Brad Webber

Tish Hinojosa Destiny's Gate (Warner) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) Tish Hinojosa is a rarefied blend of pop singer and country crooner, and her characteristic honey sweetness makes her a sort of Southwestern-flavored Amy...

The Church Sometime Anywhere (Arista) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) Shimmering guitar lines and druggy vocals swirl through "Sometime Anywhere," the latest record by Church remnants, singer-bassist Steve Kilbey and guitarist Marty Willson-Piper. Peter...

Velocity Girl Simpatico! (Sub Pop) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) 1/2 Sarah Shannon's whispy vocals surge to the surface above a syrupy mixture of guitars and bass by this Washington, D.C., quartet. Producer John...

Luka Bloom Turf (Reprise)(STAR)(STAR) 1/2 Dublin singer Luka Bloom's artfully crafted "Turf" brims with rich guitar strumming, overflowing with its generous acoustic licks. While Bloom's folksy flair springs with talented,...

Toni Childs The Woman's Boat (Geffen) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) Toni Childs has penned an articulate, stabbing portrait of the female existence with "The Woman's Boat," an album that fulfills the cycle of...

Toad the Wet Sprocket Dulcinea (Columbia) (STAR)(STAR) 1/2 Yes, that's Don Quixote's Dulcinea taking a broadside from rock 'n' roll group Toad the Wet Sprocket. The Santa Barbara, Calif. quartet...

Erasure I Say I Say I Say (Mute) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) Erasure singer Andy Bell's gentle warbling reminiscences paint an idyllic portrait with "I Say I Say I Say." The duo ladles...

Stabbing Westward Ungod (Columbia) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) Chicago quintet Stabbing Westward is a true convergence of technoid goth and buzzsaw guitars, fitting in the feel of Ministry with percussive pounding at times...

Proclaimers Hit the Highway (Chrysalis) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) Craig and Charlie Reid look like bookish Scotsmen with nary a trace of soul, but they can wail. "Hit the Highway," the brothers' third...

Michael Been On the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Qwest) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) 1/2 Michael Been, singer and guitarist of The Call, a now-folded Midwestern-rooted L.A. band that made some ripples in...