" - Warner Bros Records [Dec 06]
Maxeen are up and comers just waiting for their nationwide fans to hear them. Meaning, all they're lacking is exposure, ears, publicity, coverage whatever. They have the melodies, a unique approach, and 3 eager fresh-faced lads. What else do you want? Maxeen play power pop with lots of (nearly) new wave hooks. A few years ago people wouldn't get it, but everything about the 80s is back in fashion, and why not a sound that replicates one of the colossal acts of that time, The Police? Maxeen is still in that "we're a band" phase, unlike The Police who quickly went into "we're Sting's backup band!" So if you can imagine a band picking up where "Zenyatta Mondatta" left off, and detouring through the power pop world, you'll get it. Two of their standout tracks are "Love Goes A Long Way" and "Seconds Later." The thing that will grab you is singer Tom Bailey [also the name of Thompson Twins' singer ---Ed.] can really bend and wrap and throw his voice around. Sting took practically until his band broke up to really figure it out, Bailey's got it now. Maxeen also features a very creative and tight guitar/drum duo, making them pretty much the full package. Maxeen originally got a leg up from LA label SideOne Dummy, and this new record is not radically different except for there being a bit more depth in the recording. If their label puts muscle behind it, Maxeen can have a hit. --- Leeds 8/11 top

MAXEEN s/t - SideOneDummy Records
Wouldn't it have been fantastic to have been there at the beginning of The Police's long career, when only a handful of fans turned up at gigs and you had the band all to yourself? Time machines don't come cheap, but Maxeen's debut LP will do the trick. Maxeen is a local LA band signed by Warped Tour mavens SideOneDummy, and I'd have to say it's their best signing yet. This trio is mining the halcyon days of independent rock and coming up with gems of brand new intensity. The comparisons to The Police only go so far, but singer Tom Bailey not only plays the bass but also has the pretty-boy good looks and model's cheekbones of Sting. Bailey's vocal style recalls the effervescent melodic pop of "Can't Stand Losing You." He's a better singer than Sting was at a similar phase (first album). I always thought the other guys in The Police got paid short shrift, so we won't repeat that mistake here. Guitarist Shannon McMurray is as nimble as they come. His creative melodies erupt into full-ahead charges and then back off into off-time rhythms, neat as you like. Drummer Jay Skowronek never overplays his kit but always manages to fill in the empty spaces with something that fattens the sound instead of fighting the guitars or vocals. All three musicians mesh together better than Sting's hair weave. While Maxeen's roots stem from the fertile soil of early Police, their branches unfold into modern power-pop. My love of The Police is narrow, and so when Maxeen break out into more aggressive songs or more melodic riffs, it gladly reminds me of the mid-period The Jam and XTC. Their sound has been sorely lacking on modern radio but hopefully they and their like-minded peers are spawning a return. RIYL: Communique, Elvis Costello, XTC, Sugarcult, The Jam, The Police. --- Paul Leeds 9/11 top

MC HONKY! I Am The Messiah - SpinArt Records
According to the official press release, MC Honky is a Silverlake dj in his mid 50s with an eclectic record collection and a will to set modern ears back on course. It's all fun and games for Eels frontman Mark Oliver Everett ("E") who decided to get some of the funky party beats out of his head and onto some wax. E enlists help from his friends Joey Waronker, Kool G Murder (an Eels alumnus), and musicians named Sir Whacks-a-lot and Playboy Gigolo Bandit. It's likely longtime Eels backbone Butch and one or two of E's friends like Jennifer Eccles and Lisa Germano, but they're not telling. On the upcoming Eels tour MC Honky is supposed to be opening up, so we'll see how they pull that one off. The sound lays spoken instructional records over organ-heavy dance music, sort of like the Beastie Boys spin-off BS 2000. The disc contains an animated video for the song "Sonnet No.3 (Like A Duck)" which has Underdog-style graphics of the feckless MC Honky cruising around in his convertible shooting out vinyl missiles at pop luminaries Madonna, Eminem, Marilyn Manson and more. Once each of these music villains gets the MC Honky vibe, they fall in and begin the natty duck dance, peace prevails. Some of the "found" vocals on this album have a disconcerting duality: while the music is playful there is still something "mental-breakdown" about a song like "The Baby That Was You" that has a woman gushing over and over about how wonderful you were as a baby. The sort of thing you might reflect on when you are at the end of your hope. Especially when you recall such Eels anthems as "Baby Genius" that describe just such a state of mind. "Baby Elephant Rock-a-bye" is an amusing and musically hopping track with a crooned title lyric and a shuffled dance bedrock. Even when E is trying to goof around he still makes intense, interesting music. This record is good fun, MC Honky's beats and prose will win over the steeliest musical villain. --- Paul Leeds 6/11top

