The Quarter After -- The Quarter After (Bird Song): A really well done collection of Byrdsy tunes with psychedelic trappings. Fans of bands like The Waxwings and The Grip Weeds will definitely want to snap this up. The disc contains some pretty and direct numbers, but this band is at its best when it simply cuts loose. "Taken" is a tour-de-force that breaks down into a lengthy instrumental section with impassioned ragged guitar soloing being matched by a hotly strummed acoustic guitar and Nelson Bragg's powerful yet steady drumming. This middle section goes beyond the ‘60s parameters that typify the band's work and moves into territory occupied by such great artists like Neil Young and Crazy Horse and Eleventh Dream Day. Of course, a whole album of this nature would...well, it would be great, but probably exhausting to listen to. The Quarter After has a variety of tempos and temperatures that build to "Taken", the penultimate song on the disc. "Always Returning" is simply wonderful, with a strong lead guitar line and a great call-and-response vocal in the chorus. Again, Bragg's creative drumming just adds to the delights on this ace folk-rock number. Equally impressive is "Mirror to You", featuring excellent three part harmony vocals on a sleepy country ballad. There's a spooky steel guitar crying in the background that adds to the atmosphere. Much like The Waxwings on their debut, The Quarter After can conjure up sounds like Crosby, Stills & Nash and The Stone Roses at the same time, as their harmonies mesh with a more psychedelic bent. This coalesces on the 12 minute track "Too Much to Think About", where guitarists Dominic (who is also the lead singer) and Robert Campanella unleash an array of sounds. The liner notes point out that the basic instruments were recorded live with no tweaking whatsoever, and when you hear the brilliance of the band on this track, you might want to organize a petition drive to make them come to your town and perform live. This is an extremely impressive debut album, and certainly one of the best releases of 2005. parasol.com

The Jessica Fletchers -- Less Sophistication (Rainbow Quartz): More giddy pop fun from Angela Lansbury's favorite rock band (I don't know that for a fact, but with the band name, it stands to reason). As with the debut disc, obvious reference points include Apples In Stereo and Ciao Bello, meaning that there are high voices and peppy hooks, with everything played with infectuous enthusiasm. Even when the band plays some downcast chords, it has a buzzing energy. This comes through on the dazzling "Get Connected". The verses find the band genuflecting at the throne of The Zombies, coming close to "Time of the Season" territory. The band then adjusts and bows towards The Bee Gees and The Hollies on the romantic, pleading chorus. A great piece of songwriting, but an even better arrangement and performance. This song is followed by a bubbly slice of garage rock, "Summer Holiday & Me". Guest vocalist Therese Lunde handles the chorus, while an early style Kinks-guitar riff and some Pacific Northwest rhythm section work make for some fun rock and roll. Probably the biggest weakness of this band is that many of these songs revolve around the same rhythms -- the lack of variety does lead to rendering otherwise nice songs somewhat indistinct. Even when they slow it down, as on "I Need Love", the song is in that same cadence (this is a problem that Everclear has too), but it does have a great bridge that ‘ob-la-di, ob-la-das' enough to make it stand out. rainbowquartz.com

Various Artists -- Until The Shaking Stops: A Salute To Jawbox (Two Sheds): This isn't merely a salute. This is one of the most slavish tributes that I've ever heard. If you want a tribute album that deconstructs the originals and rearranges them into something new, avoid this one. However, if you want to hear 14 bands do cracking good jobs on Jawbox songs, then you will not be disappointed. The fact that, on most of the tracks, there is so little changed from the original songs says a lot about Jawbox's sound, a sound that frontman J. Robbins himself can't escape, as evidenced by his similar sounding subsequent bands, Burning Airlines and Channels. The Jawbox sound is a mix of odd rhythms and dissonant guitars, strong snaking bass parts, stabbing guitars, and explosions that burst into tight melodies and big hooks. Great rock music is often built on the basic principle of tension and release, and Jawbox had that down to a T. Just listen to Riddle Of Steel's furious take on "U-Trau" for just one example of this tension and release dynamic. There are others, like Pilot To Gunner's spot on version of "68" (a Jawbox CD-EP b-side! Great taste). There are a few versions that attempt to tamp down the volume and/or tempo, and they reveal the strength of Jawbox's songwriting. The Life and Times dial down "Green Glass" just a tad, highlighting its cool psych-rock melody. Red Animal War turns in the most radical change, drastically slowing the tempo of the lead cut from Novelty, "Cutoff". But the musical high points are still there at a slower speed. The biggest quibble that I have with this disc is that they skimp on tracks from Jawbox's final eponymous LP, which was the final of three consecutive stunning albums (the band's debut disc, Grippe, showed a band still establishing its identity, with everything coming together on the second album). Of course, finding more bands who could equal the passion and musicianship of Jawbox must have been quite a task, so I'll just be glad for the 14 excellent renditions here. twoshedsmusic.com

