Arriving on a wave of well-earned hype rooted in tight chops and a confident swagger, the Strokes offer a rock & roll antidote to the plague of boy bands, teen divas, and petulant rap-rock outfits. Despite this quintet’s prep-school background, their sound comes from the same primordial ooze that spawned Big Apple legends like the New York Dolls and the Velvet Underground.

Clocking in at 36 minutes, IS THIS IT packs its perfect length with stellar songs that draw inspiration from all over the map. Among the many highlights are “Last Nite” with its insistent Motown backbeat and choppy Johnny Thunders-like guitar solo, “Barely Legal,” sounding like 1980s-era Cure fronted by a saucy Iggy Pop, and the jangly “Someday” with its hairshirt of vulnerability from a bad break-up. While frontman Julian Casablancas (son of Elite Models founder John) drawls like Lou Reed through a busted intercom, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr. do Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd proud as their sinewy chords intertwine to great effect on the angular “The Modern Age” and equally neurotic “Alone, Together.” Thanks to the Strokes, rumors of rock & roll’s demise appear to have been greatly exaggerated.

Tracklisting
1. Is This It
2. The Modern Age
3. Soma
4. Barely Legal
5. Someday
6. Alone, Together
7. Last Nite
8. Hard To Explain
9. New York City Cops
10. Trying Your Luck
11. Take It Or Leave It

Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (4/11/02, p.108) – Ranked #49 in Rolling Stone’s “50 Coolest Records”.

Rolling Stone (1/03/02, p.119) – Ranked #8 in Rolling Stone’s “Top 10 2001″.

Rolling Stone (10/11/01, pp.89-90) – 4 stars out of 5 – “…Pure New York rock & roll: all gray-pavement aggression wrapped in black-leather cool….The music leaves no doubts – more joyful and intense than anything else…heard this year.”

Rolling Stone (4/11/02, p.108) – Ranked #49 in Rolling Stone’s “50 Coolest Records”.

Rolling Stone (1/03/02, p.119) – Ranked #8 in Rolling Stone’s “Top 10 2001″.

Rolling Stone (10/11/01, pp.89-90) – 4 stars out of 5 – “…Pure New York rock & roll: all gray-pavement aggression wrapped in black-leather cool….The music leaves no doubts – more joyful and intense than anything else…heard this year.”

Spin (1/02, p.77) – Ranked #18 in Spin’s “Albums of the Year 2001″ – “…Super-catchy songs that make you wanna pogo…the male Elastica!”

Spin (1/02, p.77) – Ranked #18 in Spin’s “Albums of the Year 2001″ – “…Super-catchy songs that make you wanna pogo…the male Elastica!”

Entertainment Weekly (12/28/01, p.136) – Ranked #1 “Album of the Year”.

Entertainment Weekly (9/28/01, pp.71-2) – “…A blur of sooty grit and grind…” – Rating: A-

Entertainment Weekly (12/28/01, p.136) – Ranked #1 “Album of the Year”.

Entertainment Weekly (9/28/01, pp.71-2) – “…A blur of sooty grit and grind…” – Rating: A-

Q (9/01, p.120) – 5 stars out of 5 – “…A breathless, goggle-eyed, assuredly brilliant album…it works wonders.”

Q (9/01, p.120) – 5 stars out of 5 – “…A breathless, goggle-eyed, assuredly brilliant album…it works wonders.”

Alternative Press (2/02, p.65) – Ranked #25 in AP’s “25 Best Albums of 2001″.

Alternative Press (2/02, p.65) – Ranked #25 in AP’s “25 Best Albums of 2001″.

Magnet (12-1/02, p.57) – Included in Magnet’s “20 Best Albums of 2001″.

Magnet (12-1/02, p.57) – Included in Magnet’s “20 Best Albums of 2001″.

CMJ (10/15/01, p.6) – “…One big rock’n'roll orgy…”

CMJ (10/15/01, p.6) – “…One big rock’n'roll orgy…”

Mojo (Publisher) (p.63) – Ranked #33 in Mojo’s “100 Modern Classics” — “Rattled together hastily, The Strokes’ debut captured the Bowery-basement cool of ‘their moment’.”

