Various Artists
BLACK ON BLACK: A TRIBUTE TO BLACK FLAG
Reignition Recordings
Some of metalcore's biggest names populate a surprisingly thrilling tribute album from the label that brought you that extremely uneven love note to Smashing Pumpkins several months back. This time around it's hardcore's most recognizable (and arguably most revered) name getting the treatment, and the results are much better — Most Precious Blood, Bleeding Through, Drowningman, Give Up The Ghost, Burnt by the Sun, Coalesce, Dillinger Escape Plan, The Hope Conspiracy and Planes Mistaken for Stars all give up above-average tracks to this Rollins Era-heavy set of Flaggage. (It should go without saying that at least half of these bands' contributions are far and away the best thing the artists in question have or will ever commit to tape, right?) Elsewhere, some of screamo's thinnest guitar tones and most unintentionally amusing vocal styles (Zao, anyone?) just can't muster the balls this material demands, but there's more than enough good stuff here to warrant a recommendation to punks of both old and new schools. (www.reignition.com) 3 stars
— Scott Harrell
Puzzles Like You
MOJAVE 3
4AD
Mojave 3's Neil Halstead has made a career out of singing dreamy, countrified chamber pop songs perfectly suited for rainy-day contemplation. On Puzzles Like You, the band's fifth release, Halstead isn't afraid to lighten up and get a little cheesy. With opener "Truck Driving Man," Halstead lays down a challenge for himself — to create an album that gets loose and stays loose throughout — and for the most part, he succeeds. The rock vibe that was so muted on Mojave 3's last effort (the eloquent but meandering Spoon and Rafter) has returned for this one, with nods to the Byrds and the Jayhawks. Mojave 3 differs from those bands and their followers in one glaring regard, however: Whereas the Byrds (et al) are prototypically American, Halstead and crew sound British, and unabashedly so. On "Most Days," Puzzles Like You's only real downer (and paradoxically, the most brilliant track on the whole album), Halstead summons Nick Drake's ghost. On most other tracks though, the boys and girl of Mojave 3 are rocking instead of moping, and more importantly, are enjoying the process. Halstead, in particular, sounds downright celebratory. 4 stars
— Mark Sanders
Serena Maneesh
SERENA MANEESH
Beggars
In the interest of full disclosure, I have to confess: I've been listening to My Bloody Valentine an awful lot lately. Perhaps the aftertaste of Loveless in the headphones has influenced (if not tainted) my opinion of Serena Maneesh, since the band's self-titled debut sounds uncannily like that iconic 1991 album. The built-up mountains of psychedelic, tribal rhythms — washed over by transcendent, layered electric guitars and gauzy, breathy vocals — all tell listeners what branch of the alt-rock tree these guys fell from. That's not an indictment, far from it. Serena Maneesh is a throwback band of the best variety, paying homage to the canon of 1990s Buzz Bin rock while reminding listeners why those forebears were so important in the first place. 4 stars
— Ms
Without Feathers
THE STILLS
Vice
The press release accompanying Without Feathers, Montreal-based The Stills' sophomore effort, mentions something about the band's newfound love for simplicity. Indeed, compared to the band's debut Logic Will Break Your Heart, this is a return to form for a band that's still too young to have really developed one. The leadoff track, "In the Beginning," marks a strong divergence from Logic's reliance on '80s guilty-pleasure tricks (think INXS), proving the band has matured beyond irony and cockiness to something new and sincere. The new album finds The Stills have cultivating a Springsteen-like love for the common guy, complete with arena-ready piano riffs. The band sometimes falters in its pursuit of a more timeless sound, but Without Feathers proves The Stills are anything but sophomoric. 3 stars
— Ms
This article appears in Jul 12-18, 2006.