Shout Out Louds -- Howl Howl Gaff Gaff (Capitol): A Swedish band who must have awesome record collections, and inspired by this music, they have stitched together an album that demands airplay on any discerning college radio station. They come right out of the gate with "The Comeback", a mid-tempo ramshackle pop-rock song that can trace its roots to The Velvet Underground by way of Bettie Serveert. It's a nice hello on this consistently pleasing platter. Another influence (that is even more pronounced live) is post-punk like The Cure and New Order, and the SOLs put a happy face on the power jangle that typified Robert Smith's nascent efforts on the superb "Shut Your Eyes". The rhythm section plays a jittery version of the almost dance music rhythm that typified many post-punk records, with a tinny organ part and bell-like percussion giving these familiar sounds a new feel and attitude. "Oh, Sweetheart" sounds like a cross between the aforementioned Velvet Underground and Dexy's Midnight Runners. The song bounces around in the verses, the band sings in unison "I don't even listen to him anymore", and the chorus has a bit of a rustic Celtic soul feel. It's quite fun. Befitting its name, "Hurry Up" hurtles along, fueled by hand claps and skittish guitar a la James and other leading lights of the mid-‘80s British indie scene. Much like the gone-but-not-forgotten Papas Fritas, the Shout Out Louds can harness their giddy energy when necessary, and cut a compelling slow track. The song "Go Sadness" is carried by the solemn and (appropriately enough) sad keyboards, with some lightly strummed guitar. The song radiates poignance. This is simply a rock solid disc through and through. capitolrecords.com

Carolyn Mark -- Just Married: An Album Of Duets (Mint): The tart honey voiced Canadian country singer finds many willing partners on a collection of easy-going, witty songs. One song threatens to overshadow the remainder of the disc -- "Rocket Piano Man" melds the music from Elton John's "Rocket Man", Billy Joel's "Piano Man", and David Bowie's "Space Oddity", and marries it to extremely clever lyrics: "Ground control to Elton John/hope you got your platforms on/ground control to Billy Joel/too bad you had to sell your soul." Thankfully, Mark and her friends have plenty of good songs at their disposal. Another big winner is "Done Something Wrong", a brilliant R & B number with Mark and Ford Pier (who wrote the tune) lobbing accusations of infidelity at each other over a bopping Memphis soul groove. These are two lovers who constantly imagine worst case scenarios -- Pier explains at one point that the perfume Mark smells isn't from another woman -- he was thinking of buying it for her. Of course, the pure country stuff sounds great. Mark and Luke Doucet do a fine job on Hank Williams' classic "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry". "Slow Poke" is a loping charmer, the kind of aw shucks song that you only hear in old fashioned country music. Then there's the pure loveliness of Robyn Carrigan and Mark's singing on "I'll Be All Right". Carolyn Mark certainly doesn't need any help to make a great album, but the duets here meet her established high standards of quality modern country. mintrecs.com