Mojo (Publisher) (1/02, p.69) – Ranked #3 in Mojo’s “Best [40] Albums of 2001″.

Mojo (Publisher) (9/01, p.97) – “…A heartily uplifting brew of scruffy street style, swear words and stammering pop tunes which sweat musical history…and sound infuriatingly easy to make…”

Mojo (Publisher) (1/02, p.69) – Ranked #3 in Mojo’s “Best [40] Albums of 2001″.

Mojo (Publisher) (9/01, p.97) – “…A heartily uplifting brew of scruffy street style, swear words and stammering pop tunes which sweat musical history…and sound infuriatingly easy to make…”

NME (Magazine) (12/29/01, p.59) – Ranked #1 in NME’s 50 “Albums Of the Year 2001″.

NME (Magazine) (8/25/01, p.49) – 10 out of 10 – “…Concise and elegant rock music by 5 young men….Indispensable….There’s nothing unnecessary here…”

NME (Magazine) (12/29/01, p.59) – Ranked #1 in NME’s 50 “Albums Of the Year 2001″.

NME (Magazine) (8/25/01, p.49) – 10 out of 10 – “…Concise and elegant rock music by 5 young men….Indispensable….There’s nothing unnecessary here…”

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The Strokes – Room On Fire

One of the 90s’ early classics and a landmark album in dance music, Bristol’s Massive Attack invented the ‘trip-hop’ genre, an ambient form of hip-hop. Born from the ashes of pioneering sound system unit the Wild Bunch, the core trio of Daddy-G, Mushroom and 3-D were joined on Blue Lines by soul diva Shara Nelson, reggae singer Horace Andy and a young Tricky. Together they fashioned a strikingly modern urban soundtrack that added an emotional intensity to the sparseness and studied cool of hip-hop, with Nelson’s impassioned vocals on ‘Unfinished Sympathy’ helping to create one of the songs that defined the 90s.

Tracklisting
1. Safe From Harm
2. One Love
3. Blue Lines
4. Be Thankful For What You’re Got
5. Five Man Army
6. Unfinished Sympathy
7. Daydreaming
8. Lately
9. Hymn Of The Big Wheel

Professional Reviews
Spin (9/99, p.131) – Ranked #24 in Spin Magazine’s “90 Greatest Albums of the ’90s.”

Spin (8/91) – Highly Recommended – “…simply beautiful…assaults the ear and the ass, lulling and grooving…”

Q (12/99, p.70) – Included in Q Magazine’s “90 Best Albums Of The 1990s.”

Q (10/01, p.99) – Ranked #8 in Q’s “Best 50 Albums of Q’s Lifetime”

Q (6/00, p.85) – Ranked #9 in Q’s “100 Greatest British Albums” – “…It unwittingly gave birth to a new slow-burning, heavily atmospheric strain of dance music that…would very swiftly be termed trip hop….music designed for the head first and the feet second.”

Vibe (12/99, p.157) – Included in Vibe’s 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century

Melody Maker (12/91) – Ranked #23 in Melody Maker’s list of the top 30 albums of 1991 – “…”Blue Lines” was the album Soul II Soul never managed: a loose cross between ambient House, old Studio One-time reggae, swingbeat and the post-M.A.R.S. hippychick groove. Truly gorgeous…”

New York Times (Publisher) (10/30/91) – “…mixes rap, funk, and soul into something nicely relaxed and fluid.”

NME (Magazine) (10/2/93, p.29) – Ranked #97 in NME’s list of the “Greatest Albums Of All Time.”

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Massive Attack – Mezzanine

What do you do when you’ve already changed the face of music once in a decade? If you’re Bristol, UK sonic architects Massive Attack, you refine the model for the times. MEZZANINE, the third album from the producer/DJ crew who, for all intents and purposes, created the genre of trip-hop, is thicker, less spacious and far more guitar-heavy than their previous efforts. Then again, the blue-print remains: hip-hop beats, behemoth bass underpinnings and spare melodic overtones still control Massive Attack’s drive. After all, one doesn’t expect the inventors to abandon their discoveries just because every pop new jack is onto their gold mine.

