Top 5 - Scott Miller
1) Old 97s, Too Far to Care (Elektra). The opening song "Time Bomb" is a near dead ringer for The Clash's "Police On My Back" and it'll put you in a party mood right from the start. But Rhett Miller and the rest of the band keep up the attack throughout with songs that run from heartbreak ("Salome") to hilarious tongue-in-cheek irony ("Niteclub"). This album has everything every great rock album ever had, from hook-a-minute guitar lines to barroom sing-along choruses so don't be put off by the band's alternative country label. This is rock and you'll have a great time listening to it.
2) Walt Mink, Colossus (Deep Elm). There is not a stadium in the world big enough to hold this band's talent, let alone the songs on this, its best full-length release. John Kimbrough (guitar and vocals), Candace Belanoff (bass) and Orestes Morphin (drums) whipped up mix of musical references that could keep you discussing pop theory for the next week. Consider "She Can Smile." It sounds like a twisted acoustic Beatles tune to start but has a Hendrix riff in the chorus and a near-Yes guitar solo. And it blends seamlessly. All 10 songs sound better turned up way loud, so there's a definite 70s stadium rock quality to it all. Kimbrough is a major guitar talent, on the level with rock's greatest. He writes pop songs that challenge his technical abilities but never become self-indulgent note fests. His lyrics include topics like alien invasions and models who want to break up with their boyfriends but can't afford to unless they land another modeling job. This is one wild ride of an album.
3) Martin Luther Lennon, Music for a World Without Limitations (Not Lame). Pop goes everything, even the songs about guns. If you've ever heard the term "post-punk pop" thrown around and wondered what it meant, check this out. Singer-songwriter Tony Perkins has a gift for bouncy yet crunchy pop tunes that seem to get it all done in three minutes or less. The opening track, "Kill Kill Kill," is a "Dancing in the Street" (Martha and the Vandellas) for the 90s. "Gun Heaven" is as snide as anything the Sex Pistols or Elvis Costello ever concocted, but it has a good beat and you can dance to it -- if you don't mind getting out of breath. "Tabernacle o' Clay" sounds silly when you first hear it, but it's a complete heartbreaker reminiscent of the 50s-era hit "Teen Angel." If you like your power pop mostly fast and slightly furious, you could do no better than this.
4) Ron Sexsmith, Other Songs (Interscope). Canadian Ron Sexsmith's pure voice and songs of everyday life serve not only as a reminder of why singer-songwriters first grabbed our attention, but also as a challenge to performers to, pardon the expression, "keep it real." Throughout his second full-length release, Sexsmith challenges the notion that a pretty voice and pretty acoustic-based melodies equal clean-cut emotions and cookie-cutter songs. In fact, the emotional range runs the gamut, from uneasiness ("Pretty Little Cemetery") and poignancy ("Honest Mistake" and "So Young") to buoyant comedy ("Clown in Broad Daylight"), outright sadness ("Strawberry Blonde" and "Child Star") and self-deprecation ("Average Joe"). Ultra-confessional, deeply serious, overly well-intentioned, falsely angry singer-songwriters turned the singer-songwriter genre into that Dana Carvey "Saturday Night Live" caricature, singing songs about his girlfriend "choppin' brocc-o-li." Thank goodness for Sexsmith.
5) The Honeydogs, Seen A Ghost (Debris/Mercury). Oh, sure! Throw in a little pedal steel guitar, a few two-part harmonies and some two-step shuffle beats and you've got alternative country, right? Well, I say not necessarily. On its third album, this Minneapolis band mines some of the same 1970s rock and pop ground that Wilco went for with "Being There." True to their name, though, The Honeydogs have a smoother, easier-listening sound that makes romantic songs like "I Miss You" more romantic and the borderline country heartbreakers like "Those Things are Hers" more heartbreaking. The album even includes elements of psychedelic rock ("Into Thin Air") and full-bore Replacements garage rock ("Cut Me Loose, Napoleon"). Instantly enjoyable, this album leaves a lasting impression.
