KAHIMI KARIE Le Roi Soleil 1996

 

Discogs

 

Kahimi Karie Biography by Heather Phares

Though she now resides in Paris, Japanese singer/songwriter Kahimi Karie is still linked with the stylish, ultra-hip look and sound of Tokyo's Shibuya district, which also inspired like-minded artists such as Fantastic Plastic Machine,Pizzicato Five, and Cornelius. In particular, Cornelius (aka Keigo Oyamada) had a lot to do with jump-starting Karie's career in music; during the early '90s, she was a music photographer and he was her boyfriend at the time. Oyamada asked her to sing with a band on his friend's label, and her sweet, sensual, yet innocent vocal style was discovered. Almost immediately after the release of her first EP, Karie became a superstar in Japan, releasing several gold-status singles, hosting a radio program, and recording the theme song to one of the nation's most popular animated shows. She also collaborated with members of Pizzicato Five, French indie pop vocalist Katerine, and, most significantly, Scottish singer/songwriter Momus, who wrote and produced songs on several of her later singles and albums, including her 1998 self-titled U.S. debut, which was released on Minty Fresh Records. That year also saw her live debut in the States as the opening act for Momus' U.S. tour; the following year they toured together again, and Karie released K.K.K.K.K. domestically on Le Grand Magistery, Momus' U.S. label. Journey to the Centre of Me appeared in mid-2000.

 

Tracklist

1. Le Roi Soleil
2. Take It Easy My Brother Charlie
3. Ma Langue Au Chat
4. Son of A Gun
5. 若草の頃 / A Fantastic Moment (Demo Version)
Bonus Track
6. ハミングがきこえる

SOMETHING HAPPENS Planet Fabulous 1994

 

by request

Discogs

 

Track 11 is missing. Sorry.

Something Happens are an Irish pop-rock band whose heyday was the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's lineup consists of Tom Dunne (Vocals), Ray Harman (Guitar), Alan Byrne (Bass) and Eamonn Ryan (Drums).

 

Tracklist

1		Flag
2		Are You My Girl
3		Fataler Femmes
4		Here Come The Soldiers
5		Rosewood
6		Wind's Future Wife
7		Heart Of A Diver
8		A 70's Wedding
9		C.C. Incidentally
10		Xuxa
11		Planet Fabulous
12		God Awful Complications
13		Divide
14		Momentary Thing

ORAL GROOVE Collisionville 1997

 

Discogs

 

Power pop from Brooklyn, New York

 

Tracklist

1		Car Driver
2		Levitate Her
3		A Deeper Look Inside
4		Danny Felter
5		Hold It In
6		ID
7		Human Hands
8		Something I Had To Do
9		Come On
10		Serves To Remind Me
11		Pull The Trigger
12		Unnaturally
13		England's Dreaming
14		Tell Me You Love Me Again

VAGABONDS OF THE MIDWESTERN WORLD: FIGHTING SONGS BY THIN LIZZY Various Artists 1995

 

Discogs 

 

Tribute to Thin Lizzy featuring alternative rock, grunge and industrial bands

 

Tracklist

1	Speed Duster–	Fight My Way Back
2	Pegboy–	Emerald
3	D.O.P.E. (5)–	Showdown
4	Young Lords (4)–	Fight Or Fall
5	77 Luscious Babes–	The Boys Are Back In Town
6	Triple Fast Action*–	Little Girl In Bloom
7	Wicker Man–	Don't Believe A Word
8	Screw Party–	Wild One
9	Die Warzau–	S&M
10	Rosehips*–	Whiskey In A Jar
11	Rustbucket–	Toughest Street In Town
12	Gravity (36)–	Bad Reputation
13	Undone (2)–	Are You Ready
14	Wesley Willis Fiasco*–	Jailbreak
15	Hot Heels–	Dancing In The Moonlight

WALTER CLEVENGER The Man With The X-Ray Eyes 1997

 

Discogs 

 

Walter Clevenger Biography by Steve Huey

Los Angeles power pop singer/songwriter/guitarist Walter Clevenger has a rootsy, laid-back sound highly reminiscent of Nick Lowe and Rockpile. Clevenger grew up listening to country music and discovered the Beatles in fourth grade, later branching into power pop and forming a band in high school. But it was Nick Lowe's fusion of the two sounds that inspired Clevenger to pick up his pen and guitar in earnest. A home-recorded cassette, PoPgOeStHeMuSiC (no longer in print), made its way out of a circle of family and friends and got Clevenger signed to Not Lame Records. Clevenger recorded a proper album, The Man With the X-Ray Eyes, with his backing band the Dairy Kings (guitarist Steve Bancroft, bassist Henry Clift, and drummer Mike Fernandez) in 1997. Love Songs to Myself followed two years later.