Original Cast Recording – Hillbilly Antigone (Lookingglass Theatre): Rick Sims is a punk rock vet, fronting the central Illinois based Didjits (one of the best punk bands of the late ‘80s) and the hard rocking Gaza Strippers. A lot of his fans are probably unaware that for a number of years, he's been collaborating with the prestigous Lookingglass Theatre company (who gave the world David Schwimmer of Friends), writing music for various shows, including an adaptation of Up Against It, the Joe Orton play that was intended to be a Beatles' movie. Sims now fully plunges into the world of the stage, conceiving this backwoods tale inspired by the Greek tragedy. He wrote all of the music, most of it inspired by old Carter Family style country music, and co-wrote the play with his wife, Lookingglass member Heidi Stillman. Let it be said that this play has received ample critical acclaim, and this soundtrack exemplifies the overall quality of the project. Sims and cast members Andy White and Christine Dunford are the equivalent of a Greek chorus in the play, and a number of the songs here spotlight their trio performances. Sims shows that his high voice, which usually was shouting in his punk days, is equally, if not better, suited to hillbilly music. The trio shines on songs like "The Battle of Badd Mountain" (with some nice slide steel guitar from Sims) and "The Feudin' Song". Sims takes center stage on "Forgive Me Lord", which is spooky, and "A Horse Called Danger", which has a galloping locomotive rhythm that isn't too far away from some of his Didjits work (like "Lone Long Ranger" and "Axhandle"), and rocks, in its own way. Other great songs include "God's Plan", which is a swell gospel revival number, which is possibly the only song on the recording that can't equal the theatrical performance, since it was probably hard to replicate that energy in a studio; and "These Hills Are Cryin'", which is part country, and part ‘50s style rock ballad, with an outstanding vocal by Matt Ziegler, and clever lyrics like: "so I say so long/don't cry/we did the best we could/and remember out of the seven letters in ‘goodbye'/over half of them is good." Mattie Hawkinson, who plays Antigone, also deserves kudos for her superb singing. While, as is often the case in a musical, a couple numbers have a fair amount of exposition specific to the play, most of the songs stand up well outside the context of the production. While Sims may end up fronting another band, or exploring other musical forms for the stage, I hope that he might revisit this traditional music, as he clearly has a strong feel for it. www.lookingglasstheatre.org/index.html

The Lucksmiths -- Warmer Corners (Matinee): This veteran Australian quartet is expert in making breezy acoustic guitar driven pop songs that have lyrics that are as thoughtful as their music sounds effortless. If I could make a modern comparison, maybe you could try to imagine a cross between The Go-Betweens, Belle and Sebastian and early Aztec Camera. That sounds pretty good, huh? Indeed it does, on track after track on this top notch disc. The Lucksmiths' songs are driven by their lyrics, which have the observational detail that you would expect from a great novel. They are that good. The music isn't quite as good, as not all of these songs have strong hooks, but the pleasant jangle is a great vehicle for the words. The most memorable song is probably "The Chapter in Your Life Entitled San Francisco". This is supreme acoustic pop, with the chorus just ascending from the melody of the verse, and singer/drummer Tali White elongating the syllables of San Francisco so they lilt in a delightful fashion. "The Music Next Door" is another excellent number, with a bouncy acoustic guitar part matched by outstanding lead guitar work. This is a real head bobber of a track, that has a bit of Stealer's Wheel feel to it. I'd like to quote you scads of lyrics, but with some Lucksmiths songs, it is exceedingly difficult. Sometimes, it's because there are too many great couplets to choose from. Other times, it is because the lyrics are so thorough and connected -- they tell a story where each line builds on the next. The final song "Fiction" is a grand example of this, telling a story of meeting a girl at a Kansas City barbeque, and the story behind the Courier font tattoo on her right arm. The lyrics are perfect, but I would have to quote them in their entirety to prove that. Still, I must quote: "I tried to write an opera for us/but I didn't get too far/'cause trying to sum you up in song/is like catching/sunlight in a jar" (from "Sunlight in a Jar"). Or how about the words that open the album: "The start is the hardest part:/to step inside and announce a newly broken heart." Effortlessly literate and terminally effervescent, this album is a gem. www.indiepages.com/matinee.