THE MEASURE SA - "Historical Fiction" - Team Science Records [Aug 07]
Trading vocal duties between Lauren and Mike, The Measure [SA] plays a down-and-not-completely-dirty punk rock straight from the garage and into your arms. Mike clearly hates pockets because sometimes he sings like he's got his car keys and spare change in his mouth, and possibly a lit ciggie too. On "Ballad Of A Falling Star" you are slapped around with a speedy burst of punk rock that hearkens back to the punks who never sold out and never bought in, and whose voice does this remind you of? Oh yeah, Shane MacGowan. Lauren's singing is something to make specific mention of, because so many women in alternative music just get it wrong. A woman's options in alt-music are bracketed by sounding like someone booted her in the nose (Brody Dalle) on one end, or like a girl who has just been humped tirelessly or dumped unceremoniously by wonderboy (Gwen Stefani) on the other. What Lauren does that is so rad is that she sings fast but in her own voice, not trying to sound tough or sexy or angsty or whatever: she's getting it out like someone who loves music, not someone who is auditioning for "American Idol" or reconstructive nose surgery. She is cool without pleading with you to think she's cool. When you talk about catchy songs or singalong choruses, you have to be specific and say this is not the "whoa-ohhh-oh" type of bro-core kiddie music. This is just super-catchy music. This whole album is tight and fast, with only one song breaking the 3 minute mark, and 6 not breaking the 2 minute mark! The Measure [SA] plays with manic glee like you find some wannabe Irish punkers doing, yes, with that joy, but without sounding artificial or like they're humping the Pogues' legs. If you want the story behind the "[SA]" go to their website. Album artwork is kinda beat because there's no band photo and the cover is a snoozer, but nice cat on the CD itself. Great record, check it out. --- Leeds 9/11 top

ME FIRST & THE GIMME GIMMES "Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah" - Fat Wreck Chords
The silly boys of punk rock are back with their live destruction of some poor kid's celebration of reaching manhood. Evidentally this was the real deal, a Bar Mitzvah party where the moneyed elite compete with each other by throwing ever more lavish parties for their progeny. Somehow, The Gimmes were selected as an appropriate band for the occasion. While some of the celebrants seem amused, others clearly are confused and/or dismayed with the sonic assault of sloppy tunes. This time 'round, The Gimmes confront such golden oldies as Styx, REO Speedwagon, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Billy Joel, Linda Ronstadt and others. What separates the Gimmes from your average evening at a karaoke bar is charisma, baby, that showbiz Magic. These 5 lads are their own soul crew, disciples of their own cultish status, and they never need stoop to pander to their fans. If The Gimmes want to run through a bunch of cheesy hits from the past and abort half of them before the second chorus to be able to pound a few more shots of Wild Turkey from the open bar, they will, fans be damned. And the family and friends of Jonny seemed none to pleased with these raucous renditions. I imagine it was kind of like being in Junior High and telling some High Schoolers you were having a party, with the agreement being they'd get you some beer. Instead, they show up, steal your TV and your girlfriend, and leave you and your pals standing around with blank expressions. --- Leeds 6/11 top

ME FIRST & THE GIMME GIMMES Take A Break - Fat Wreck Chords
The Gimmes return with their fourth adventure in punk rock silliness, this time doing battle with R & B masters of schmaltz. Some of the songs they cover are so odious in their original form that you could be forgiven for wanting to commit murder if you heard them. In the Gimmes malicious hands, however, even a cheese-fest like "Isn't She Lovely" is hilarious fun. It'll get you up of your arse and grinning like a maniac. The Gimmes also dust off tunesmiths like Seal, (child molester) R. Kelly, Prince, and more. Interestingly, they perform their cover of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U" the way Sinead O'Connor performed Her version. A cover of a cover: there's nothing like the real artificial. This is lifestyle punk. Mainly what the Gimmes sell is the proof that they are having a great fucking time making this music, getting together every other year to drink beer and record whatever silliness comes into their heads. Larking about in San Francisco, hanging off trolley cars, thinking of what to buy next with their millions of dollars - it looks like a great life, and they seem to be saying that you (yes You) might even be able to hang out with them. They are that kind of guys. The Gimmes: Joey and Dave from Lagwagon, Spike from the Utters, Chris from Foo Fighters, and Mike from NOFX, are all punk rock superstars who more than shred on their instruments. The songs they chose for this gift to the world are embarrassingly tuneful and the saccharine sentiments expressed in the lyrics are great objects for the Gimmes' ridicule. "Take A Break" is a dry vodka martini of an album: the individual Gimme talents compliment each other and the results are intoxicating. ---Paul Leeds 8/11 top

