The second solo-release from former Whiskeytown founding-member/songwriter/violinist, I’m Staying Out was probably best described by a friend as we drove through the sunny streets of Oakland: “It’s kinda like Whiskeytown, only without the edge.” This is right on target, as Cary’s country croonings, which were so perfect before, have been replaced with a polished-to-new, Nashville shine. Her music more adult contemporary crossover than real country, Cary seems to have meandered down the same path as her former collaborator, Ryan Adams. Perhaps in wanting to move away from their previous musical personas, they’ve forgotten what won both fans and respect. Not without a place, album-opener “Empty Rooms,” a toe-tapper surely headed for your FM dial, sounds mighty fine on a sunny drive through Oakland. —Steve Ford

Seems like you can't swing a sheep around the Bay Area without clobbering at least a couple of overly-talented country pickers waiting around in one welfare line or another. The existence of The Cowlicks, made up of former members of the Big Blue Hearts, The Schramms, and other ensembles, is testament to the hidden hillbilly talent bubbling up under our concrete-paved paradise. Their new self-released CD demo shows a wealth of picking and penning power, strengths that ache for a full-budget production that can tighten their sound and punch things up a bit. The best songs on this album, such as "Stateline" and "I Love It When It Rains," are clever, well-crafted novelty-tunes that fall squarely in the tradition of independent, smart-alecky honkytonk, which makes the Americana scene so much fun. The band has been gigging relentlessly over the last few months: look for more to come from these East Bay twangsters, and keep an eye peeled for their concerts. —Lawrence R. Kay

Twenty-five years in the game, D.O.A., one of the originators of hardcore punk, is finally eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (yeah, right). Led by Joey “Shithead” Kiethley, D.O.A is Canada’s premiere punk-rock band, and on its 10th full-length release, Win the Battle, it hasn’t lost a single step or a degree of intensity. Whether tackling political targets like on the anthemic “War Monger” and “Just Say No to the WTO”, or goofing on ZZ Top by fucking up their song “La Grande” (and therefore making it better), D.O.A. has the ability to be incisive, intelligent, funny, and ridiculous.

The re-issue of “Hardcore ’81”, with the 1984 John Peel Session entitled “Don’t Turn Yer Back on Desperate Times” tacked on, helps mark D.O.A’s 25th anniversary and is an essential CD for any punk purist. Playing this back-to-back with its new release, it is hard to believe there’s over 20 years between them. Just as it did on Win the Battle, they took a rock dinosaur (this time Led Zeppelin’s “Communication Breakdown”) and subverted it down to its rawest elements. While a bit faster and more lo-fi than Win the Battle, Hardcore ‘81 has the same mix of passion, politics, and poking fun, which is what makes —and made—D.O.A so relevant. —Mike Alexis

This is a damn good debut from this new trio out of the East Bay. Formerly known around town as the Simple Things, the band changed its name because some other band from god-knows-where that had already trademarked it, or something to that effect. The Effection do a lot in these twelve tracks: rocked-up power-pop paroxysm, anthemic mid-tempo sing-alongs, sentimental slower numbers, even a jazzy barroom-piano shuffle at the end that seems to tie it all together. The Effection sometimes sounds as if it could've fit right in with Elvis Costello, Rockpile, Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, and that whole Stiff crew. There's still something intrinsically modern about the band, though. With great musicianship all around, these guys can hold it together as good as anybody out there. Superbly recorded by Chris Dugan, who's also the drummer, and produced by the band. This is the band you should be going to see. —Horace Gramble

Ester Drang’s sophomore effort is, in a word, lovely. Already I’ve listened to the entire album on repeat without flinching or feeling antsy. No single track stands out from the others, but for these four Oklahoma boys, that’s a good thing. Somber strings, luminous xylophones, cascading synths, languid crashes, and waffling atmospheric guitars swell inside the songs and then leave as if they were phantom guests in a translucent home. Despite definite booming moments, a consistently quiet mood enshrouds the album, a less sprawling, more organic progression from their last album, Goldenwest. Infinite Keys is not as hushed and slow as Low, or as intense and emotive as Sigur Ros, but is still arresting, with Bryce Chambers, the unabashedly religious mastermind behind the project, singing gracefully with tense resignation. Don’t expect Ester Drang to win any awards for cutting the edge of cool. But suckers of slightly sad, gorgeous indie-rock should expect to be exceptionally pleased. —Delphine Hwang