Tracklisting
1. Angel
2. Risingson
3. Teardrop
4. Inertia Creeps
5. Exchange
6. Dissolved Girls
7. Man Next Door
8. Black Milk
9. Mezzanine
10. Group Four
11. (Exchange)

Professional Reviews
Spin (1/99, p.91) – Ranked #6 on Spin’s list of “Top 20 Albums of ‘98.”

Entertainment Weekly (5/15/98, pp.102-103) – “MEZZANINE is Victorian trip-hop–hulking, clangorous, and dank….It’s industrial music for the turn of the century–the 19th century.” – Rating: A-

Q (12/99, p.100) – Included in Q Magazine’s “90 Best Albums Of The 1990s.”

Q (6/00, p.80) – Ranked #15 in Q’s “100 Greatest British Albums” – “…Sonic murk and gloom…a punk-hop record about autism…”

The Wire (1/99, p.27) – Included in Wire’s “50 Records Of The Year [1998]”

Mixmag (1/99, p.49) – Included in Mixmag’s “Ten Best Albums of 98″ – “…Britain’s coolest band…”

CMJ (1/11/99, p.7) – “…The grandfathers of trip-hop pulled off yet another wise and wily album, redefining the future shape of pop, soul and trip-hop, while inspiring another wave of artists in the process…”

Musician (7/98, pp.84-86) – “…at once the best and most personal album of their career….MEZZANINE shows them creating exotic, bruised backdrops for battered relationships that feel as strangely alienating as a night out with Travis Bickle…”

Mojo (Publisher) (p.66) – Ranked #14 in Mojo’s “100 Modern Classics” — “[I]t evokes DARK SIDE OF THE MOON’s epic yet intimate dread, reflected in the obliquely monochrome title…”

The songs on I SHOULD COCO play like missing pieces of the Buzzcocks’ SINGLES GOING STEADY, HUNKY DORY-era Bowie, and when the Stones still existed BETWEEN THE BUTTONS. At the same time, Supergrass fit perfectly into the very retro “punk” tastes of the mid-’90s charts, and make it all seem exciting again.

Combining breathless pop-rock with an ebullient and glamorous sense of humor, Supergrass are nervy and fun. “I’d Like To Know” and “Caught By The Fuzz” show off Supergrass’ undeniably British sensibilities (the chirping Cockney harmonies, the acoustic piano, the topsy-turvy bass lines), but it all works. The album is a rare breed–one that plays like an old favorite, but isn’t an exercise in redundancy or nostalgia.

I SHOULD COCO isn’t a painful reminder of eras gone by, but an adoring school-boy homage–exactly the one that Supergrass plays up to. Because anything too serious might ruin a good time.

Tracklisting
1. I’d Like To Know
2. Caught By The Fuzz
3. Mansize Rooster
4. Alright
5. Lose It
6. Lenny
7. Strange Ones
8. Sitting Up Straight
9. She’s So Loose
10. We’re Not Supposed To
11. Time
12. Sofa (Of My Lethargy)
13. Time To Go

Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (8/10/95, p.59) – 3.5 Stars – Good – “…regardless of how silly Supergrass become, the strength of their songwriting always shines through. Combining the best elements of classic British pop and melodic punk, the band leapfrogs decades and spans the gaps with wide, grinning hooks…”

Spin (9/95, p.113) – 6 – Reasonably Good – “…Supergrass is a mod band….I SHOULD COCO…works best when [the group] is careering about like Dickensian urchins in smeared lipstick, blinking through hula hoop-size pupils, gleefully anticipating corruption…”

Entertainment Weekly (7/21/95, p.64) – “…`Eclectic’ doesn’t begin to describe the deft plunderings of these barely legal-age lads, who, in their evocation of the Beatles, Bowie, and the Buzzcocks, seem equally at home as glamour-puss fops and snot-nosed hooligans.” – Rating: A

Q (2/96, p.66) – Included in Q’s 50 Best Albums of 1995.

Q (6/95, p.118) – 4 Stars – Excellent – “…petulant middle-class brats with an instinctive grasp of melody, midway between The Clash and Buzzcocks….the more Supergrass reveal of themselves, the more childish things are set aside in favour of an embracing of pop history…”

Option (1-2/96, p.120) – “…cobbles together ideas from the record collection, then pieces `em together in not-necessarily-novel but at least catchy arrangements–cheeky thievery being the sincerest form of flattery, of course…”

Melody Maker (12/23-30/95, pp.66-67) – Ranked #7 on Melody Maker’s list of 1995’s `Albums Of The Year’ – “…Druggy, deranged, bright-eyed, innocently sleazy, mercilessly addictive. Like mainlining a dose of uncut fun.”