MELLOWDRONE "Box" - Red Ink/Columbia [March 06]
Mellowdrone has a very seductive sound and image; of dark night clubs and sexual trysts, designer drugs and blue-eyed soul. It's territory covered by Roxy Music as well as Pulp, and in fact that's not a bad way to describe them, as a union of those two sexy, glamorous bands. Singer Jonathan Bates has a smoky, worn, croon that certainly does recall the Bryan Ferry of "In Every Dream Home A Heartache," and the programming of Tony DeMateo gives a modern twist to this jaded ladies man personae. When they are at their best, like in the lush "Fashionably Uninvited" and "Bone Marrow," Mellowdrone are sensational. There are more than a couple songs on "Box" that devolve rather quickly to programmed beats and some dark-voiced ruminations, and neither pick up nor expand on the gauntlet thrown down by those songs. So half the record becomes something similar to Ringside, and half maintains a swaggering sense of lovelorn coolness, and it's this latter portion that is remarkable rather than simply marking time. --- Leeds 7/11top

MELOTRON Sternenstaub - Metropolis Records
German synth trio Melotron have been pounding the decks since '95, building a sizable fanbase in their native land and slowly attracting dancefloor cybernauts here in the USA. Their beat friendly sound, best likened to Depeche Mode on holiday in the Freitheit Strasse, has garnered them a number of Top 10 hits. Think of a trendy Berlin nightclub, blinding light rigs, dancers wearing mirrored sunglasses and shiny black clothing like Trinity from The Matrix, and you're on the path to "Sternenstaub" (Deaf Stars? Star Deaf?). All lyrics are in German, so if you don't speak it, you can ascribe whatever themes are bouncing around your skull to these songs. Of course, those of us who are German speakers will know that the songs are called things like "No Problem," "Follow Me In The Light," and "Desire Me Not Zuruck," and deal with the familiar topics of lost love and alienation. Unlike a lot of their colleagues, Melotron have straight human vocals over their science beats, none of that processed growling and yelling. In fact, if you altered the melancholy of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence" (come on, you know you secretly like some of their songs) with a virus full of The Faint's walloping dance grooves, add in some of the girlfriend-clutching moments of Boytronic, and you'd have Melotron. Not true cyberneticians, Melotron play popmusik laced with romantic moments. This isn't the cold hammerings of Front 242, it's for stylish hackers in love. In Germany, where most social life involves clubbing and loud rhythmic music, Melotron is determined to get you out under the flashing lights and moving your feet. You can almost see the lightshow when Melotron stop the beats and let the synth strings seesaw through the air ("Erwartungen") and then the song picks up again with rolling drums. "Stenenstaub" provides a dancefloor collaboration between the heady excesses of Ibiza party music and the futuristic underworld of Berlin. Darker not brighter, next time. --- Paul Leeds 7/11 top

MESS UP THE MESS- "You Remind Me Of Summer Vacation" - Paroxysm [Apr 07]
Mess Up The Mess should be a lot better than they are. After all, they're self-proclaimed feminist riot grrrrrls hailing from Washington, D.C., our nation's lovely capital. And that was also the temporary stomping grounds of fellow feminist riot grrrl band Bratmobile, which was actually pretty good. Sadly, M.U.T.M. isn't anywhere near as good and is sort of like the person you hire for their kick ass resume and then discover they're annoying to be stuck around at work. It's sad, because even on the recordings, you can tell that they're having fun playing, but it's not very fun for other people to listen to. The token male guitar player is quite good, as is the frantic keyboard player, but the drummer can just barely hold a beat, the singer's voice gets incredibly annoying after one or two songs, which is hard to ignore when it's way out front. Perhaps there's an element to their live performances that aren't coming through on the recordings, but a better band to check out would be The Epoxies, who tackle the same new wave pop punk concept and actually kick serious ass at it. 4 on a scale of 1-11. The Swede top

METRIC "Live It Out" - [Jan 2006]
Canada is on fire and this four member band's brew is possibly the tastiest and one of the finer coming from that fertile land.The first cut is deep. Empty is a complex jam balancing all the killer elements of a fine song, A+ vocals from lead singer Emily Haines, thick guitar and heavy drum and bass. Their website states the song drums up a sound similar to Sonic Youths GOO era offerings. Only for a split second in the opening guitar lick, though. Once this woman starts singing the band sounds like themselves and only themselves. Great track and I'm absorbing it repeatedly as we speak (or rather as I write this faded stab at a review)...Glass Ceiling follows and twists up another fine turn...Screw it, buy the music it's real good...If you buy online, track by track style, check out the two above mentioned tracks along with Poster of a Girl and Monster Hospital...They're succulent soundz!---Craig Goossen 7/11 top

