Brad Webber

Happyhead Give Happyhead (Eastwest) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) Since dropping out of British dance unit Shriekback in the mid-1980s, vocalist-guitarist Carl Marsh foundered, looking for the right vehicle for his electronic-based music. In...

Last Gentlemen The World Behind Your Back (Zoo) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) With a giddy collection of lyrically shallow middle-of-the-road love songs, it`s amazing that power pop foursome Last Gentlemen manages to strike...

Vintage poster may be a banner way to start an art collection. And the Chicago Center for the Print, which only a year ago expanded to include such works, is...

Howard Jones In the Running (Elektra) (STAR)(STAR) On past records, Howard Jones` catchy, if pleasantly subdued, pop hooks plopped into the driver`s seat as the Briton`s sometimes misguided humanistic lyrics...

Roy Lichtenstein meets Rene Lalique in the art of Michael Joplin. Comic-book motifs, particularly covers from cowboy and romance titles of the `40s and `50s, abound in the glass platters...

James Seven (Mercury) (STAR)(STAR) 1/2 Since the early 1980s, James has weaved a folkish rock, steering clear of the fashionable musical movements of the band`s native Manchester, England. Since the...

Phish A Picture of Nectar (Elektra) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) With a versatile instrumental bent, it may be easier to define the band Phish by what it is not. Eclectic is an understatement,...

Afghan Whigs Congregation (Sub Pop) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) 1/2 Loosely schooled in the music of Seattle`s Sub Pop Records (first home of current chart darlings Nirvana), the Afghan Whigs tap a more...

Sugarcubes Stick Around for Joy (Elektra) (STAR) 1/2 Icelandic quintet the Sugarcubes are a novelty act quickly becoming the aural equivalent of the Cabbage Patch doll. For the band`s lack...

Ian McCulloch Mysterio (Sire) (STAR)(STAR) 1/2 It`s easy to see why Ian McCulloch outgrew his band Echo & the Bunnymen-he stopped pretending to be Jim Morrison and now thinks he`s...