Joshua Klein

Forget the gentle strumming and cooing background vocals that begin the much-buzzed debut from UK hopefuls The Futureheads. Once singer Barry Hyde's yelp bursts forth and the distortion kicks in,...

Jason Falkner Bliss Descending Like Jon Brion, his onetime compatriot in Jellyfish and the Grays, Jason Falkner has become much better known for his behind-the-scenes session work than for his...

The Donnas Gold Medal Even early on in their career, the Donnas were already suffering the fate of their heroes Kiss and the Ramones: Each Donnas disc could be counted...

American Music Club Love Songs for Patriots Mark Eitzel carved such a gloomy niche for himself that each peek at his morose world view sometimes proved too hard to take....

The Dears No Cities Left If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Morrissey's ego would be that much bigger after coming across The Dears; singer Murray A. Lightburn...

Ted Leo + Pharmacists Shake the Sheets It's hard not to root for any artist on a roll, but with his third excellent album in less than four years, Ted...

Robyn Hitchcock Spooked Each Robyn Hitchcock disc can be counted on for more than its share of psychedelic weirdness, yet the venerable cult icon is often at his best at...

Duran Duran Astronaut Reunion records are rarely cause for celebration, and when the reunited band in question is Duran Duran, well, let's just say expectations are lowered just a little...

Cake Pressure Chief How Cake ever managed to parlay its ultrasardonic pop ditties into a prolific career is anyone's guess, but no one's complaining, either. Each Cake album can be...

Elliott Smith From a Basement on the Hill First things first: It's impossible to listen to the songs on Elliott Smith's final album without thinking of the songwriter's death last...