In this day and age when sub-genres of music are created with the change of the wind, The Epoxies deliver a sound which shamelessly harkens back to late-‘70s and early-‘80s new wave, punk, synth-pop, and garage. Campy with its fuzzed-out synths, over-the-top hooks, and rudimentary, boppy rhythm, there is more to The Epoxies than meets the ear. Back in the day, punk and garage were gritty, and new wave was fairly polished. The Epoxies successfully meld the punk and garage ethic of the late-‘70s with the high-camp of early-‘80s new wave. No one can deny that listening to The Epoxies is a time-warp, but it is a strangely refreshing, high energy, and fun new take on several old chestnuts. —Koji Li

Covering songs originally performed by the likes of Peter Gabriel, The Righteous Brothers, Buddy Holly, and Elvis (yes, Elvis) is a daunting task. But longtime Euro-dance-synth-pop forefathers Andy Bell and Vince Clarke have done just that, making the Billboard top 10 recently with their cover of Gabriel’s “Solsbury Hill” and now releasing their version of “Come Up and See Me” by ‘70s glam-rock group Cockney Rebel. But any success from this album would more likely be due to the popularity of the songs and Erasure’s namesake, and not any innovation they’ve brought to the classics they’ve chosen. I’ve had my fair share of boogying whole-heartedly to Mr. Bell’s prancing around plywood cacti in a red cowboy hat, but at the risk of pulling a Simon Cowell, let me just say that just because you like certain songs doesn’t mean you should necessarily record an album full of them with the expectation of selling millions. But then again, they just might anyway. —Delphine Hwang

Together since 1994, the unfortunately-named flanelhed have weathered the economic and social storm that forced many Bay Area bands to fly south and came out the other end a more thoughtful and stripped-down band. Perhaps because of an overhauled lineup with a completely new rhythm-section, songwriting duo Chris Matthews and John Murphy shun electric guitars in a seeming attempt to get back to basics. Rhythmically the band is tight and slightly funky. But with the big choruses and grand gestures still intact, the steel-string guitar strumming feels tedious and out-of-place most of the time. Keyboardist Chris Cali’s sole songwriting contribution, “When it All Falls Apart”, is a loungey, Steely Dan-like jazz excursion, but otherwise flanelhed offer up acoustic post-grunge with earnest vocals and Southern rock undertones. Although dynamically understated given the potential of the material, there are some inspired moments, such as the guitar and piano interplay on the soulful-sounding “My Room”. For flanelhed, rocking acoustically might be a reaction against past musical excess, but like Dashboard Confessional’s grating acoustic-emo, taking the rock out can also suck the life out. —Mike Alexis

Their last release seemed like a Turbonegro tribute, but on this record Fleshies really hit their stride and put out something captivating. They re-visit their dorky roots (a throwback to Astrolloyd?) to provide a much wider variety of songs. From the hardcore of “Apocolyse”, through the geekcore of “Last Friday”, through the Spanish feel of “To Whom”, to the ‘80s pop punk of “Rosa”, this record shows the breadth of rock these guys are capable of. The guitarist has left behind the Angus Young rhythm-maker to embrace his inner Greg Ginn (check out the end of “No One”) in a fury of raw fills. The rhythm section changes feel and pace with ease to build a diverse, sturdy canvas to paint on. Couple all this with a rowdy stage show and you have one of the best bands from the Easy Bay right now. —Donner Pardee