MEW - "And The Glass Handed Kites" - Columbia [Aug 06]
If you listen to some grindcore right before throwing this disc on, it will sound a lot better than it did the first time you heard it. At least, that's what I'm experiencing right now. Mew first struck me as an over-produced major label wankfest trying to hone in on the Travis/Coldplay/Muse fans. I was even reminded of Alan Parsons Project and Dr. Hook. Now I'm not so sure. Now for the simple knife in the ribs: the band photos. Album cover is a retarded revamp on The Stooges' first record, and the booklet contains individual shots, with 2 members appearing startled, shirtless and sweaty, 1 member looking like donkey-faced git Johnny Borrell of Razorlight, and the final Mew looking like a 70s Jesus. Bad, bad cover art. They're Danes, I guess that's their excuse. These songs, however, owe a lot to opulent production techniques and effects pedals. The singer's voice is softened and processed to a feathery fine finish, each note silkier than Kate Beckinsale's panties. His high pitched voice goes somewhere north of Grandaddy and south of Sigur Ros. But like other insufferably talented Scandinavian bands like Surrounded and Sigur Ros, Mew really knows how to create gilded atmospherics. A song with the cringe worthy title "The Seething Rain Weeps For You" has innumerable vocal tracks harmonizing and swirling around like opium smoke. The music is symphonic and embroidered with synths and other electronic noises that ELO pioneered. You can discern nary a word without careful attention to the lyrics booklet and so sometimes the singer's voice starts doing a Cocteau Twins number in your head. Advice: listen to this record a few times before even asking yourself if you like it. Don't overthink it. Put the headphones on and disappear. ---Leeds 8/11 top

MIA Lost Boys - Alternative Tentacles
This band was active in the days when the cops were raiding every gig in town and routinely busting heads open. Originally from Las Vegas, MIA made a lot of friends in the So Cal punk scene circa 1981-1983. This combines their "Murder In A Foreign Place" ep and the "Notes From The Underground" lp with almost every other song they released. MIA had a dark sound, one that made them kin to TSOL, Social Distortion, and Agent Orange although MIA never reached those heights, due to singer Mike Conley going off to jail. But you can hear the seeds of greatness here, songs that still hold up. Also included on this cd is the song "Tell Me Why" which originally came out on American Youth Report in 1982. The MIA catalog had been unavailable for a long time before this cd came out. I had to buy a vinyl copy of "Murder In A Foreign Place" for $40. It was worth it, so this cd is definitely worth it. --Paul top

THE MICHELLE GUN ELEPHANT Rodeo Beat Tandem Spectre Alive Records
Japanese garage punk. Chugga-chugga, riff heavy, and rocking. Not as abrasive as the other famous Japanese garage punk bands, Guitar Wolf or Teengenerate. They call their sound "Japanese Monster R&B." This new gem is something like their sixth LP. To give you some idea where they're coming from musically, they named one of their records "High Time," the same name as the first MC5 record. They also have a record called "Chicken Zombies," which tells you all you need to know. TMGE kick some fucking ass. The lyrics are all (or mostly) in Japanese, so you'll never get tired of hearing the songs. This guitar player, Futoshi Abe, is a pretty gnarly and nimble-fingered ripper. While the drums are crashing down like the tools in the garage falling off the walls, the guitar is busy spinning your head around. It's just ugly enough, and rough enough, to really rock. The song "Abakareta Sekai" is the old E, G, D, G chord progression you remember from The Stooges, but TMGE do it some justice. Some songs on here echo The Stooges, some Nirvana, some even TSOL. This whole album is white hot fuzz rock. They are the Japanese Hellacopters; the Rising Sun's Radio Birdman; the East's New Bomb Turks. "Baby Stardust" is a pretty catchy tune, maybe because Yusuke Chiba howls those two words in English on the chorus. I also hear some of Nirvana's "Bleach" on here. If these Japanese garage killers had mastered English like any of the Swedish crop of "garage" rockers, they would have been huge. For now, you can get into their sound while they're still small. The future will see them finally putting out an album in English, and when they do, they'll be the talk of the town. --Matt Vermin top

