Neutral Milk Hotel - Everything Is E.P.

"Everything Is was the first recording mass-released by Neutral Milk Hotel, which at this point was largely still an outlet for the songwriting of Jeff Mangum, instead of a fully formed band. The recording was originally the second release on the fledgling Seattle label Cher Doll Records in 1994. The label in the form of a 7", with "Everything Is" as the A side, and "Snow Song, Pt. 1" as the B side. The first 50 7"s pressed also featured different artwork, with each sleeve being personally xeroxed by Mangum. The Cher Doll edition is now out of print, and standard copies can expect to sell for around $20-$30, with the hand-xeroxed version likely to sell for considerably more. The British label Fire Records re-released the record in 1995, on CD and 7", with the 7" retaining the same A and B sides, and the CD version featuring an extra track, "Aunt Eggma Blowtorch", a five minute sound collage by Mangum. Both CD and 7" featured different artwork (which can be seen to the right). The Fire version is also out of print, though not as collectable as the Cher Doll version.

Modest Mouse - Interstate 8

"Interstate 8 is the second out-of-print EP by indie rock band Modest Mouse, released on Up Records in 1996. It contains the band's original demo, Live in Sunburst Montana, which was recorded in Isaac Brock's garage in Issaquah, Washington."

Nirvana - Bleach

With a sludgy, chainsaw guitar sound that owes as much to early Black Sabbath as to Kurt Cobain's heroes The Melvins, whose drummer puts in an appearance here, Nirvana emerges from Seattle's underground scene as standard-bearers of a style that embraces the anger and energy of punk alongside the thick, muddy sonic attack favored by early '70s proto-metal bands. Cobain's lyrics are fueled by outrage and self-loathing, combining literary flair with a direct, visceral quality that makes him a viable candidate for the John-Lennon-of-Gen X award.

Nirvana's debut album showcases what sounds more like a force of nature than a rock band. The unrelenting fervor with which the group delivers these 13 tunes is almost frightening. There is also a strong melodic flair that leavens the ferocity occasionally, hinting at the scope of Cobain's compositional talents. "Love Buzz" and "About A Girl" show off enough pop smarts to make it clear that as strong as Bleach is, Cobain's hiding even more tricks up his sleeve.First CD from Nirvana, recorded for about $600 in a garage. This Sup Pop release includes 'About A Girl', 'Love Buzz', 'Negative Creep' & 10 more tracks.

Interpol - Our Love To Admire

Although many fans have been waiting around for Interpol to replicate the magic of their 2002 debut Turn On The Bright Lights, the band deserves credit for not overtly aping the formula of that album. On 2007's Our Love To Admire, as on the group's sophomore effort Antics, Interpol endeavor to stretch the fabric of their classic 1980s post-punk sound while leaning toward straightforward pop territory. They succeed, to a large degree, thanks to a major label budget (the band moved to Capitol for this release) and a strong batch of material.

None of this is to say that Interpol aren't still rooted in the dark dramatics of Joy Division, the band's primary influence, as the gloomy, churning "Pace is the Trick" and "Wrecking Ball" prove. But the upbeat feel of "The Heinrich Maneuver" and the thumping groove and catchy hooks of "No I in Threesome" show a fresher-faced Interpol, as do the ambitious production flourishes of tunes like opener "Pioneer to the Falls." The album's nicest surprise comes at the end: "The Lighthouse" is a spare, emotionally affecting song, lovely and haunting, illustrating--as the rest of the album does--the band's continued ability to captivate.

Joy Division - Permanent

For those curious about Joy Division, but wary of diving into the double-disc compilation Substance or the band's two outstanding studio albums, the single-disc Permanent provides a strong, representative sampling of the band's songs. These 15 tracks (culled from the studio records and non-album singles) remind listeners that, among other things, Joy Division was a tally of the time in its brilliant presaging of punk's metamorphosis into moody, introspective, synth-tinged dance music.