FM Knives music is a well-executed throwback to late ‘70s guitar-driven punk. This is a great sing-along record, with melodic vocals reminiscent of the Buzzcocks. The vocals seem pissed, pessimistic, and use numbers a great deal (which makes me very suspicious). The guitarist has some great moments and has a warm fuzzy tone to his instrument, giving it a bit of a surf feel. The songs are fairly formulaic: verse, chorus, verse, chorus, and bridge that builds into a grand finale. However, if you are just looking for some great rock to fill the background and aren’t looking for music that inspires discovery in the field of nanotechnology, then this does the job just fine. An MP3 of one of the best tracks, “16 DOA”, is available on their website. —Donner Pardee

For Against   Coalesced
(Words On Music; www.words-on-music.com)

For a band that’s been around for eighteen years, Nebraska natives For Against sound remarkably young on their sixth LP, their first in five years. Known for their Joy Division/Factory Records sound in the mid-‘80s, the trio evolved over the years, acquiring a more dream-pop jangle with frontman Jeffrey Runnings’ F.M Cornog (East River Pipe) meeting Jeremy Enigk’s (Sunny Day Real Estate) voice intact. Marked by simple chord-patterns on a lush guitar, angst-driven lyrics, and the transparent pleasure in repeating catchy codas, Coalesced is rife with an adolescent ‘80s romantic-guitar pop nostalgia. “Outside A Heart” reminds me of The Church circa Starfish, and “Shelflife” could soundtrack the heartbreak scene in John Hughes movie, but my pick for the album is the darker bass-driven title-track. Coalesced plays like that once overplayed cassette, now stashed in your closet in a cracked yellowed case, that used to sit beside you on the passenger seat during those short but memorable drives to your summer job. —Delphine Hwang

On her 6th solo CD, Lisa Germano creates a haunting, abstract tapestry of sounds with the help of a supporting cast that includes Neil Finn, Johnny Marr, and Wendy Melvoin. With all these elite and singular players lending their expertise, it’s surprisingly impossible to pinpoint anyone’s contributions within the album’s dizzying atmospherics. Her songs evoke a warm blur, like a feeling of having had one too many, that can be both comforting and unnerving. Alcohol is a theme that is poured over these tracks, and her voice is like that of a slightly drunk insomniac: tired yet surprisingly lucid. Lines such as “Falling fast/Raise your glass/Fill your open sores” from the track “Pearls” and the desperate, ominous words, “Tell you what/it’s not gonna be alright/this time”, are sung in an unsettled, woozy whisper that could send shivers down the spine of even the most emotionally challenged. In one of the album’s most poignant moments, Germano resurrects her violin, the instrument that helped her make her mark in the ‘80s, and sets it against a toy piano on the final track, “...To Dream”; the result of this fragile pairing is no less than devastating. It’s as if she’s waking up after a restless sleep when in the album’s final seconds she sings to herself, “Listen you are dreaming/This is who you are/You don’t have to run away.” —Mike Alexis

Jolie Holland   Catalpa
(self-released; www.jolieholland.com)

“Some people say I got a psychedelic presence…” begins Catalpa. True, this. Jolie Holland’s voice is so natural, organic, and pure—and her writing so her own—the result is a dreamy, haunting reminder that the best music often comes from the simplest, unadorned places. Accompanying herself on guitar for most of the CD, Holland meanders through a great swamp of living imagery. What her music evokes most is the South; for those who’ve ever spent any time there, this requires no explanation. For those who haven’t, perhaps this music can provide a taste. It’s nearly impossible to describe, since words tend to be the very last resort when one is steeped in the slow time of muggy air, chlorophyll, and buzzing insects. Add to that the dulcet strums of a pawnshop ukelele and a voice somewhere between Hope Sandoval and Billie Holiday, and you’ll find yourself on a guided tour through Jolie Holland’s world. Just don’t expect her to tell you what it’s all about—she’ll only sing the refrain again and again: “The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs...” —Bill Heehan 