MIDNIGHT MOVIES - "Lion The Girl" - New Line Records [May 07]
The Midnight Movies have been plugging away since 2003, with steadily growing notoriety that's well deserved. While they've always had a sort of ethereal yet slightly dark sound, largely due to the signature sound of singer Gina Olivier's softly sweet yet insistent voice, recent line up changes and additions have helped widen the scope of their sound considerably. The biggest improvement's come from dragging Olivier off the drums and putting her out front with a microphone. While they were good before, they're even better now that she's been freed from performing double duty (anyone who's ever tried to sing and play drums at the same time will have no trouble understanding what I mean). Their sound is as beguilingly poppy and dreamy as ever, but clearly the band's still evolving forward, glancing up from their shoe gazing a little more, and extending their reach on this release. While it's still a little soft for my personal tastes, I can't help but recognize the constant progress they've made since I first saw them years ago at a small club before the arena tours and hype machine got hold of 'em. A recent tour with Blonde Redhead surely won them some more fans, which is understandable since the bands have a bit in common as far as sound, structure, and appeal. An upcoming tour with the Raveonettes is also likely to increase their following too for the same reason. Current fans and anyone who enjoys female fronted dreamy dirges with a hint of edge will be pleased as punch with "Lion The Girl". 8 on a scale of 1-11. The Swedetop

MIDNIGHT MOVIES - "Patient Eye/Golden Hair" EP - New Line Records [Oct 06]
A new EP from the quasi-goth LA band Midnight Movies shows them bending their sound to a moody, shoegazing soup, from their forthcoming 2nd LP. The A-side sounds like classic March Violets. The B-side is a cover of a song with lyrics by James Joyce and music by Syd Barrett, so it naturally sounds a little psychedelic/ren-faire. Still, this is a band to check out more closely, especially now that they've added a full-time drummer and allowed the foxy, foxy, foxy singer to stand up at the mic and be a real performer. Sitting behind her drumkit, you just never got the full vibe. All we can say is "nice move!" I think there's more to MM than just swooning guitars and a supermodel singer. The music is getting more interesting and getting moodier. They have 2 videos on their website (midnightmovies.net) and I think you can hear a change from sounding kinda like an Opal/Popul Vuh amalgam, and now coming forth with their own, more polished, sound. We await the full-length. 8/11 Leedstop

MIDSTATES "Boxing Twilight" - Mental Monkey Records [Feb 2006]
Fans of the orchestrated electronic psychedelic pop of bands like Grandaddy, Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev will have a new friend in Midstates. This Chicago band has labored on "Boxing Twilight" for nearly three years and the result of all this hard work is a collection that rivals any of the above named bands in terms of pop sophistication and cleverly constructed electronic anthems. Midstates music radiates positive vibrations that might even give off heat and light. There are several reasons for making an album: sex, money, anger, grief, and sometimes just the simple love of making bright music.The mood of this disc is exuberant and celebratory, even if songs are ostensibly about death and loss and heartbreak. Midstates on this album is a lot like the rebirth of Flaming Lips on "Yoshimi" in that the grasping anxiety was replaced by a placid inner calm that resulted in a new maturity. Midstates can be contrasted with Radiohead, who also make monumental music, by saying that Radiohead is always first and foremost the product of Thom Yorke's tortured psyche. Midstates has abandoned ego in this collection of imaginitive songs. Although nominally lead by Paul Heintz, Midstates' is a band whose players are skilled enough to contribute to the overall grandeur without hogging the spotlight. This works in tandem with Heintz's petal-soft voice and his down to earth ruminations on relationships. There is a very capable dynamic between the intricate drumming by Angel Ledezma and the singing synths peformed by Steve Munoz and Sasha. When they are firing on all cylinders (Passed For Promotion) it's a great sound. Sometimes Midstates gets deliriously melodic, as on "Under There" and "Either Way." This is really a first rate record by a band deserving of much wider critical acclaim, not to mention worldwide tours. --- 8/11 Leedstop

MILKY WAYS-Self titled - Alive Records [Apr 07]
While Alive Records has put out some good solid in the past, I had a little trouble getting behind this one. It's not terrible but it's not really good either. As far as the music goes, it's pretty decent straightforward 60's inspired rock, but I guess the turnoff's mostly in the vocals, which are kind of shoddy and go up and down in volume throughout the record and even within songs. It's hard to tell if they did it on purpose to try to duplicate a live sound, but for whatever reason it hurts rather than helps and turns what might have been a solid punch into a cheek grazer. Bands like The Groovie Ghoulies have pulled off the same approach with more guts and just as limited singing ability, so I'm not exactly sure what went wrong here, but something ain't gelling right and it just comes across as fairly standard noisy rock that doesn't really stand out from the army of other bands plowing the same field. 5 on a scale of 1-11. The Swede top