But Joy Division cannot be reduced to a page in late-1970s history--the group's music sounds as fresh and uncompromising decades later as it did in '79. Led by Ian Curtis's possessed, anguished vocals, the quartet's sound is an intuitive navigation of chaos--propulsive drum lines, angular guitar riffs, and throbbing bass. Though it often seems on the verge of flying apart, the music coalesces in its fierceness and intensity. Permanent covers most of Joy Division's memorable moments--"These Days," "Isolation," "She's Lost Control," "Heart and Soul," "Love Will Tear Us Apart," among others--and reveals a remarkably influential and powerful band. Live Recording

PJ Harvey - The Peel Sessions

Although PJ Harvey has moved far afield musically from the gutsy blend of punky intensity and blues grit that powered her stark debut, DRY, and the equally harsh RID OF ME, the Welsh singer-songwriter always remained fond of that stripped-down sound. On her regular appearances on the late BBC DJ John Peel's show, Harvey always went for a dry, live-in-the-room sound, and so the 12 songs on this set are a testament to the purity of her voice and guitar. Along with familiar tunes like "Water" and "Sheela-Na-Gig," Harvey favors comparative rarities like a sly version of the blues standard "Wang Dang Doodle." This collection also includes the entirety of her October 1991 debut session, which predates her first album by almost a year.

Ash - 1977

On its 1996 debut, the Irish trio Ash offers up an immediately engaging set of energetic punk-pop. Given Green Day's rise to fame in the preceding years, Ash often received comparisons to that American band, but the young group, led by charismatic frontman Tim Wheeler, was more directly influenced by common older sources (as the album title would imply) such as the Buzzcocks and the Ramones.

Largely due to the presence of producer Owen Morris (the Verve, Oasis), Ash also benefited from a Britpop connection, a trait magnified by its playful demeanor (see the fun, martial arts-themed "Kung Fu"), which echoed precursors such as Blur and Supergrass. While the hard-charging, highly melodic single "Girl from Mars" garnered attention on both sides of the pond, it would prove to be Ash's peak of popularity in the U.S., though the U.K. would go on to embrace the ensemble's later, more adventurous sound, which reached full fruition on FREE ALL ANGELS.

Sonic Youth - Dirty Boots

While there is little denying the title track's status as one of Sonic Youth's strongest songs from their early-'90s period, the bonus live recordings are the real reason to own the Dirty Boots CD single. The scorching versions of "White Kross," "Eric's Trip," and "Cinderella's Big Score" reaffirm the group's status as one of the strongest live acts amid the alternative rock movement. Furthermore, this EP also includes an unreleased instrumental song, titled "The Bedroom," which isn't anything special, though it does make for an interesting listen.

* On the front cover , Thurston Moore is wearing a Roland Kirk t-shirt.
* Contains lyrics to 'Dirty Boots' in the sleeve.
* The main girl in the video wears a Nirvana t-shirt, 5 months before the release of their breakthrough album Nevermind.
* While technically an EP, it is considered the final single from the album.

Dishwalla - And You Think You Know What Life's About

Sure, they first came to public attention through a cut on the Carpenters tribute album, but that's no reason to assume that Dishwalla's not a band with a musical agenda all its own. This album is a grab-bag of various '90s styles, but all of them add up to a musical vision that is uniquely the band's own. "Truth Serum" jumps from Portisheadish trip-hop to a heavy, guitar-driven chorus. Tunes like "Once In A While" and "Healing Star" make use of acoustic instruments in the service of introspective balladry. If there's a unifying them here, it's the combination of anthemic alt-rock with quirky, electronica-derived production touches like processed voice, squiggly keyboards and the occasional looped-sounding beat. And You Think You Know What Life's About is an aural portrait of a band determined not to be stylistically pigeonholed.

Animal Collective - Spirit They're Gone, Spirit

Mixing chaos and beauty, pop and contrary noise, AC have left the musical map way behind. Where they're headed is anyone's guess..."

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Is Is (2007) (EP)

Written amidst one of the most turbulent and emotionally unstable periods in YYYs history, for whatever reason the angst that colored that point in time translates erotically into a sexually charged body of songs. On their choice of producer, Karen O intones; "Nick Launay was the natural choice having produced PIL Flowers of Romance, collectively a favorite between us. I put that record on and want to stuff my mouth with raw hamburger meat.". Is Is is an expression of similar sordid energy.