 

Tracklist

1		Angels	2:50
2		X-ray Eyes	3:58
3		Down To The River	3:00
4		Yesterday's News Now	2:44
5		Love You Like A King	2:35
6		My Little Girl	2:58
7		Nothing At All	3:26
8		Lose My Mind	2:45
9		Yesterday Come Back	3:39
10		Love (A Misunderstood Thing)	1:57
11		Cries Of Desperation	1:38
12		I Don't Like Your Face (Just Git)	3:13

LESLIES Totally Brilliant 1996

 

Discogs

 

The Leslies Biography by Stewart Mason

A Swedish band that sounds rather like their compatriots Eggstone and the Cardigans, the Leslies released two fine albums in the mid-'90s that should be of interest to any fans of the Swedish indie scene. Formed in the southern Swedish town of Kristianstad in 1993, singer Martin Berndtsson, guitarist Martin Engvall, keyboardist Jens Faltman, bassist Jonas Johansson, and drummer Tony Ivarsson made a home-recorded demo in 1994 which they sent to Tambourine Studios owner Tore Johansson, a key figure in the Swedish pop scene. A Johansson-produced Tambourine demo led to a deal with the new label Harry Lime Records. A single, "The Limesong," came out in 1995, followed by the group's full-length debut, Totally Brilliant, in 1996, and a follow-up, Of Today, for Today, in 1997. In 1998, the U.S. label American Pop Project released The Leslies, a five-song EP compiled from the group's two albums.

Tracklist

  1. A Daydream
  2. Yes I Am
  3. Boy
  4. They Are All The Same
  5. Tellygirl
  6. The Lime Song
  7. My Heavenly
  8. Discoking
  9. Weirdo
10. Everlasting
11. Totally Brilliant
12. Mistaken

THE WOLVERTON BROTHERS LiarMan CD EP 1993

 

Discogs

 

Liar Man Review by Stewart Mason

The third album by Cincinnatti's Wolverton Brothers, 1992's Liar Man pairs the group with producer and eventual key member Jon Langford, whose mixture of spiky punk, Captain Beefheart influences, and love of traditional country, was perfectly matched to the group's burgeoning aesthetic. Although the seven-song album is over in under 27 minutes, that's just enough time for the group to range from the post-punk thrum of the obsessive, pounding "Vampyre," to the impressive, jangly, heartland rock of the anthemic "Xanadu." The highlights are the churning "Blackout," which combines the two sides of the group's musical personality the best of these seven songs, and the outstanding "Max Gomez Love," which pairs the arpeggiated mystery of early R.E.M. with the keening passion of a classic Mekons song.

 

Tracklist

1		Vampyre
2		Our Town
3		Max Gomez Love
4		My Canoe
5		Xanadu
6		Tornado Bomber
7		Blackout

TWENTY CENT CRUSH Word of Mouth EP 1997

 

Discogs

 

Word of Mouth Review by Jason Damas

Initially entering the power-pop world's consciousness by sharing an album with the Rooks, the L.A.-based Twenty Cent Crush have become one of the more overlooked yet excellent bands on the power-pop scene. Their smooth blend of Californian pop and sturdy riffage has backbone, but with a very sensitive, personal feel attached to it. While they have yet to release a formal debut album, this six-song EP is a fine example of what this band is capable of. The leadoff track, "Pendulum Swing" is an uptempo track with tons of harmonizing and complicated melodies, and "Goodbye" is a moving, affected ballad. The lack of simplicity is part of what makes this release so enjoyable; on every repeated listen, new harmonies and instruments climb out from the background to be noticed, only making the disc more and more enjoyable.

 

Tracklist

1		Pendulum Swing
2		Goodbye
3		Friend
4		You Deserve It All
5		Best Kept Secret
6		The Dream

SUPERDRAG The Fabulous 8-Track Sound of Superdrag EP 1995

 

Discogs

 

Superdrag Biography by Darren Paltrowitz

Though many have dubbed Superdrag a punk-pop or power pop band, their music has shown itself to be atop of the aforementioned genres. Taking as much influence from the British Invasion-style pop of the Beatles and the Zombies as My Bloody Valentine and Hüsker Dü, Superdrag's songs combined melodicism and noise in fully distinct fashion. While many have compared frontman John Davis -- no relation to the Jonathan Davis of Korn or John Davis of Folk Implosion -- to Big Star's Alex Chilton in terms of his throaty vocals, sometimes cynical lyrics, and major-minor chord progressions, the history of the two Tennessee-based groups have shared many parallels in terms of being a band's band that has often gone misunderstood.