MIND IN A BOX "Dreamweb" - Metropolis Records [August 2005]
"Some dreams of our present will be the reality of our future," proclaims the CD booklet on the new MIAB disc. This album plays like short stories set in the future. Stefan Poiss and Markus Hadwiger use their technie musik to glimpse an onrushing digital future, and where many electronic musicians revile or worship machines, MIAB predict the machines of the future will be us. Most of these songs are internal dialogues of a troubled and conflicted in an existential morass. "Lament For Lost Dreams" is self-explanatory, and "Machine Run" concludes by revealing that after the will to forget has been achieved, the narrator has become nothing more than a machine. Standout tracks are "Loyalty" and "Between Worlds," both of which pulsate with multifaceted drums and the world-worn vocals. MIAB also wisely purvey one type of techno sound, avoiding the tendency in this genre to put ten different styles on one unlistenable disc. MIAB are like a downtempo Depeche Mode. ---Vermin 5/11 top

THE MISTREATERS Playa Hated To the Fullest - Estrus Records
In a nutshell, I like this record. It's pissed off and sweaty with roaring vocals. The guitars are dirty and blues-rock based with punk attitude. This is the kind of music best played loud. There is an element of spastic earnestness to it. Most of the songs on the album have a hurried and harried element that will appeal to those that listen to music to get up, not mellow out. Emo types need not apply. It's blown out rock and roll since you asked. You can almost see the singer knocking around if you close your eyes. There are lots of time-honored tricks like stalls and handclaps that have wisely been left unpolished. God bless its scabby pointed head. The guitar sound is mostly fuzzy and raw and cool distorted bass tones keep the ship on crash course with your auditory nerves. If you need something to whine about, my suggestion would be the lack of dynamics. The entire record is played to the hilt, very over the top, with the exception of "She's my Witch", a very bluesy and moody track with affected vocals and even (gasp) a dreamy saxophone. Nice inclusion which shows some diversity and probably gives the poor drummer time to catch his breath, which is good because the guy really pounds the kit without resorting to annoying double kick pedal bullshit. Recorded in Detroit without adding extraneous guitar layers that falsify what might be delivered onstage, pretty true to their actual sound I imagine (ain't seen em' live but I'm going if they come to town). Brought to you by the good people at Estrus that keep pumpin' out the beautifully ugly thrash rock needed to keep the pussified population down and the testosterone freely flowing. The last track ends with a huge barrage of five-car pile-up chaos that makes no apologies for the racket. Good for The Mistreaters. Some other bands may be doing the same type of thing but they're not doing it quite as well. --- The Swede. 8/11 top

MIZAR "King Of The Stars" - Mia Mind Music
Equipped with a keyboard, a microphone (sort of) and a voice to slit wrists to, Mizar succeeds in more than one would think. The music sounds like an old Atari game mixed with break-in-the-action chill down music in bad 80's sci-fi/fantasy movies. Sounds great right? Then take an insecure, operatic, singing in the shower voice and put it together. Its so bizarre that its interesting. Don't you love being the person saying, "hey, you've got to check this guy out!" So, you gather your friends around, put it on, and people laugh, uncomfortably of course, and then they say, "put on the next track" to see if it all sounds like this. Well, it kind of does. All 9 tracks have a gimmicky feel to them, and although the gimmick works, at some point there has to be some musical magnetism that makes people want to listen to it by themselves, over and over again. It does have songs that are truly good but the problem is that you have to endure over half of the album to get to them. And the chances of that are very slim. The opening track, "Like a Nun,"and "The King of the Stars," are so theatrical and intimidating. I apologize for the Friends reference but "Now You Know, I Wanna"sounds like an awesome Ross Gellar keyboard masterpiece with the laser and snap sound effects. But by braving the entire album, you'll find some gems like "Infernal Game,"where the cinematic qualities are actually attractive. Mizar's voice slows down, the music is more natural, and the whole is better for it. "My Angel in the Ice World," also sounds like a "real"song. It is not as frenetic as the others and is pleasant to the ears (a plus for music!). But, this is an album, and albums are like books. Sure, certain chapters could be great, but if the beginning doesn't facilitate the ending, then you've got a bad book. So, play the first couple of songs for your friends and be the hero, but when you're by yourself in your car, roll up the windows and find Mizar's golden nuggets. ---Evan Rude 6/11 top