Mojo (Publisher) (7/95, p.106) – “…I SHOULD COCO is absurdly crammed with musical intelligence….a massive heap of informed rock madness….Supergrass have a unique take on pop music…”

NME (Magazine) (12/23-30/95, pp.22-23) – Ranked #6 in NME’s `Top 50 Albums Of The Year’ for 1995 – “…the ‘Grass turned their day-to-day into cartoon, and still had you gasping at the sheer thrill of it…”

Drawing inspiration from revered 1960s/’70s U.K. rock luminaries, including David Bowie (their name stems from a tune on HUNKY DORY) and the similarly named Kinks, the Kooks excel at highly melodic Britpop on their confident and well-crafted 2006 debut. Despite their youth (some band members were still in their teens at the time of the album’s recording), the Brighton-based quartet is remarkably proficient at doling out sunny, often acoustic-based songs, as revealed on the folk-tinged “Ooh La” and lightly funky “Naive.”

Tracklisting
1. Seaside
2. See The World
3. Sofa Song
4. Eddie’s Gun
5. Ooh La
6. You Don’t Love Me
7. She Moves In Her Own Way
8. Matchbox
9. Naive
10. I Want You
11. If Only
12. Jackie Big Tits
13. Time Awaits
14. Got No Love

Professional Reviews
Q (p.124) – Ranked #11 in Q Magazine’s “100 Greatest Albums of 2006″ — “[E]qually in thrall to Dylan and Supergrass…”

Having won both critical and commercial acclaim for their debut album, HOPES AND FEARS, British band Keane pushes the hook-infested keyboard-rock on their sophomore effort in a darker, moodier direction. But UNDER THE IRON SEA features an intense, romantic brand of melancholy, with the trio of Tom Chaplin, Richard Hughes, and Tim Rice-Oxley vamping their way through vaulting rock melodies and power ballads, all without the aid of a single guitar.

There are plenty of deliciously chewy guitar-like sounds, though, that Keane achieves by feeding electric pianos and synthesizers through various effects pedals and studio gear. The album begins with the gloomy pop gem “Atlantic,” in which Chaplin broods over layers of swelling synths and insistent drum work before the song resolves into a clearing of pure melody. The song showcases Chaplin’s soaring vocals, which are at points as tortured as Thom Yorke’s and at others smoothly reminiscent of Freddie Mercury. On “Is It Any Wonder?” the verses strut along anxiously until a barely-in-control keyboard riff winds the song up into its gleeful chorus. Filled with moving, melodic rock, Keane’s solid second effort points to further sonic expansions to come.

Tracklisting
1. Atlantic
2. Is It Any Wonder?
3. Nothing In My Way
4. Leaving So Soon?
5. A Bad Dream
6. Hamburg Song
7. Put It Behind You
8. Crystal Ball
9. Try Again
10. Broken Toy
11. The Frog Prince

Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (p.70) – 3 stars out of 5 — “[With] bigger doses of atmospheric keyboard…it offers some of the same tuneful pleasures of the debut, with big-voiced Tom Chaplin digging into his big bag of swooping choruses.”

Spin (p.90) – 3 stars out of 5 — “[With] lovely, piano-driven sounds….UNDER THE IRON SEA boasts an embarrassment of melodic riches…”

Entertainment Weekly (p.69) – “UNDER THE IRON SEA coats the group’s typically hand-wringing lyrics with layers of symphonic embellishment.” — Grade: A-

Q (p.108) – 4 stars out of 5 — “The lyrics may be downbeat, but musically there’s all sorts of festival-friendly, stomach-clenching brightness…”

Q (p.126) – Ranked #6 in Q Magazine’s “100 Greatest Albums of 2006.”