The White Stripes - Icky Thump

Following the arty explorations of its predecessor, Get Behind Me Satan, Icky Thump finds everybody's favorite platinum-selling, post-modern garage-rock duo returning to their bang-and-stomp rock-&-roll roots. The marimbas and pianos of the former are kicked to the curb in favor of the kind of Led Zeppelin-in-a-trash-can riffs on which Jack and Meg White built their cooler-than-ice reputation.

There's an overwhelming sense of urgency and catharsis on most tracks, as on the title cut, where Jack's Robert Plant-ish wail falls into a near-rap full of breathless cadences. That dirty, primal groove evoked by said title is the organizing principle of the album, sweaty blues-rock writ large and gritty. Even though there are a couple of brief stylistic diversions when the Whites veer into folkier territory, there's no mistaking Icky Thump's status as a thick slab of heavy rock capable of handily crushing lesser sonic statements.

Morcheeba - Dive Deep

Dive Deep is their next studio album which is expected to be released in late 2007 and is expected to have several vocalists taking the stage instead of the one vocalist all throughout the album. Some of the songs bound to appear on the album have been uploaded for listening on Morcheeba's Myspace site. Songs played included; Flowers, Enjoy The Ride, Riverbed and Washed Away.

Bryan Ferry - Dylanesque

Supposedly recording the album in one inspired week, the suave singer takes on some of the bard's best here in a manner that would probably appeal to Dylan's mercurial nature. "Positively 4th Street" gets a string section makeover; "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" becomes a slow boiler with bedroom eyes; "Gates of Eden" is a crooner's delight; and the largely faithful "Make You Feel My Love," from Time Out Of Mind, gets its due as one of Dylan's great recent songs. This is a gripping listen for fans of both artists. 2007 solo return by the lead singer of Roxy Music with a project that logically stems from his 2002 "Frantic" album. Two of that album's highlights were two covers of Bob Dylan songs and Ferry decided to fulfill an artistic dream and expand that premise to an LP's worth of tunes. Ferry's penchant for covering Bob Dylan songs began with the opening track of his first solo album, which was "A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall", a UK Top 10 hit in 1973. This album was recorded by most of Ferry's touring cast of musicians including Guy Pratt, Andy Newmark, David Williams, Chris Spedding, David Williams and the surprising guitar solos of Oliver Thompson. Other guests include Paul Carrack, Brian Eno, Robin Trower, Zev Katz, Bobby Irwin and son Isaac Ferry. Produced by Ferry along with Rhett Davies and musical director and arranger extraordinaire Colin Good and mastered by Bob Clearmountain.

Tom Waits - Franks Wild Years

Ostensibly a "concept" piece about the strange adventures of a ne'er-do-well named Frank, Franks Wild Years is an album full of masterfully written songs and brilliant arrangements, whether one follows the conceptual thread or not. This final album in the loose trilogy that began with Swordfishtrombones expands upon the advances of its predecessors both in terms of hazy, dreamlike imagery and eclectic, exotic instrumentation.

Waits is nothing if not theatrical, and he plays a wide range of characters here. On the uproarious "Straight to the Top" he's a gonzo lounge singer. On "Innocent When You Dream" he's an old-world balladeer after too many whiskeys. He dons the preacher's cloak for "Down in the Hole," warning of the devil's powers, and he braves the top of his range for an unearthly shriek on "Temptation." Buoyed by the angular, eccentric accompaniment of Mark Ribot, Michael Blair and others, he rides an oddly wrought, multicolored train to musical glory.

The National - Boxer

Modern Music Review
The National returns with a stronger album increased by solid guitar cracks, gloomy bass guitar, alive piano sections, woodwinds, backing vocals, strings, and organs, plus three contributors include Doveman, Marla Hansen, and neighborhood friend Sufjan Stevens. Even though i prefer Stuart Staples for a romantic midnight playlist, Matt Berninger and Stuart are all inspiring singers. I love calling this style as drunken indie rock. When asked to describe Boxer, it draws bold strings around indie rock routines, and of course "Boxer" ain't a very distinctive or perfect record, we've seen many perfect example of this kind of thin-skinned rock music. Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Serge Gainsbourg, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Scott Walker, and Wilco, and they were better. But The National find ways to combine all of these , they take same melancholy, same blue sound, and they mix their own emotions to the songs which are about love, war and money.