MOCK ORANGE First EP - Dead Droid Records
Mock Orange rode in on the last train from Emo-land. They put out some decent records, nothing amazing, in the well-worn style of any number of slightly guitar powered emo. After two LPs they shifted gears. This is no gentle shifting; this is the type of gear noise you get when you're speeding down the freeway at 100 mph and throw your car in reverse. This new EP is going after the suddenly popular sound of bands like Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, and Sparklehorse. High, whiny vocals, loopy art rock jams in the middle of songs, the usual bit. Why Mock Orange didn't just change their name is a mystery. Are you guys done with the emo sound for good, or are you coming back to it when the next JEW record hits? Fans of the old music will not dig this shit, and potential new fans are going to be chased off because of the old emo flag they used to wave so high. Their first LP, "Nines And Sixes" is not a bad record. I never listened to it enough to learn it, but it didn't offend. They seemed just shy of finding their real groove. They just made another record with Mark Trombino, whose name should be familiar to millions as the one who made the Jimmy Eat World sound, as well as producing bands like The Jealous Sound and Finch. The new record was done by the singer of Jawbox, J. Robbins. This disc is pretty good. It's more interesting than any other Mock Orange stuff I've heard. Maybe they have finally found their sound. Songs 3 (Double Down) and 5 (Driving Day) are especially lush tunes. I just wish it were by a different band so I wouldn't have the suspicion that these guys are biting whatever trend is popular at the moment. Bands changing their style and rolling with the times is a good thing. I'm not trying to advocate staying in a rut. This new sound is more mature and a better listen than the old emo sound. Advice: you should've released this under a different name and you could have a hit. --Matt Vermin top

THE MODERN MACHINES - "Take it, Somebody" - Dirtnap Records [Aug 06]
The Modern Machines play good solid punk rock with an appealing looseness that's hard not to like, and "Take It, Somebody" is a strong sampling of their fun loving brand of poppy peppy tunes. Deceptively simple yet catchy riffs abound on this release and the songs stand up on repeated listens. They employ fairly standard rock tempos on most of the tracks, but also kick it up a notch on a few to remind you they ain't just fucking around when it comes to punking out. There's a bit of unpolished looseness on several of the tracks, especially in the vocal department, but it didn't put me off too much and kind of maintained an element of homespun roughness to it that's worked in the past for other pop punk bands like The Simpletones. The songwriting's strong and while they use a lot of traditional three and four chord patterns, they include enough cool changes and stalls to give each song its own separate personality. There's a slower song at the end of the CD that's good and shows some depth and range, but I took more of a shine to the more high energy stuff they do, because they do it so well, and have a surprisingly full sound for a three piece. I really liked this record and have a hunch that a live Modern Machines show would be a good night out. They don't seem to take themselves too seriously but crank out good quality material that's seriously fun to listen to. Apparently a U.S. tour and a jaunt to Japan are in the works, so keep an eye and both ears peeled for them. 8 on a scale of 1-11. ---The Swede top

MODEST MOUSE 'Good News For People Who Love Bad News" - Epic
Modest Mouse gets lit up on Death on their latest scratchy disc. Apparently, Isaac and the boys lost a friend before penning this one, and they clearly worked through their pain in the studio's padded room. Like the Flaming Lips, MM has a penchant for employing their creaky vocals and gunfire guitars to explore metaphysics, science, God and their own sanity. "World at Large," which opens the record, is a melancholy lullaby to the death of a people and their planet. They kick into gear with the plucky, radio-friendly, "Float On," which tricks you into thinking they've come to a certain peace with death. But nooooo...they crank out five more death-ditties over the course of the album, ranting about digging your grave, burying yourself, black funeral cadillacs and more. The surprising thing is that with all the death-fixation and subsequent angst, this is an upbeat record! Pound your heart with your axe, release the pain in the tunes, and throw in a ballad for good measure. "Interlude (Milo)" mixes what is surely one of the bandmember's babies gurgling with a touch of maudlin pump organ to provide a ray of hope among all the death. The organ bridges into "Blame It On the Tetons," a guitar, violin and piano-tinged tune that is surely one of the group's best compositions yet. "Everyone's a building burning with no one to put the fire out," they gently harmonize. "Everyone's an ocean drowning," they lilt, and a band who's usually so virulent is sailing you off to Nick Drake territory. The closer, "The Good Times Are Killing Me," sounds like a lost Beach Boys song whose lyrics have been hi-jacked by 21st century wit. MM is a ripening indie jewel, and with airplay on car commercials, KROQ and MTV, they are poised for the main stream, for better or worse. Good times are surely on the way for MM. Let's hope they stick to their guns. --- Nate Fitz 9/11top

MODEST MOUSE Everywhere and his nasty Parlour Tricks Epic
The best thing I read about MM was when the singer said he was making music to, hopefully, make Doug Martsch proud. Fans of Built To Spill will recognize a kindred soul here. I think the previous album "The Lonesome Crowded West" had a more commercial appeal. This is more of an art album. It's good to hear a band tighten up instead of losing control with each new album. "Willful Suspension Of Disbelief" leads the album off on a meditative pace. The guitar sets up the song slowly, asking you to sit back and open up, wait for it. It's spacey and ethereal. I think MM decided to just work on making decent music and to quit lusting after a radio hit or huge audiences. You take the pressure off a band and sometimes you get a result. Epic is probably pissed but the fans give it a right-on. --Matt Vermin top