Eric Idle is a very funny fellow.… I mean, you'd think that would be pretty obvious, what with his being a founding member of the legendary British comedy troupe, Monty Python's Flying Circus, but it doesn't hurt for him to put out a new record once in a while, just to remind us of his brilliance. This new disc explores the kooky country of Rutland, which started life in the early 1970’s as a fictitious province in England, but seems to have migrated to more tropical, oceanic climes. Idle, in his guise as the glib, breathless, travel-show host, Nigel Spasm, guides us around the Rutland archipelago, skipping from the State of Paranoia to the Over Friendly Isles, while pointing out exotic fauna such as the penis fish, "which looks an awful lot like... a fish," and local celebrities such as the dictatorial General Gucci. Sly parodies of travel programs are the sort of stuff the Pythons built their reputation on, and much of this material, while clever and briskly delivered, seems like a well-worn path for this veteran satirist. Still, the very sound of Idle's voice, which evokes his trademark impish grin, will be enough to make devoted fans smile, and the best jokes on here will get a guffaw or two from even the most well-traveled among us. —Lawrence R. Kay

With the success of their first album, The Influents proved that even the most devout punk rockers could recognize a good pop record, even if the parameters of said genre were practically ignored. On their second album, Some Of The Young, The Influents show they can still craft catchy pop tunes, but this time they’ve taken those basic melodies and developed and explored them, resolving initial ideas into fully formed thoughts. For example, “Y’all Ever” starts off as a playful, Southern rock-tinged sound using Hammond, piano, and slide guitar, and then unexpectedly hushes into a lovely, complex bridge that Paul and John could have been proud of, incorporating vibes, trombone, trumpet, and a variety of percussive instruments. One of the strongest tracks on the album, “Time To Kill (Wish We Had),” begins with frontman Jason White singing an entire verse and chorus while playing his acoustic—over a minute and a half—before plunging into electric guitars, a melodic bassline, and driving drums that powerfully convey the sense of longing. This is the kind of album that could make a kid want to search his parents’ record collection to discover who influenced his favorite band, or make a seasoned veteran feel like pop punk had grown up too. —Damon Mailer

Inventing Edward, an autumnal branch on the Substandard family tree, has released this collection of dark, blurry melancholia. The band is comprised of several members of Half Moon Bay's hardcore affinity group, Under a Dying Sun, plus a few guest musicians; and in a slow, patient, often whimsical fashion, they create songs of surprising warmth and depth. What could easily be another regrettable sad-core album, is actually quite remarkable, and this is due in part to the breadth of ably-played non-rock instruments that have been added, and the space the band has provided for ambience, improvisation, and soundscaping. Reminiscent of The For Carnation, IE uses electric piano, strings, accordian, spoken word, and dark Neil Young-sounding guitar to build heaving oceanic storms. It takes some patience to appreciate this record, but keep listening, because it bears many gifts, and once it has you, it has you. —MS

Calling all Mods! Calling all Mods! Here's your big chance to check out the best of the best: Paul Weller and The Jam, back in the days when they led the first wave of post-punk rockers, breaking down the doors and offering pop fans something a bit more gritty and thoughtful than the disco and soft rock which littered the late-'70s landscape. This 2-DVD set collects all the Jam's early TV appearances and singles videos, charting their growth from well-dressed young punks to stylish neo-soul balladeers. The quality of production is often amusingly deficient, particularly on the long-forgotten BBC music programs devoted on the cheap to showcasing Great Britain's booming punk-era indie scene. Hastily spray-painted sets and shaky camera work capture the intensity and touching earnestness of The Jam, as well as the sheer adorableness of their pogo-ing, shaggy-haired fans. Pity poor bassist Bruce Foxton, whose growing discomfort becomes more and more obvious, as he becomes increasingly eclipsed by the razor-like glamour of the charismatic, rail-thin Weller. And Weller...! What a babe. And what a great songwriter! It's all here, from primal power-pop like "In The City" to the immortal, cutting guitar-riffs of "That's Entertainment," this well-programmed video collection is a blast from the past that still holds up today. —Lawrence R. Kay