Mojo (Publisher) (p.100) – 3 stars out of 5 — “Opening track ‘Atlantic’ has dark, dreamy quality they haven’t displayed hitherto, ‘Broken Toy’ is jazzy and swoonsome…[and] ‘Hamburg Song’ is a gorgeously wistful ballad…”

In 2000, a small wave of British pop bands clearly heavily influenced by Radiohead’s brand of anthemic mope rock arose, with Travis, Muse, and Coldplay at the forefront. Coldplay are the most clearly Radiohead-like, compared to the poppier Travis and the more electronic-oriented Muse, and their US debut, the 10-song PARACHUTES, should appeal to any fans of OK COMPUTER or THE BENDS who found KID A too weird for their tastes. (Coldplay even swipe a song title, “Don’t Panic,” from Douglas Adams, as Radiohead did with “Paranoid Android.)

The soaring yet depressing single “Shiver” is a masterpiece of swelling emotion, and the fact that the other nine tracks, even the instrumental fragment of a title track, sound like variations on its theme is more a matter of conceptual and musical unity than a lack of ideas. This album deserves the hype it got on release.

Tracklisting
1. Don’t Panic
2. Shiver
3. Spies
4. Sparks
5. Yellow
6. Trouble
7. Parachutes
8. High Speed
9. We Never Change
10. Everything’s Not Lost

Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (10/26/00, p.111) – 3.5 stars out of 5 – “…Straight-ahead, melodic Brit pop that strives for ’significance’ with a capial ’s’….[The album] rises above its influences to become a work of real transcendence…”

Spin (1/01, p.73) – Ranked #19 in Spin’s “Top 20 Albums of the Year [2000]” – “…[They] hoist their blue guitars and tug on Radiohead’s cape….evoking the forgotten shoegazers like Ride….Chris Martin makes early-’90s nostalgia seem like the next frontier.”

Q (10/01, p.73) – Ranked #21 in Q’s “Best 50 Albums of Q’s Lifetime”

Q (1/01, p.91) – Included in Q’s “50 Best Albums of 2000″ – “…[The] soundtrack to cheap vino-and-fag sessions…”

Alternative Press (12/00, p.94) – 4 out of 5 – “…Shimmering guitars haunt tormented tunes, dark gravel growls vie with Thom Yorke-y high notes….songs dawdle out of either a gentle whisper of sound or an awesome blurge of noise…”

NME (Magazine) (12/30/00, p.77) – Ranked #6 in NME’s “Top 50 Albums Of The Year” – “…Effortlessly moving and hugely popular at the same time…”

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Coldplay – A Rush of Blood to the Head

What you see is very much what you get with this Welsh trio. Listening to this album, with its refreshingly uncluttered production, brings frontman Kelly Jones and his two sidekicks into the room with you. Jones sings about everyday topics and emotions in his own inimitable voice, set to outrageously catchy melodies and driven by a strong guitar-based sound.

PERFORMANCE AND COCKTAILS boasts an impressive quota of hit singles, of which “Just Looking,” “Pick a Part That’s New,” and “The Bartender and the Thief” are the best. The album tracks are also extremely fine. Take the closing number, a heartfelt postlude threatening to build on a scale equivalent to “Stairway to Heaven” before ultimately burning itself out. Compared to Stereophonics’ debut, WORD GETS AROUND, this second album presents a more polished, slightly less raw approach. It’s the sound of a band that has made it and is confident in its credentials. This was undoubtedly one of 1999’s most sought-after albums, so go off and join the thousands who’ve already bought it.

Tracklisting
1. Roll Up And Shine
2. Bartender And The Thief
3. Hurry Up And Wait
4. Pick A Part That’s New
5. Just Looking
6. Half The Lies You Tell Me Ain’t True
7. I Wouldn’t Believe Your Radio
8. T Shirt Sun Tan
9. Is Yesterday Tomorrow Today
10. Minute Longer
11. She Take Her Clothes Off
12. Plastic California
13. I Stopped To Fill My Car Up

Professional Reviews
Q (1/00, p.86) – Included in Q Magazine’s “50 Best Albums of 1999.”