Donovan's Brain -- A Defeat Of Echoes (Career): While I am pro-CD when it comes to arguing the sound quality of the digital disc as compared to the vinyl LP, there are some things about vinyl that are superior. One major thing I like better about the vinyl LP is that I think that artists put a lot more thought into sequencing a five or six song album side, as opposed to having up to 80 minutes of straight music on a CD. A well structured album side has a specific ebb-and-flow. On this disc, Donovan's Brain separates the songs into a double album, listing the tracks by album side. And I think they have superbly captured just the right ebb-and-flow. In doing so, this ace psychedelic band really put a lot of work into varying their approaches on the songs. It would probably take me a couple more months to fully absorb this album, but I want to tell you about it now, because it's really good. There is a nice balance between more stretched out numbers and the more direct songs. Two of the songs sound to me like Guided By Voices if they tripped more and drank less. "City Morning" starts with a strong guitar riff and pulses along on Jeff Arntsen's bass line, with a wisp of melody in the chorus. Bobby (ex-Windbreakers) Sutliff contributes a swell guitar solo. Guitarist Colter Langer also penned "Decade of Days", which is foreboding while remaining bouncy. Here, Radio Birdman's Denis Tek makes one of his periodic appearances on guitar. The biggest hook on the album is on "Rezolution", an Arntsen number which is gentle and tender, down to his sweet lead vocal. This song slowly burns and has an exceedingly memorable chorus. The music has more of a dramatic edge on the Ronald Sanchez composition "The Boy Who Cried New Town". Sanchez colors the quietly played music with piano, organ and synthesizers, in a song that mixes psych with a touch of the Southwestern sound. Another outstanding number is "Open Your Mind", at its heart a basic folk-rock tune, which the Brain augments with lots of instrumental color. One striking thing about this album is that after a few plays, it felt like something that had been in my collection for a while. I mean that as a compliment -- it shows to me that this band has gotten their sound down, to where it just sounds the way it should. careerrecords.com

P. Hux -- Purgatory Falls (NineEighteen): This album has been digitally reissued – as well it should be, as it is a brilliant pop song cycle inspired by the death of Parthenon Huxley's wife in 1997. Musically, the album is a stellar example of how to be Beatlesque without specifically aping The Beatles. Huxley, working with drummer Gordon Townshend and guests such as Nic Peroni, Electric Light Orchestra (and Huxley's ELO II bandmate) Mik Kaminski and Ric Menck, creates lush soundscapes and then pours his memories and heartache into direct, intelligent lyrics that are worthy of the music they are wed to. "She should have grown old/we never grew apart/if I love again/I'll grow another heart," Huxley sings on "Red Eyeliner", a track which splendidly illustrates the difficulty in coming to grips with losing your life partner. The song is primarily Huxley accompanied by a mellotron, moving into strong guitar accompaniment in the chorus, as he wants someone to "show me we really don't die." The album starts with the pastoral beauty of "4258", an sweet elegy to his wife, a celebration of where she came from. The music becomes steelier on the following "I Loved Everything", as he dwells on how he has lost a part of himself ("there's no space between us"). As he ruminates on his loss, there are two songs that are decidedly orchestral pop, "Rubble" and the utterly lovely "My Sweet Nothing". The pain does not subside easily, and in the latter half of the album, he tells a prospective mate "Steer Clear". This song is a plaintive acoustic guitar number, as Huxley explains that "there's another woman in my head." The last two songs offer hope, as he shows that he's regaining his ability to love another. This is an album about love, pain, strength and resolve. It is personal in a way very few records are. parthenonhuxley.com

The Afternoons -- Rocket Summer (Saturday): Yet another outstanding release from this UK band. The Afternoons play sparkling melodic pop in the vein of great bands like Astrid, The Beautiful South and Aztec Camera, fronted by Richard Griffiths, a superb vocalist, who is soulful and romantic. The nature of this band is that they are almost eternally wistful, as their music is so premised in a variety of ‘60s and ‘70s pop and soul, and the songs are always comforting. The band casts its spell right away, making magic on the summer sunshine wonderful title track, and then following it with one of the clear highlights of the collection, "Baby, You Know the Deal". This track starts off like it's going to head to Ohio Express land (listen to the sing-song keyboard line), but then immediately makes its way to ‘70s AM radio nirvana. This song has an imported California joy and sounds like a bit more sophisticated take on the 45 rpm mojo practiced by Pilot, First Class and others during the original polyester era. Meanwhile, "Never Tell Anybody Anything" has a jangly Motown rhythm and the melody seems to keep climbing until the urgent chorus. As great as these songs are, the band's ballads are arguably their best material, as they really showcase Griffiths' talent. "Tides" has a slight country feel (which they showed off on their debut album, also), and "Canada Geese" utilizes pedal steel well, with the weeping notes fitting in with the lush, sad music. The best ballad is "Fading Fast", a delicate song with Griffiths accompanied by a quiet guitar and strings. The song has a classic feel to it, with a certain majesty to it -- like a more reserved "Yesterday". The song leaves a lump in the throat, it's so good. This is one heck of a sophomore effort. I hope that the band can work more with strings and horns and such, and just get more ambitious, because I think they can make a perfect pop album some day. theafternoons.com