The first track, “my/sec”, on The Junior Panthers’ (formerly known as The Damsels) satisfying debut sounds as if they want you immediately to hear everything they are capable of: a juicy riff, a driving chorus, a jazzy breakdown, and perfect pop-harmonies are all crammed into the first four minutes. With that declaration of all things good in pop music out of the way, they let subsequent songs breathe a bit more. Still, their bag of tricks seems bottomless and the album is filled with fun stuff like handclaps, shakers, and “whoa, whoa” backing vocals. Each song encompasses a different style, whether it’s the laid-back Serge Gainsburg-esque guitar and flute on “Embers,” or the foot-stomping Stones-y riffs on “Defy Your Radio”. Definitely steeped in retro guitar-pop, The Junior Panthers share common ground with bands like Apples in Stereo, the Posies, and Teenage Fanclub, and like these bands they keep their Beatles, Byrds, and Big Star fixations just far enough out of reach to keep things sounding fresh. When Edwin sings, “I wander in and out of style” on the track “Midway”, he ain’t kiddin’. —Mike Alexis

With the incessant onslaught of poor mainstream punk bands, Santa Barbara’s Lagwagon couldn't have picked a better time to end its five-year hiatus. After the release of 1998's Let's Talk About Feelings, the band took some time off to pursue other projects: drummer Dave Raun and singer Joey Cape played with fellow Fat band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Cape with Bad Astronaut, Raun with Good Riddance, and guitarists Chris Rest and Chris Flippin temporarily joined RKL. Though Lagwagon took its time to release its sixth album, Blaze, the result is well worth the wait. They still retain their signature catchy pop-punk sound, brimming with hooks and melodies, but also avoid being redundant. The opening track, “Burn,” starts off as slow, melodic indie-rock, but then rips into classic, fast punk, complete with a blazing, metal-esque guitar solo, as does “Dividers.” Other highlights include the catchy single “E Dagger” and “Billionaire.” They poke fun at themselves and their aging on the humorous “Falling Apart,” but the songs heard on this disc are proof that they’re anything but. —Damon Mailer

Little Brother   The Listening
(ABB Records; www.abbrecords.com)

At first glance, The Listening from Little Brother doesn’t look like your typical hip-hop album. That’s because it isn’t. It far exceeds typical standards and raises the bar for quality hip hop. This debut from North Carolina emcees Phonte and Big Pooh and producer 9th Wonder is an honest reflection of the group’s individual personalities. Dominated by deep, melodic, and percussive basslines, and simple but funky drum programming, 9th Wonder’s production is reminiscent and comparable to Jay Dee (Slum Village), DJ Hi-Tek (Reflection Eternal), and Pete Rock (Pete Rock & CL Smooth): rich in texture and layered with subtle elements. Adding color to the lush musical canvas, Phonte and Big Pooh paint pictures with their unique interpretation of the world around them. With a sincere and dialogical style similar to De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest, both lyricists manage to present themselves as genuine individuals while covering a range of introspective topics, from taking the time to breathe and enjoy life (“Speed”), to appreciating their fans (“The Way You Do It”), to lamenting the separation from a loved one (“Away From Me”). The Listening engages like a book you can’t put down, because there’s no filler material and Little Brother delivers with soul. —Felix Hwang

Ian McCulloch   Slideling
(Cooking Vinyl/spinArt; www.ianmcculloch.com)

In critical and commercial circles, Ian McCulloch’s solo work never quite lived up to the 20+ year legacy of Echo and the Bunnymen. Even the acclaim he earned in ’89 with Candleland wasn’t enough to propel his solo career, and raising two daughters and breaking off from Bunnymen co-founder Will Sergeant didn’t help much either. But McCulloch’s heavenly voice has always been his strength, and on his third solo album, it cleanly rises above the brew. Although he doesn’t push any new boundaries vocally, the shades and trench coat-clad Liverpool native still hasn’t lost any of the distinction he’s trademarked over the past two decades. Slideling reminds me of what Stoned and Dethroned was for the Jesus and Mary Chain: a noticeable evolution into a more poppy and mellow easy-chair. Coldplay’s Chris Martin also backs on tracks “Sliding” and “Arthur.” A big fan of the Bunnymen, Martin enlisted McCulloch as Coldplay’s special guest during their sold-out UK arena-tour last month. Catch McCulloch at Slim’s on May 27th. —Delphine Hwang

