Review(s): Elbow, Soundtrack Of Our Lives, Daniel Johnston

Elbow - Cast Of Thousands: Elbow (and the Bunnymen).

Soundtrack Of Our Lives - Behind The Music: All the requisite Brit-pop influences are there. Beatles, Oasis, Radiohead, Kinks, Blur, but still, I wonder what all the fuss was when this was released.

VAST - Music For People: ::shrug::

Daniel Johnston - The Complete Early Recordings, Volume 1: Songs Of Pain and More Songs Of Pain:You either love Daniel Johnston in all his Manic/Depressive glory or just don't see the allure. More artists should be Manic/Depressive so they can be as good as him.

Review(s): Clem Snide, City of Caterpillar, Built To Spill, Broken Social Scene

Clem Snide - The Ghost Of Fashion: Good pop music. (Oh, and they did the theme song for Season 2 of Ed)

City Of Caterpillar - Demo + Live Recordings: Filling out the City of Caterpillar discography, this disc shows that even when they were 'just another Screamo' band they were good.

Built To Spill - Keep It: For some reason, I hear Radiohead meets Weezer, but that doesn't seem quite right. Good nonetheless.

Broken Social Scene - Feel Good Lost: They should call it the Sophmore Stride when it comes to this band, because this debut is boring and mediocre, just like most other bands on the genre, but their follow-up is heaven on plastic.

Review(s): Dirty Three, Damien Rice, Cursive, The Clint Boon Experience, Clinic

Dirty Three - Horse Stories: I don't know how to describe it. Post-Bluegrass? Post-Country? Post-Folk? Whatever it is, it's really good.

Damien Rice - O: If you listen really closely, you can hear the tears hitting the recording studio's floor.

Cursive - The Ugly Organ: Believe some of the hype.

The Clint Boon Experience - Compact Guide To Pop Music & Space Travel: Some of the most enjoyable (and quirky) pop music I've heard in a long time. Sadly, it will never get the recognition it deserves.

Clinic - Walking With Thee: Rather mediocre for being Thom Yorke-approved.

Review(s): Hot Hot Heat, Kayo Dot, Kind of Like Spitting, The For Carnation x2

Hot Hot Heat - Makeup The Breakdown: Die, dancepunk, die.

Kayo Dot - Choirs Of The Eye: Avante Gardecore that isn't quite to the level of City of Caterpillar, but good enough.

Kind Of Like Spitting - Bridges Worth Burning: I'd vote for a name change to Kind Of Like A Lack Of Emotional Conviction.

The For Carnation - Promised Works: Having members of Slint no longer makes me want to run out and buy their album.

The For Carnation - The For Carnation: He hits a chord taken right out of Spiderland. Your heart stops. Your pants become moist. You proceed to cry because not only is this not Spiderland, but you left your Spiderland disc at home.

Review(s): Lift To Experience, M83, Mercury Rev, Missy Elliott, Corm

Lift To Experience - The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads: Almost phenomenal, but then it goes on too long.

M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts: Why do I hate electronic music so?/On the list of acceptable, it ranks just below/the bubblegum pop you despise/but singing along I cannot deny.

Mercury Rev - Boces: If your songs are longer than 3 minutes and you're not doing anything to further something (a theme, story, emotion), you're music is boring.

Missy Elliott - Under Construction: Timbaland could make me sound good.

Corm - Everything Streamlined: Starting off as an early-Piebald rip off and slowly regressing into ska before ending up as a Hot Water Music rip off. Overall, it's a lackluster effort with some good moments.

Review(s): Betchadupa, Saturday Looks Good To Me, The Kinks, Slapshot

Betchadupa - Alphabetchadupa: This band is pretty good. But, so are the other 6,375 bands that sound exactly like them.

Saturday Looks Good To Me - All Your Summer Songs: Another indie pop band that does little to set itself apart.

The Kinks - Face To Face: The British Beatles.

Slapshot - Greatest Hits, Slashes And Crosschecks: One of those (like American Nightmare after them) who is copied more often than the Beatles.

Review(s): Sufjan Stevens, Swans, Liars x2

Sufjan Stevens - Greetings From Michigan, The Great Lake State: Something indescribable is missing. Once it is found, it will be perfect.

Swans - Children Of God: The worst album I have ever heard.

Liars - They Threw Us All In A Trench And Stuck On Monument On Top: Performing with such anxiety is sometimes a blessing and sometimes a curse. When referencing this disc, it is a blessing, despite the 30 minute 'outro'.

Liars - They Were Wrong, So We Drowned: Talk about ruining a band's potential.

Review(s): Pretty Girls Make Graves, Primus, The Rapture, Ednaswap, Silverchair

Pretty Girls Make Graves - The New Romance: Not at all what I was expecting from the makers of "Speakers Push The Air", but it's a good album that requires more listens to determine its greatness.

Primus - Sailing The Seas Of Cheese: Proving that not even shorter songs can save Prog-Rock.

The Rapture - Echoes: Every indie kid's wet dream: A record s/he can dance to without losing scene points!

Ednaswap - Ednaswap: This band is a hook and producer away from being on Star 94. (note: They were the ones who wrote the song "Torn" as performed famously by Natalie Imbruglia)

Silverchair - Diorama: They weren't cool in 1995 with Frogstomp and they're not cool in 2002 (2004) with Diorama.

Review(s): Monotonashfuck, Múm, My Bloody Valentine, Oceansize, the pAper chAse

Monotonashfuck - Demo: It is unclear if this band is pre- or post-City of Caterpillar. I hope that it is the former, because it's nothing special and City of Caterpillar was.

Múm - Finally, We Are No One: Electronic music from Iceland. You figure it out.

My Bloody Valentine - Loveless: Pushing the boundaries of noise boredom.

Oceansize - Effloresce: There are so many elements of this band that I like, but it just doesn't quite fit. I expect good things from them in the future.

the pAper chAse - hide the kitchen knives: Everything a Dave Pajo solo CD should be. Even if it doesn't actually have Dave Pajo.