Adjective City
“alien_encounters”
Alien Encounters Classic Sci-Fi Themes (Hip-O/MCA) One of the signs of Millennial Fever seems to be an obsession with aliens and specifically, the Roswell incident. Hip-O is by no means alone in cashing in on the trend. Alien Encounters features, as promised, classic sci-fi themes ranging from Star Trek to The Thing. Some of these tracks are not the originals, but rather interpretations (as in Walter Murphy’s bad disco version of the theme from Superman). (CG) • Area 51 Various Artists (Purple Pyramid/Cleopatra) Excessive? This two disc set (Crash Landing and Alien Autopsy) explores these two conspiracies via an impressive roster of artists. Pressurehed, Nik Turner, Chrome, Gong, Yamo and Amon Düül reside alongside other names from the Cleopatra extended family, and all explain quite conclusively the truth about the Roswell incident. (CG) • Dreams of Desire Classics for Bedtime (Rising Star) Pachelbel’s “Canon” and Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” seem to be obvious choices, but other selections are more interesting – Copland, Stravinsky and Grieg, each contribute a track. As far as I know, none of these artists are lesbians. Marketing classical music for lesbians makes about as much sense as marketing tin snips for Asians. While I don’t doubt that there are lesbians that like to listen to romantic classical music, I find it hard to come up with a reason why their tastes would be quantifiably different. Then again, the classy lesbian erotic photography by Judy Francesconi that adorns the package might provide an advantage in the record bins that Deutsche Gramaphone had not anticipated. (SL) • The Ducky Boys No Gettin’ Out! (GMM Records) Solid 77-style punk and Oi! from Boston. Sure, there are a lot of bands that do this stuff better, but the Ducky Boys have a lot of enthusiasm that shines through, especially on tracks like the working class anthem “Pride,” a track guaranteed to get the skinhead seal of approval. No Gettin’ Out also contains possibly the strangest cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising” you’ll ever hear. (JD) • Future Perfect Various Artists (UltraModern/TRG) Is this where we’re headed? Does analog somehow breathe soul into the machine? Sometimes, the tracks on Future Perfect are indistinguishable from the sounds my inkjet makes on warming up. Other times, its repetition offers the opportunity to descend into a trance-like state. Either way, it’s a nice blurry way to spend an hour. (CG) • Juliana Hatfield Please Do Not Disturb (Bar/None) Listening to this disc is like having a nice dinner with an old flame. I’m not sure what came between Juliana and me. Something was lost or gained in the transition between the Blake Babies and the successful solo career. I listen to Please Do Not Disturb and hear all the things I liked, and you know, I still like them. But it just doesn’t stir me. (AW) • Helper Supercatchy! (Reverb) Maybe Highlycatchy! or Mostlycatchy! would be a better title. Helper’s oddball approach and poppy attitude are pretty groovy, but their good ideas (and they have a lot of them) seem to be weighed down by cliche and straightforward rocking. Still, not a bad album. (IK) • The Karl Hendricks Trio Declare Your Weapons (Merge) It doesn’t get more straightforward than the Karl Hendricks Trio. Karl, a true product of Pittsburgh, is open and to the point: this is a guitar band, and Karl writes some great lyrics. As usual, Karl concentrates on the songs, and yields results than can be infuriatingly boring or magnificent and profound, depending on your mood. Obviously, this is not a record for the moody. (AW) • James Iha Let It Come Down (Virgin) Solo effort from Smashing Pumpkins’ guitarist, James Iha. Slower, folky-pop acoustic guitar-oriented love songs. Lame city. (DLB) • Nebula Let It Burn (Tee Pee) Heavy ’60s retro should always sound this good. These guys kick some major ass. Their sound is a cross between Blue Cheer and Grand Funk. Scorching guitar riffs, gut-wrenching bass lines, and soul-pounding drum fills combine to give us six hellacious cuts. “Raga in the Bloodshot Pyramid” even has an actual sitar track by the drummer! (DAC) • Poopy Pants The Smelliest Kid EP () Eleven songs of snotty punk-ska with horns. The subject matter tends to be rather juvenile at times, and the music could use some growth, too, but it’s a good start. They’ve got energy and some good ideas, they just need to develop them a little better. Nonetheless, this is still a pretty catchy tape and they’re lots of fun live. (RE) • Tadpoles Know Your Ghosts EP (Bakery) This Kramer-produced EP sounds inspired by Mercury Rev. Not exactly new, but not bad at all, in a retro-90s manner. (KC) • Triplefastaction Cattlemen Don’t (Deep Elm) I heard these guys on the Emo Diaries comp. In that context I liked them. Their full-length doesn’t sit as well with me. Sometimes I think indie rock, sometimes alternative, but nothing on here grabbed me. I think this just isn’t my style. (AC) • Drew Weaver Unfaithful Kind (Black Saddle) Songs of anguish, romance, depression, and hookers. Sound like fun? Either Drew Weaver is offering a really personal glimpse into his life, or has a good grip on talking about misery he hasn’t personally experienced. Adult, but not boring. (MC)
David Lee Beowülf • Andrew Chadwick • Kurt Channing • Mark Chester • David A Clark • Julio Diaz • Ryan Eckhart • Carl Glaser • Ian Koss • Sarah Ludwig • Anton Wagner
Bakery Records, P.O. Box 1996, Hoboken, NJ 07030; http://www.bakery-records.com • Bar/None Records, P.O. Box 1704, Hoboken, NJ 07030 • Black Saddle Entertainment Services, P.O. Box 725, Wilmington, DE 19899-0725 • C & S Records, 122 E. 25th Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10010 • Cleopatra Records, 8726 S. Sepulveda Boulevard, Ste. D82, Los Angeles, CA 90045 • Deep Elm Records, P.O. Box 1965, New York, NY 10156 • GMM Records, P.O. Box 15234, Atlanta, GA 30333, lin01862@acad.suffolk.edu • Merge Records, Box 1235, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 • Rising Star Records, 52 Executive Park South, Atlanta, GA 30329 • Tee Pee Records, P.O. Box 20307, New York NY 10009. • TRG, 2217 Nicollet Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55404; http://www.tt.net