Joanna Newsom   Walnut Whales
(self-released; www.walnutwhales.com)

The tragically beautiful melodies that attract those individuals that feel one too many moments of heartbreaking, life-altering pangs a day can finally rest at ease to the magical, harp-wielding prowess of newcomer Joanna Newsom. Though barely legal, Newsom plucks melodies that are instantly familiar and that feel as lonesome as her child-like voice that accompanies them. With aesthetics that are both folk and classical, Newsom paints a world you could crawl into with a lit candle and the moon overhead. In “Clam Crab Cockle Cowrie,” she sings with a sense of aged wisdom, “I do as I please/Now I’m on my knees/Your skin is something that I stir into my tea.” Also using the piano and keyboard, Newsom writes songs that have a lovely quality, but it may take time to adjust to her voice. It’s occasionally got this nasally, high-pitched squeak, as on “Flying A Kite,” but can also be sweetly delicate and imperfect, as heard in “The Book of Right On.” A promising debut from an up-and-coming local songwriter. —Kathleen Richards

The Postal Service   Give Up
(Sub Pop; www.subpop.com)

The Postal Service is the fruit of a long-distance effort between the cities of Seattle and L.A. An unlikely relationship? Death Cab For Cutie’s lead singer, Ben Gibbard, was asked by Dntel’s Jimmy Tamborello to record some vocals over a drum-track for an upcoming release. Though the two had never met, Gibbard agreed, and the result, "(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan" (included on Dntel's 2001 full-length Life Is Full of Possibilities), marked the beginning of this left-coast love affair. After receiving backing from Sub Pop, Tamborello began to send north beat concepts to which Gibbard would write lyrics and melodies, a musical collaboration shared via the mail: hence Postal Service. The concept throughout is interesting because of its novelty. Hearing Gibbards melodic and complex lyricism, one could too easily be thrown off, thinking it another DCFC project. Instead, Taborello’s ability to produce catchy, danceable beats gives the album a sunny disposition. Good but not groundbreaking, this album will appeal to the DCFC faithful, savants of neo-‘80s synth sounds, as well as to those into other beat-oriented Sub Pop acts (Looper, Heather Duby). —Steve Ford

Replicator   ""
(self-released, www.replicator5000.com)

If this band sticks with it, it is going to be fantastic. It has a lot of ideas which pull in different directions and make this EP great. The transitions between ideas in some songs are sometimes a bit disjointed, but that may be the attraction. The opening track is an instrumental collection of two-chord riffs with a lot of tight changes. In “CAP Vehicle Retirement Application”, they run the rock-gamut from Big Black to Led Zeppelin and back. The recording sounds live with only tape loops and keyboards added later. The live sound gives it a raw energy, but compression and the lack of studio magic prevent it from really busting out when it seems natural. The exception to this is when the bassist uses some overdrive (at the end of “Bawkbakawk Bawkbagone” and intermittently in “Epoch”) to force the issue a bit more. —Donner Pardee

Run_Return   Run_Return
(Boombox; www.boomboxproductions.com)

Run_Return's self-titled, self-produced album, with its adorable computer print-out cover, is the best album I've heard in a long time. It belongs somewhere along the continuum that includes such fine and delightful music as that put out by Tortoise, Aphex Twin, Prefuse 73, and maybe even Leo Kottke. I normally pick a couple of my favorite songs off an album and just listen to those, but not in this case. Oh no, I listen to the whole thing from beginning to end every time. And I'm telling you this album has the potential to be the best album to play while having sex since that Portishead album everyone was humping to a couple years back. Besides that, it is also a work of genuine musical achievement. It is fraught with xylophones, drum machines, keyboards, unintelligible vocals, palsied guitar samples, and exquisite beauty. The last song features a saxophone sample which brings me back to John Cusack seducing the French girl in the burger shop in Better Off Dead. Run_Return live in Oakland, make good music, and are nice people. —Ben Bush