The National gives sort of examples on songs Apartment Story, Brainy, Slow Show -- where a clear Joy Division influence appears -- like in the post-punk movement by later emphasizing not anger and energy but mood and expression. Little details are so important in "Boxer", more you listen it, the more you love it. That's what i've been doing during one month. I've got this album and who cares a writing, i just want to listen to it now!

The Avalanches - Since I Left You

The creation of dark and spectral soundscapes seems almost de rigueur for electronica artists. Not so for the Avalanches, a six-member DJ ensemble from Australia. In fact, the group's debut, Since I Left You, was the most feel-good slab of sample-centered electronica to come down the pike in ages. Though tied to house, trance, and other styles of the postmodern DJ tradition, this album presents a sense of openness, naivete, and promise. Familiar dance samples, childlike voices, choral refrains, funky breaks, and a gentle, oddly soothing avant-garde clutter are dominant here.

In no way is the record simple-minded, however. The Avalanches construct dense sonic tapestries; between the simultaneous beats, multiple samples, vocal clips, and flourishes of live instrumentation, it is difficult to discern where the band's meticulous architecture leaves off and the sparkling aural dream begins. In an age where "everything's been done," and the most interesting artistic forms stem from recombining pre-existing snippets of culture, the appearance of an album that makes something bright and hopeful from that same aesthetic is both startling and welcome.

Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of This Country

With their second full-length album, Camera Obscura escapes the "shadow" of comparisons with kindred pals Belle & Sebastian. Their songs aren't nearly as satirical or demurely sarcastic as those of their fellow Scots; rather, Camera Obscura express their harmonious melancholy in a much more straightforward manner, while still sharing an obvious love for infectious hooks born of 1960s folk-rock, mainstream pop, Motown, and new wave. Imagine if ABBA had lovably low-fi basement/bedroom production, and you'll come close to the poignant charms of Camera Obscura's Country.

Dead Kennedys - Frankenchrist

Frankenchrist is the Dead Kennedys album that garnered them the most public attention, albeit for reasons the band would ultimately regret. California prosecutors, clearly no fans of politically charged punk rock, declared an H.R. Giger poster the Kennedys included with the album's original pressing obscene. The result was a protracted two-year legal fight. The band ultimately won it, but the effort exhausted them and led to their ultimate breakup.

Nevertheless, the music remains. It's still primo punk, and as relevant as ever, thanks to lead singer Jello Biafra's stinging lyrical swipes at the powers that be, and the gloriously metallic clang of East Bay Ray's guitar. Classic stuff.

Nirvana - Incesticide

More than just a b-sides collection, Incesticide culls together Nirvana's work before and around their now-legendary albums. Released between the groundbreaking Nevermind and the artsier IN UTERO, the rarities and outtakes which make up this album shed new light on Nirvana's oeuvre, filling in the gaps between official releases and providing fans with a wider variety of recordings from different sources.

Highlights include three covers, taken from John Peel sessions: a Devo tune ("Turnaround") and two songs by Scotland's The Vaselines, whose purposefully vapid pop magic is given the force of a juggernaut, with the minimal production that best showcases the Nirvana's aggressive grace. The famous quasi-live recording conditions of the BBC sessions provide another standout, the surging, desperate "Aneurysm," which remains one of Nirvana's finest recorded moments.

Ash - Twilight Of The Innocents

'Twilight Of The Innocents' is the sixth and final album from one of the most successful Northern Irish bands of all time, Ash. Recorded in New York and produced by the band and Michael Brauer (Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, My Morning Jacket), the album is yet another masterclass in writing great rock songs, and is sure to please the band's loyal fanbase. Includes the singles 'You Can't Have It All' and 'Polaris'.