MODULAR SET "Beached On The Half Landing" - Howells Transmitter [Jan 2006]
Great album artwork, great bonus materials, way out there interstellar space jazz. This is San Francisco's Modular Set, and they've just lifted off for deep sapce. Nearest comparison that springs to mind is the early ("Zeit," "Tau Ceti") explorations of Tangerine Dream although Modular Set shows a proficiency with more difficult playing and syncopation. MS sometimes comes in with fuzzed guitars and tinkling keys, and other times it's mostly loops and guitar effects that create the drama. At the halfway point on the album, MS gaze straight at their shoes and play an introspective piano led piece with what sounds like some random activity recorded through the walls. There is a certain amount of cohesion and dissonance, as if they were trying at the same time to create thematically linked songs and to artistically take a stance away from the concept of an "album." Their artist credo is manifest with the inclusion of a watercolor paint set with the CD. This indicates that MS want active participation, not zonked out stoners with headphones to enjoy their music. These are individual experiental pieces, suitable for soundtracking or art gallery openings. --- Leeds 7/11 top

MOGWAI My Father My King - Matador
20 minutes of guitars feeding back in a drone of psychedelia. This is what you hope to hear when you go to a concert: a band you like doing something in their style but busting out of the confines they've been in. Mogwai have always been quiet and spacey, and here they blow out amplifiers without losing their guitar noodlings. My Bloody Valentine meets Flying Saucer Attack. This is what I had hoped Mogwai sounded like from the stuff I'd read about them and never understood their following. Now it is clear. -Anton top

MONEEN Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now? - Vagrant Records
First, a warning: don't send us incomplete releases, no longer will we be reviewing records without covers or artwork. On to the review: Vagrant has become the bastion of radio-friendly emo, so one can assume Moneen will fall nicely into this category. Another clue might be the ten word title of the album, preciousness bordering on satire. Moneen are big fans of wordy titles. One could say florrid titles. Like, "Thoughts Weigh Heavy...Don't Get Drowned In The Weight Of It All." Not joking. So right off the bat we've got two strikes against the band (no artwork, ridiculous titles). It's a damn good thing that Moneen at least know how to crank out some good guitar energy. Midway through the second song, "Start Angry... End Mad," I had a flash of d?j^ vu: this singer sounds like Tom Linton (Jimmy Eat World). A complaint of mine for years now has been that Tom sings fewer and fewer songs with each new JEW record, and all we've got now are Jim's histrionics. So now here is what I've been waiting for, sort of. If you have the first JEW record (s/t, before "Static Prevails"), the one where Tom sings all of the songs, this Moneen wax sounds like the next logical step. Yeah, it's emo, no mistaking that, but despite their dopey song titles they don't get weepy and clingy in the songs themselves. The main singer has a lot of character in his voice. He can shout out some eyes-shut lyrics and then blend in with the other guy on the choruses while multiple guitars go darting all over the place like kites in a windstorm. Best example of this is "To Say Something That Means Nothing To Anyone At All" which crashes along for five glorious minutes and then fades out with a string section leading the way. A good move that pays off. Because of their similarity to the vanished muscle of Jimmy Eat World in their heyday, I like Moneen. At times they have good musical interplay like The Appleseed Cast and know how to stretch a song out and make it interesting. "I Have Never..." takes the emo sound and knocks the bottom out of it, settling into an intimate refrain of picked guitar notes and suddenly you can hear the potential in this band. They have sparks of originality that are begging to get let out of the emo box. One question is whether this is a mastered version of the album because the drums sound thin and compressed, like one mic was used for the whole lot. There is also some issues with the guitars falling too much in the midrange, the distortion making things sound close in, like a small studio instead of a big stage. The mix is all mushy and midrange. Vagrant is big enough to know how to do these things properly, they only short changed the band... and you. --- Paul Leeds 6/11 top

MONOFADER "Frost" - Metropolis Records
Here's the collaboration between Sebastian Komor (Icon Of Coil) and Richard Bjorklund (Spektralized) in the EBM night on the town known as Monofader. Combining Bjorklund's baritone and Komor's synth tapestry should result in superpop electro, but only occasionally reaches the heights fans of either band would expect. Laying aside some of their darker aspirations, Monofader go straight for singalong electropop. The overdrive pulse beats of "Mimic" and the soft as eyelashes harmonic synthesizers add up for a niteklub win. It's not being original to say it sounds like Depeche Mode and Erasure, but if you like soaring keyboard chords hovering like clouds while your feet are compelled to dance, get Monofader. The record features a nifty Kraftwerky type synthbeat on "Sta