Superdrag's chief members -- Davis, guitarist Brandon Fisher, bassist Tom Pappas, and drummer Don Coffey, Jr. -- had played together in various outfits, including Punch Wagon and 30 Amp Fuse, before molding into the Used in the early '90s. The band's lineup featured Davis on drums, Pappas on vocals/guitar, Fisher on lead guitar, and Chris Hargrove on bass, although Coffey was eventually recruited to get behind the drum kit as Davis left to pursue "Superdrag" -- a vehicle for his own songs. Though Davis was fully competent toward playing all of the instruments on his original material (as shown on circulated home demos), he enlisted the talents of Fisher, Pappas, and Coffey so the group could play live. While playing frequent shows in their native Knoxville and beyond, Superdrag became a buzz band through the release of their 1995 debut, The Fabulous 8-Track Sounds of Superdrag, which was issued by Darla Records. The EP received rave reviews in publications like CMJ, fueling a major-label bidding war that eventually saw the band heading to Elektra Records.

After Regretfully Yours was released during the summer of 1996, the leadoff first single "Sucked Out" became a major radio hit on both alternative and crossover stations, in addition to becoming an MTV "Buzz Clip." Sales of Regretfully Yours eventually pushed to a moderately successful 300,000, despite the failure of follow-up single/video "Destination Ursa Major." Playing hundreds of shows in support of the record, the group established itself as a highly renowned touring entity, though many of Davis' new songs proved to be darker and increasingly piano-based: the antithesis of the jangly rock that had launched Superdrag into the mainstream.

Tracklist

1		Sugar	2:33
2		Bloody Hell	4:26
3		Really Thru	3:55
4		Liquor	4:34
5		6/8	4:16
6		Blown Away	2:58
7		Load	4:50

THE WEBSTIRS Rocket To The Moon 1998

 

Discogs

 

Bandcamp

 

Power pop from Chicago - listen on Bandcamp


Discogs says: It is intentional that there is no track 1. No track 1 is listed. The CD starts with track 2.

Tracklist

2.		Rocket To The Moon
3		Grenadine
4		Plastic Heart
5		Breathe
6		Little Submarine
7		Baby Marmalade
8		Cell Block 45
9		Jesse Garon's Ghost
10		Nonsense
11		Circus Song
12		UPtown8-0894

HANGTOWN Here For Now 1999

 

Discogs

 

Tampa Bay, Florida alternative rock with a twang in the style of Whiskeytown and Blue Mountain

Tracklist

1		Second Chances
2		Burnin´ Down
3		One Lane Highway
4		Blind Leading Blind
5		Down So Hard
6		Driving In Circles
7		You´re Not Gone
8		New Sky
9		Left To Fly
10		Out Of Place

EUGENE CHADBOURNE Boogie With The Hook 1996

 

Discogs

 

American (free) jazz, avant-garde, folk and rock guitarist and banjoist, born January 4, 1954, Mount Vernon, New York. He invented an instrument known as "electric rake" by attaching an electric guitar pickup to a rake.

 

Tracklist

1. Whiskey And Women
2. In Search of Carl La Fong
3. Raking A Chance On Love
4. Untitled
5. In Between Comme C And Come Saw
6. The Banjo Duet
7. Red Lightning Part 1

BENTLEY TOCK Able 1992

 

Discogs

 

American alternative rock band from Tuscaloosa county in west central Alabama and active in late 1980's/early 90's.

 

Tracklist

1		Let Me Breathe	2:01
2		Beauty Must Take	4:53
3		Ages Into	1:55
4		Child	2:22
5		Angry Wheel	2:35
6		A Safe Place	3:23
7		Uglyman	3:47
8		Goodway	4:07
9		Roy	3:50
10		All These Things	3:33
11		Youth	5:42

MONSTER VOODOO MACHINE State Voodoo/State Control EP 1994

 

by request

Discogs

 
Canadian industrial heavy metal band from Toronto. Active from 1991 to 1998. Reformed in 2007.

Tracklist

1. Get On With It
2. Born Guilty
3. Voodoo #1
4. This Ain't No Small Town (Demo Jam)
5. Temple (Jericho Meltdown Mix)
6. Get On With It (Buck Naked Mix)
7. Voodoo #1 (Carnage Asada Mix)
8. Born Guilty (Detox Mix)