Brad Webber

Shona Laing New on Earth (Epic) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) 1/2 Hurdling this New Zealander`s invective can be a high leap indeed, especially on ''White Water'' (''We poison and we plunder/Thinking all the...

Inspiral Carpets Revenge of the Goldfish (Elektra) (STAR)(STAR) A couple years ago a spate of mop-topped Engish bands traipsed in tunics, their Doors-inspired wailing backed by moody keyboards. While other...

Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine 1992 The Love Album (Chrysalis) (STAR) (STAR)(STAR) Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine assaults sentimentality and the schmaltz of pop culture with ''1992 The Love Album.''...

Shriekback Sacred City (World Domination) (STAR)(STAR) Shriekback`s stream-of-consciousness talk-sing format mirrors that of former member Carl Marsh`s far superior ''Happyhead'' LP released earlier this year. The trio (Barry Andrews, Dave...

As fall frosts nip at the heels of gardeners harvesting autumn`s bounty, spring can seem a long way off. But area horticulturists advise that it`s not too late to ease...

Mary`s Danish American Standard (Morgan Creek) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) 1/212 Two years ago, with only one rather raw album under its belt, Mary`s Danish had the audacity to release a live EP...

Shelleyan Orphan Humroot (Columbia) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) The Bournemouth, England, duo Shelleyan Orphan intertwines Caroline Crawley`s winsome vocals (a la Rickie Lee Jones) with a crescendo of folk instrumentals. Wispy optimism in...

Kerouac it`s not, but give Arson Garden credit for plying B-grade poetry. With some insipid lyrics (''Languished lightly/Adrift, oh, hours/But the water was an ocean of impossible space'') let`s hope...

Soup Dragons Hotwired (Mercury) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) The Soup Dragons aren`t just another British band infatuated with American soul music of the `60s. ''Hotwired,'' the Scottish foursome`s follow- up to 1990`s ''Lovegod,''...

Senseless Things The First of Too Many (Epic) (STAR) 1/2 A fashionable genre of British rock lumps an unctuous, angry assortment of blokes who like their fretwork in an ax-grinding...