Love, Death, and Photosynthesis is Bela Koe-Krompecher’s memoir of addiction, friendship, mental illness, and the music scene of early ’90s Ohio.

Hailing from the southwest of France, The Llamps build on a sound that’s equal parts New York City grit, San Francisco psychedelia, and spaghetti Western twang, which makes for a pan-global main dish.

You can say that bedrock funk bassist Bootsy Collins is The One, and you would be right on so many levels.

Sometimes rock and roll seems to get stuck in a rut, but The New Madness bring fresh life to a sound that was old before they were born.

Bobby Bare sings Shel Silverstein (Bear Family Productions). Review by James Mann.

Double Date With Death are loud and Canadian, and they don’t care if you don’t understand their French howling. They have a double date to get to.

It’s edgy and manic and insistent, and it’ll surely drive your lunatic friends to ask you who is making that racket. Make sure you tell them Clifffs is spelled with three Fs.

Trace (Rhino/ Warner Bros. Records). Review by James Mann.

Neighborhood Veins (Potluck). Review by Eric J. Iannelli.

ST (Big Legal Mess Records ). Review by James Mann.

Rembrandt X (Records to Russia). Review by Julius Lacking.

Fade (Matador). Review by Eric J. Iannelli.

The Bears for Lunch. Review by Eric J. Iannelli.

20/20–Look Out! / Ignition (Real Gone Music, Black Vinyl). Review by James Mann.

Split 12” (PotLuck/Tangible Formats). Review by Eric J. Iannelli.

Carl F Gauze peers through the staticky viewfinder and sees a fascinating if incoherent collection of videos, movies and concert footage for the Guided By Voices fan.

Fate to Fatal EP. Review by Shelton Hull.

The 33 1/3 series has produced some great essay books exploring some of rock’s most iconic albums. S D Green finally gets around to Marc Woodworth’s commendable attempt to make sense of Guided by Voices’ shambolic classic, Bee Thousand.

Ten Years Younger EP (Matinee). Review by Aaron Shaul.