Smashing Orange -- 1991 (Elephant Stone): Ah, 1991. The memories...I was in law school. A man named Bush was president. And a legion of bands inspired by The Jesus And Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine mixed solid psych-pop songs with oodles of guitars, effects and feedback to make a lovely racket. Smashing Orange were skilled in shoegazing. This disc compiles a bunch of the band's recordings from ‘91. The band justified its existence with the astounding "Sugar", where they find a great melodic lead guitar line and ride it for all its worth. The Reid brothers would have been proud to come up with a track this rocking and catchy, sounding like a hazier and louder House Of Love. The song has about three separate hooks, and it could have just settled for that memorable guitar line. Right after that is a track that's pure rocking fury. "Cherry Rider" has an intensity to it that is reminiscent of Swervedriver, though Smashing Orange sounds a bit more ethereal. Guitarists Rob Montejo and Rick Hodgson match each other note for note, playing with a great deal of conviction. Like a lot of great shoegazing music, a groove gets laid down from time to time, and drummer Tim Supplee and bass player Stephen Wagner are up to the task on "Any Further, It's All Over", which nods slightly towards Madchester. Very slightly. While not every one of these 12 tracks is a gem, there are plenty on here. Fans of the shoegazer style will want to check this out. elephantstonerecords.com

Snow & Voices -- Snow & Voices (Bird Song): Debut from band led by singer Lauri Kranz, this plays like a 21st Century take on classic ‘70s singer-songwriter tuneage. Kranz has a warm and inviting voice, and she and her colleagues play some smooth, but not too smooth, piano driven songs. "Nothing Certain" is a typical song in this vein. On this track, Kranz sings with a tone that pretty pure, but a little earthy. The song is premised on a specific piano line, and the melody, chorus and other variations flow out of it. Kranz is a solid lyricist, with an occasional inspired couplet like "If there are no accidents/I will sleep with you tonight." Kranz writes the songs with pianist (and many other instruments) Jebin Bruni and Greg Leisz. They don't just stick with the tried and true. On "Ordinary Girl", Kranz's voice is up in the front of the mix, supported by a liquid, flowing bed of keyboards and minimal production. She sings near the top of the range, and the track reminds me a bit of Linda Thompson's first solo album (from back in ‘85). A great mix of chilly instrumentation with a voice warm enough to melt ice. A cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way" is a revelation. The song is done very slowly, with bare instrumentation. Whereas Lindsay Buckingham sang his tune in a lacerating fashion, bile flying everywhere, Kranz recasts the song as regretful. It's as if she doesn't want to sing the hurtful words, but she knows she must, because she has been hurt too much already. Outstanding. There are a few tracks that are listenable but nondescript. On the whole, this is a very nice start for Snow & Voices. parasol.com

Dwight Yoakam -- Blame The Vain (New West): Yoakam is no longer working with Pete Anderson, and takes over the production reins on this effort. Moreover, he handles the songwriting chores solo, with no collaboration and no covers. He even is responsible for conceptualizing the artwork. The gatefold of the digipak is classic -- it's reminiscent of some of the great country album covers of the ‘60s -- you need to see it. The album is not so classic. It's really just a workmanlike affair, with Yoakam on honky-tonk cruise control. This isn't to say that it's phoned in, it's just that there aren't as many Grade A songs as you normally expect on a Yoakam album. If anything, it's a testament to how high he has set the bar for himself. Perhaps the biggest surprise on the album is the intro of "She'll Remember", with Dwight adopting a British accent and muttering some comments over some sqwonking synthesizer noises. The song eventually becomes a typical honky tonk number. The best of Yoakam's honky tonk tunes are "Three Good Reasons", where Dwight adopts a bit of an Elvis Presley quaver in his voice, and the shuffling "I'll Pretend", which bears a bit of resemblance to Johnny Cash's "I Walk The Line". Yoakam takes a bit of a step towards roots rock on "Intentional Heartache", which opens up like an old Nick Lowe or Tom Petty number, though the heart of the song is still pretty durned country. The best track is "Watch Out", a song that juxtaposes the mid-tempo country boogie of the choruses with a slow Western middle eight. While not top-of-the-line Dwight, this is still another fine work in his estimable catalogue. newwestrecords.com

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