Tindersticks - Working For The Man (limited edition)

Released a year after the remastered and extras-stuffed versions of Tindersticks' first five studio albums (which were distributed in the U.K., but not the U.S.), Working for the Man is a useful introduction that is a little more representative than the nonspecific Donkeys 92-97 compilation, itself a bizarre scramble of A-sides, stray tracks, and previously unreleased material. This disc nearly rectifies the inherent uncertainty that results when you poll any number of Tindersticks fans about the best album to start with. (You want to hear Sam Cooke's Night Beat crossed with Roxy Music ballads, so get Simple Pleasure. No, you want several variations on Joy Division's "I Remember Nothing" cast against a widescreen Scott Walker backdrop, so try the second album. It doesn't matter, because they're all practically the same and they're all bloody masterpieces. And so forth, until you suddenly forget that you ever thought of giving the band a shot.) The disc cuts off chronologically at 1999, before Tindersticks parted ways with Island and joined with Beggars Banquet, so it doesn't include anything from 2001's Can Our Love... or 2003's Waiting for the Moon. At only 11 tracks, it's concise to a fault, focusing on the primary singles and chickening out on making any judgment calls about the group's best album cuts. A more effective starter disc would've included at least a few non-singles, which are often more alluringly morose and wonderfully grandiose than the singles. Even so, there's enough heartache, longing, sleaze, and debauchery contained within the disc to indicate how much will be lost by not devouring each studio album in its entirety. In the U.K., this compilation was released as Working for the Man: The Island Years, and the first batch came with a bonus disc. This U.S. version is identical to the first disc of the U.K. version. This version is a limited edition, later copies of this will be one cd only. This release leads into the re-release of all five of the studio albums made during that period.

Smashing Pumpkins - Zeitgeist

Zeitgeist is The Smashing Pumpkins' official sixth album (excluding Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music, freely distributed via the Internet). German for "The Spirit of the Age," Zeitgeist is set to be released on July 10, 2007 in the United States, although the album was originally slated to be released on July 7, 2007 . It will be the first official album to be released under the Smashing Pumpkins name since 2000, and the first new material to be released since two of its original members, vocalist and guitarist Billy Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, reunited in 2005.

Super Furry Animals - Hey Venus!

The eleven-track disc, out August 27 on Rough Trade, will be trotted out with a single for the track “Show Your Hand” arriving August 13. Rhys explained the album’s narrative, which details a character named Venus and the trials and tribulations following her move from the country to the city. He also told NME.com that the band is already working on its next album, which may feature a few cuts left off of Hey Venus!
Super Furry Animals - Hey Venus! on The Modern Music

Sigur Ros - ()

"()" was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album and for Best Recording Package. With critical darlings Sigur Ros releasing an album called ( ) that features eight untitled songs, this Icelandic outfit continues to go against the grain in a manner so esoteric that it's easy to imagine the band's oft-cited influence on Radiohead. Ironically, the vocals here depart from the previous albums' Robert Smith-like tones for a sound highly reminiscent of Radiohead's Thom Yorke. Perhaps SR is just returning the favor. In any case, most of these songs clocking in at over ten minutes, and the oddness quotient goes up considerably when you hear frontman Jonsi Birgisson singing in a fusion of Icelandic and a made-up language called Hopelandic. Infused with a melancholy mood wrapped around swirling, ambient keyboards and floating guitar chords, the dynamics become the bellwether of this musical exercise. With this kind of purposefully funereal pacing, listeners will either be praising this album as another example of Sigur Ros's innovation or attempting to rise from catnaps to declare that the emperor has no clothes.

Sinead O'Connor - Collaborations

O'Connor's voice injects emotion into the dark trip-hop of Massive Attack's "Special Case," as well as the haunting South Asian dub of Asian Dub Foundation's "1000 Mirrors." On the Eastern-tinged "Guide Me God," a dance hit in 2002, O'Connor duets with Natacha Atlas (Ghostland), while delving further into worldbeat on Afro Celt Sound System's dub-influenced "Release." "Harbour" by Moby features O'Connor at her most melancholy, begging "sink me in the ocean, to sleep in a sailor's grave," before resolving in quiet, downtempo majesty. O'Connor reachers her zenith with Peter Gabriel's "Blood of Eden," on which she compliments Gabriel's throaty baritone for a powerful atmosphere. Additional collaborations with U2, The The, Colourfield, Conjure One, and several others prove O'Connor's ability to infuse her signature style into any genre without overwhelming the song itself.An outstanding lineup of collaborators makes this Sinead O'Connor release an essential purchase for an incredibly broad range of contemporary music buyers.