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Aimee Mann, Bachelor #2
At first, Bachelor #2 may leave you feeling like the whole thing is a little bit too smooth, a little too palatable, a little too VH-1. It's not. The lyrics are as tart as ever, and the melodies are perhaps even more unassailable.Billy Bragg & Wilco, Mermaid Avenue: Volume II
What Billy Bragg and Wilco have done with Woody Guthrie's archive is remarkable. The mood on Mermaid Avenue, Volume II is certainly darker than the first collection but doesn't forget Woody's often childish sense of humor. Fifty year-old words match perfectly with a modern folk-rock sound.Boss Hog, Whiteout
Boss Hog hasn't dumped their sleazy rock altogether; they've just filtered it through some machines. The result sounds something like an album-length Beck remix.Catatonia, Equally Cursed and Blessed
Catatonia's performance on Equally Cursed and Blessed just goes to show ya that you can hire the most talented and beautiful lead singer on the planet--it don't mean a thing if you ain't got that swing. Or that good songwriting.The Cure, Bloodflowers
It seems that Cure frontman Robert Smith has finally acknowledged the end. After every album he has threatened "the last ever", but by the sound of Bloodflowers, this time around he might mean it.Elliot Smith, Figure 8
On Elliot Smith's Figure 8, all the tools that made X/O one of 1997's best releases are present. So why does it come across as a letdown?The Jazz Butcher Conspiracy, Glorious & Idiotic
If the world didn't know a band was here, even with eighteen years and fifteen albums, can you really call it a comeback?Kevin Rowland, My Beauty
Kevin Rowland has traded in Dexy's Midnight Runners' shrill horn section for saccharine violins, his gutteral growl of rebellion for the flaccid wail of middle-age. His fire has burned out, and the resulting pile of ashes makes for one abysmal album.Meco, Dance Your Asteroids Off
Meco takes us on a tour of his swingin disco music from all four Star Wars films. There isn't a bad track on Dance Your Asteroids Off, but there isn't really a good track, either, and that's what makes it a priceless gem.Neil Young, Silver & Gold
Neil Young may not be breaking new ground on this album, but so what? Feel has always been more important to him than technical virtuosity, so if he feels like pulling out the acoustic instead of the Les Paul, more power to him.No Doubt, Return of Saturn
No Doubt's Return of Saturn belongs in your collection whatever your personal predelictions might be. It's a mature record and a childish record at the same time, and it understands you can be both and neither will suffer. It's rockin' and swayin' and so damn clever you might not be able to stand it.Pink Floyd, Is There Anybody Out There?
You may hate Pink Floyd and you may really hate The Wall, but the album is still the most comprehensive statement ever made about the relationship between rock stars and their audience.I Am Shelby Lynne
Contrary to the ecstatic review blurbs plastered onto the packaging of her CD, Shelby Lynne does not have soul. She has sharp pop sensibilities, a beautiful voice and her album's a good listen. But she does not have soul.Supergrass
Supergrass is a great band. This album is brilliant. It easily matches or betters any other British band's release in 1999.Travis, The Man Who
Travis is a sweet slice of melancholy ear candy, ultra-pretty but a bit too easy on the mind. If you can stomach some occasionally overwrought lyrics and a general lack of depth in the wordsmith department, let the lilting melodies carry your heart away.XTC, Wasp Star
Were I to introduce a top-40 radio devotee to XTC, this would be the album I'd choose; any young person who can't find at least one song to like from this record isn't worth the bother.
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