Shipping News   Three-Four
(Quarterstick Records; www.tgrec.com)

Oh, Shipping News. How do I love thee? I have no idea how a listener who has never heard any other record involving Jeff Mueller and/or Jason Noble would respond to this record. No conjecture on my part would be useful to said individual. If you're like me, however, and have loved most, if not all, of the Louisville diaspora since Rodan's Rusty, this is one of those records that will again flip your expectations and make you love Shipping News all over again, and in a whole new way. The band that can achieve this, is an accomplished band indeed: to have expectations appended to your forthcoming release, and to subvert those expectations while remaining as incomparable and emotionally moving as ever. There is lots of music on this one, and it's near impossible to talk about all of it in the short space of this review. All I can say is that it combines elements of Very Soon, and in Pleasant Company with Brooklyn-esque experimentation, and lonely bedroom four-track sessions. It is gorgeous, and addictive, and necessary. —MS

Sorry About Dresden   Let It Rest
(Saddle Creek; www.sorryaboutdresden.com)

In the last decade, North Carolina has been the breeding ground for commercially viable alt acts like Whiskeytown, Ben Folds Five, and Tori Amos. While Sorry About Dresden may not quite have the wide appeal of that list, they’ve found their own niche in their hometown of Chapel Hill, where acts like the now-defunct Archers of Loaf have shared the independent path they’ve traveled the past four years. Album number four, entitled Let It Rest, never steers away from Dresden’s usual poppy-punk sound, resembling at times the more raucous side of Camper van Beethoven or a less quirky Pavement. While singer Matt Oberst shares similar tones in his voice with his brother Conor, who fronts fellow Saddle Creek favorite, Bright Eyes, Matt takes the less emotive, more punk-nerd route to express himself. Both brothers and their bands recently played together on a nationwide tour, also sharing bills with acts like Arab Strap, Rainer Maria, and The Velvet Teen. —Delphine Hwang

Kelley Stoltz   Antique Glow
(Jackpine Social Club; www.electriccity.org)

Almost every song on this CD sounds like it was written in under 20 minutes, which is a very good thing indeed. Kelley Stoltz sings first and asks questions later (if he ever asks them at all). In a swirling racket of guitars, weird old keyboards, wonderfully trashy drums, and the vocal stylings of a man possessed, Stoltz emerges as an exceptionally talented songwriter with a spot-on instinct for melody and sonic flavor. Too often, musicians (especially singer-songwriters) allow themselves to be sterilized by the pressures and overthinking of studio recording. Stoltz just seems to blow all of that off, preferring instead to make it all look easy and fun (maybe it’s because he recorded most of it in his apartment, and the rest of it with his laid-back cohort, Kevin Ink). Stoltz’s lyrics are often hilariously arbitrary and escapist; in the thumping, enthusiastic anthem, “Underwater’s Where the Action Is,” he extols the virtues of a peaceful life beneath the waves, far from the madness and chaos of the city. And yet, in contrast to such chuffed-up stuff (think Donovan fronting the Monks) Stoltz can tone it down, too. On the lovely, spooky ballads, “My Silver Lining” and “Mean Marianne,” as well as the exquisite “Jewel of the Evening,” Stoltz croons in a rich, Cash-y baritone. I’ve woken up every morning for a week with these songs in my head, and it still makes me smile. Times being what they are, we can all use some Antique Glow. —Bill Heehan

Throwing Muses   Throwing Muses
(4AD; www.throwingmusic.com)

