British Sea Power: The Decline of British Sea Power September 10, 2003Thank god they didn’t name the band Italian Sea Power, cuz we all know where they ended up....
The Decemberists: Her Majesty the Decemberists September 10, 2003Who doesn’t love a sea shanty? Well, sea shanties sung by nerdy intellectuals whose only experience on a...
Kings of Leon: Youth & Young Manhood August 20, 2003Now I understand the “southern Strokes” moniker that’s been hung on these guys. Interesting you have to go...
Guided by Voices: Earthquake Glue August 20, 2003This is oddly a bit of a return to form of sorts. Again, Pollard dials it back (to...
Gogogo Airheart: Love My Life… Hate My Friends August 7, 2003This is some crazy stuff. No joke, it’s weird and wacky and tons of fun. The fact that...
Beastie Boys: Hello Nasty July 14, 2003I couldn’t help but think after first listening to this album that these guys had taken a step...
The Datsuns: The Datsuns July 4, 2003Break out your beer and cigarettes. Get out your skinny, lace-up bellbottoms and that pomade that makes your...
The Black Eyed Peas: Elephunk June 25, 2003Where are the P.C. Police when you need them? “Let’s Get Retarded” is one of the danceable, pop...
Guided by Voices: Universal Truths and Cycles June 19, 2003GBV has subtly moved back into a lo-fi groove. Granted, it’s not all tape hiss and broken songs,...
Grandaddy: Sumday June 11, 2003It takes a brave man to go with the neckbeard. It doesn’t keep lead singer, Jason Lytle, from...
The Natural History: Beat Beat Heartbeat June 1, 2003Trying to define hipness in music is very difficult. Some people think Radiohead is hip. They’re not. Some people...
Guided by Voices: Do the Collapse May 22, 2003I must admit that I heard “Teenage FBI” on the radio about a week before this album came...
The Apes: Oddeyesee May 7, 2003These days not having a guitar in your band makes you artsy. We know that artsy isn’t everybody’s...
Goldcard: Goldcard April 30, 2003I bought my first Pond album in college. I dug it. It was glossy and sly. Goldcard is...
Brad: Shame April 27, 2003Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam fame may have one of the cooler names in rock ‘n roll, but...
The Black Keys: Thickfreakness April 9, 2003Jesus, this stuff is heavy. Like a non-hipster version of The White Stripes and a heroin-addled Eric Clapton,...
Guided by Voices: Isolation Drills April 4, 2003That’s a little more like it. After the debacle that was Do the Collapse, Isolation Drills gets back to...
The Exploding Hearts: Guitar Romantic April 2, 2003Tragedy and rock ‘n roll seem to go hand in hand. Such is the story of The Exploding...