Q (12/00, p.151) – 3 stars out of 5 – “…Their shouty power pop certainly does its job….An early Xmas gift for the hardcore fan…”

In the early days of his career, after every relatively mainstream major-label album (MELLOW GOLD, ODELAY), Beck would then release a more experimental indie disc such as the lo-fi ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE or the knotty STEREOPATHETIC SOULMANURE. Similarly, Beck has been fond of stylistic experiments such as the Brazilian-influenced MUTATIONS and the warped R&B of MIDNITE VULTURES. As he’s matured as an artist, these smaller-scale releases and genre exercises have fallen somewhat off the radar, but the quickly recorded and loose-limbed MODERN GUILT recalls the feeling of those rough-edged earlier records. Paradoxically, it may also be his most immediately accessible and pop-oriented album ever. A stripped-down collaboration with Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton of Gnarls Barkley fame, MODERN GUILT is rooted in 1960s pop, from the British Invasion vibe of the bouncy “Gamma Ray” to the woozy psychedelia of “Chemtrails.” Chan Marshall (aka Cat Power) also provides guest vocals on two songs, “Orphans” and “Walls.” MODERN GUILT is available as a digital download, a standard CD, and a vinyl LP.

Tracklisting
1. Orphans
2. Gamma Ray
3. Chemtrails
4. Modern Guilt
5. Youthless
6. Walls
7. Replica
8. Soul Of A Man
9. Profanity Prayers
10. Volcano

Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (p.89) – Ranked #8 in Rolling Stone’s 50 Best Albums Of 2008 — “MODERN GUILT has plenty of electricity and playful funk…”

Spin (p.102) – 3.5 stars out of 5 — “[E]eerily soulful psychedelic rock, as focused as it is trippy, with the meditative nuance of 2002’s SEA CHANGE.”

Spin (p.50) – Ranked #15 in Spin’s “40 Best Albums Of 2008″ — “[T]he baby-faced boundary-buster delivered a spooky dose of downer psych.”

Q (Magazine) (p.134) – 4 stars out of 5 — “Happily, the concise MODERN GUILT is a return to form….Always a musical magpie, here it’s prog and pscychedelia that have caught Beck’s eye.”

Mojo (Publisher) (p.104) – 4 stars out of 5 — “MODERN GUILT is a record of adult confusion and world-worn sensuality, crafted into colour-saturated, three-minute frames. Wisdom and wonder align in the same package.”

Mojo (Publisher) (p.72) – Ranked #19 in Mojo’s “The 50 Best Albums Of 2008″ — “MODERN GUILT proved Beck still had the ZEITGEIST on speed-dial.”

Blender (Magazine) (p.82) – 3.5 stars out of 5 — “MODERN GUILT mixes ancient rock — mainly the incense-and-peppermints-flavored ’60s psychedelia of REVOLVER-era Beatles, the Zombies and Pink Floyd — with the woozy, abstract beats Danger Mouse manages to turn into freaked-out fun.”

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Beck – Mellow Gold

For those not in the know, the overture is that tune at the start of a musical, which features all the little excerpts of melodies from all the songs in the show. All woven into one, flowing drama of its own. The scene is set, boy met, conflict engaged, tension built, hope all but lost and then in a final twist, the hero emerges and resolution unfurls itself on a world still obscured by curtains, and drowned out by the murmurs of ushers.

It sets the scene by tempting you with all the drama and intrigue that the full story will bring, but snatches it away before your coat is even checked. Perhaps, that’s why Sarah Blasko has chosen “The Overture & The Underscore” as the title of her very first album. An encapsulation of the many intertwining narratives and textures her musical life promises, and a defining moment in its progression so far.

Sarah Blasko’s debut album speaks largely for itself. Eleven new compositions including the already namedropped “All Coming Back” & “Don’t U Eva”. The engineering & production skills of Wally Gagel. The amazing drumming of Joey Waronker, whose tub-thumping has been heard in the music of Beck & REM. The studious studio arrangements of Sydney indie-rock mainstay Robert F Cranny. And the sublime songwriting, inimitable intuitions and unique voice of Sarah Blasko. All delicately and painstakingly crafted in one ridiculous mad rush, somewhere beneath the world’s most famous real estate sign.

Tracklisting
1. All Coming Back
2. Beautiful Secrets
3. Always Worth It
4. At Yer Best
5. Don’t U Eva
6. Counting Sheep
7. Perfect Now
8. Sweetest November
9. Cinders
10. True Intentions
11. Remorse