In 1997, Throwing Muses announced their break-up after completing the tour in support of their 1996 Limbo album. Late in 2001, fans were delighted with news that Throwing Muses had already recorded a new album that was slated for release in early 2003. Throwing Muses reunites songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist Kristen Hersh with bassist Bernard Georges and drummer David Narcizo, but does not purport to signal the return of Throwing Muses to the indie-rock circuit. It breaks no new ground and does not offer any fresh sound or direction that will attract new fans. In fact, it might just be a thank-you for die-hard fans who have enthusiastically continued to support Kristen Hersh over the past six years. Old fans should therefore not be disappointed with Throwing Muses, which is anchored by Kristen Hersh’s haunting, cryptic songwriting, and propelled by her crunchy, power-chord-driven guitar and Georges’ and Narcizo’s pounding rhythm section. It is a back-to-basics, indie-rocking, no-frills record. Ex-Muses Tanya Donelly’s backing vocals on four tracks are a most welcome sound to hear on a Throwing Muses record. —Koji Li

Various Artists   Underground Screams
(Asian Man; www.asianmanrecords.com)

Most record labels put out compilations of bands already on their roster, but the owner of the ten-year-plus-running Northern Cali label, Asian Man Records, Mike Park, compiled this collection out of over 600 demos he received from unsigned bands worldwide. Underground Screams features bands from Honolulu to Quakertown, Penn. (including four Bay Area bands—The Skyflakes, James Leste, The Clarendon Hills, and Cast of Thousands), but manages to sound like one soundtrack for a post-hardcore, indie-punk, punk-pop-ska generation. With the 26 songs clocking in at about seventy-three minutes, the album is truly a sampler for the short-attention-span listener. Highlights include “Night Crimes” by the Austin post-rock band, Scout You Devil, “Just Can’t Talk To You” and “Dear Kawashima,” by local bands The Clarendon Hills and The Skyflakes, respectively, “Two Syllables” by the Indiana-based The Ghettoblasters, and the catchy indie-rock of “Break Up Break Down” by Florida’s The DSC Project. —Kathleen Richards

Various Artists   San Francisco Challenge 2002 Live at the Hotel Utah Saloon
(Last Stop Records; www.laststoprecords.com)

While most of the bigger live-venues in the City cater to the larger national touring acts, weekly open-mic nights at smaller venues and bars have become a refuge for local talent looking to develop their sound. These occasions are often the only times musicians can rid themselves of their hyper-self-consciousness, which tends to be part of the bulk of the live-show experience and create a more encouraging, positive environment, despite the diversity of styles represented. Every Monday night, The Hotel Utah at 4th and Bryant hosts its open-mic night. The best of the pack showcases its acoustic, songwriting talent at the Challenge, and last year’s event is documented on this CD. In true Bay Area spirit, this disc has a taste of everything: poetry, storytelling, political commentary, a bluesey, psychedelic harmonica-solo, and more. J Neo Marvin passionately attacks class and social inequities in “Fiscal Year Zero…”. Vienna Teng could draw comparisons to Enya on her sweet piano-ballad, “Lullabye For A Stormy Night.” And Christopher Sharron’s “Time Between Breaths” has the sparse, slow, melancholy aesthetic of Erik Satie. —Kathleen Richards

Ral Partha Volbacher   Kite vs. Obelisk (Megalon; www.megalon.com)

Lost in a moment of reverie, we allow the imagination opportunity to present fleeting versions of a different self. These little lives that we lead in fleeting minutes of distraction allow the personna to accelerate toward absurdity within the safety of the mind. Thus, Ral Partha Volbacher, a man who is a man (Chadwick Bidwell) with a band (including members of brian_and_chris and Thee More Shallows), takes these vignettes of the imagination and puts them to verse. Kite Vs. Obelisk is a vessel for the anecdotes of a drunken Russian, a child-selling taxman, and a not-so-distantly-removed poet ruminating on the quality of his lyrics. The strength of these songs is in the details of these brief lives, details that are sometimes funny, sometimes sad, but always attempting to paint in total the experience of the transitory self. —Steve Ford