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	MENSEN - DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR - Gearhead RPM025 Another girl group, there are a lot of them popping up lately. Mensen play fast rock ‘n’ roll, similar to The Donnas and The Eyeliners. They seem to lack the aggressive style of other bands, but that is not a bad thing. It tends to give them a style of their own. They do a good cover of the Rolling Stones song, "Jumpin Jack Flash." "Twilightzone" caught my attention. M. Jagger
	THE MAD CADDIES - ROCK THE PLANK - Fat Wreck Chords FAT 615-2 Thirteen bone crushing swashbuckling songs on this CD. They mix horns, reggae, rock ‘n’ roll, and pop/punk to come up with a neat style. At times they remind me of Nofx, but with a horn section. "Bridges" is pop/punk to the maximum. "B Sides" is a melodic masterpiece. "We’ll Start To Worry When The Cynics Start Believing" could have been a song the Clash had wished they had wrote. Buy this!! M. Andes
	JUNCTION 18 - THIS VICIOUS CYCLE - Fearless FO45-2 A lot of bands now seem to be trying to move towards power pop. Junction 18 is one of those bands with nice pop melodies, good singing, I do miss harmonies on this though, and strong crunchy guitars blazing throughout this CD. They have very good songs all bordering on more the power pop than emo. The most memorable song is "Adrift," great melody on this one especially. I would like to hear more from these guys. D. Washburn.
	RIGHT BRIGADE - RIGHT BRIGADE - Revelation REV 101 This Boston band takes it back to the beginning of hardcore. Back in the days of early Revelation, when bands like Gorilla Biscuits and Youth Of Today ruled. These guys should be mosh pit favorites. "Back From This" and "Falling Down," really stand out as classics. But this is brutal hardcore, back to kick your butt. B. Jones
	THREAD - ABNORMAL LOVE - Middle Pillar MPP993 Interesting soundscapes from James Izzo. Melodic textures and minimal experimental electronica create a dark desperate wandering solitude. "Blue Darkness" has spoken word in Japanese over imperialistic orchestrations. "In Sweet Sorrow" and "Contours" feature ex: Swans, Jarboe. So that is an added treat for me being a Swans fan. This is a unusual blending of noise and melodic repetition. Wonderful mood music. B. Bradshaw
	ANTI-FLAG - UNDERGROUND NETWORK - Fat Wreck Chords FAT 623-2 This punk CD combines good song writing with good production, with the goal of shining light on social issues and screwed up government practices. They come with a political street punk CD the Dead Kennedys or Propaganhdi would be proud of. This is 1977 English punk, melodic 90’s punk and edgy 80’s hardcore. Great stuff. D. Bradshaw
	SAINT ETTIENNE - INTERLUDE - Sub Pop SPCD 536 They are back with a new CD. Fans of Stereolab will like this, it’s got the nice flowing pop, girl vocals mixed with mini moogs and sound effects. Imagine the Beach Boys around the Pet Sounds era, with female vocals and dancier drum beats. "Mountain Rain" is a personal favorite of mine. On The bonus tracks they get a little too disco sounding for me, but this is a very nice mellow CD. M. Anders
	DYNAMITE BOY - SOMEWHERE IN AMERICA - Fearless F047-2 The first song "Catching On " sounds like a Green Day song but better written and with two guitars. Again the two guitar riff in "Kaleidoscope," is a nice touch. This CD is hundreds of times better than their first CD. These guys keep improving at this kind of rate, makes me want to hear what they do next. Great pop/punk. I’m sure you will hear more about these guys. It looks like this kind of band is, like the song says, "Catching On." B. Jones
	STAMPIN’ GROUND - CARVED FROM EMPTY WORDS - Thorp TR003 Brutal in your face hardcore. This is more on the old school side of hardcore with some heavier new influences. The drummer stands out with his double bass drum assault, and the the blistering guitar attack, coupled with screaming vocals lends itself to a nice style of hardcore. this sound almost like early Gorilla Biscuits with a pissed off singer. B. Bradshaw
	THE LOT SIX - ANNIVERSARY 7" - Espo This band caught my attention right away. Great songs, more emo stuff ,but with a hard punch. This is just a three song E.P. but I want to hear more. The songs are all really well written and performed. I hope to see them live somewhere. "Honey Bell," is a little more rock and roll, but don’t let that distract you. They sound like something Dischord could have put out. M. Jagger
	THE HIVES - HATE TO SAY I TOLD YOU SO - Gearhead RPM 024 This is a three song E.P. but it is sixties garage rock that has been modernized. These guys are a blast. This is fun rock and roll, that is destined for a lot more than typical garage bands. These guys put their own twist to things and come up with a style all their own. Too bad it’s only three songs though. M. Anders
	HALF JAPANESE - HELLO - Alternative Tentacles VIRUS 245CD I’ve been waiting for this, being a fan of Jad Fair from way back. This CD delivers some really nice quirky songs as usual, with a wide range of styles. Jad’s voice rules as always, but this time the songs are stronger than before. This is not as rocking as other Half Japanese CD’s, but it breaks the mold and explores some new ground. Songs like "Temptation" and Best Of The Best" are great garage punk. "Starlight" rules! D. Bradshaw
	SOUTHPORT - NOTHING IS EASY -Go Kart - GK 060 This is Simon from Snuff’s new band, so if you liked Snuff you will like this. Southport are more on the pop/punk lines than hardcore like Snuff. All of the songs are well written and performed. The band is tight, but I think they will probably get lost in the sea of Blink 182, Green Day, and New Found Glory wannabies. They all tend to sound similar, not that it’s a bad sound. Hopefully these guys will survive, they deserve a listen. B. Bradshaw
	THE NO WTO COMBO - FROM THE BATTLE IN SEATTLE - Alternative Tentacles VIRUS 250CD This is Jello Biafra with Krist Novoselic from Nirvana, Kim Thayil from Soundgarden, and Gina Mainwal from Sweet 75. This is live and is a protest of the World Trade Organization. Jello, as always, is brilliant. People need to listen to what the message is on this, it will effect your working conditions for the rest of your life. I didn’t review the music, which is good, but the message is more important, people need to stand up. M. Jagger
	ROSE OF SHARON - EVEN THE AIR IS OUT OF TIME - Espo #12 Espo seems to come up with good bands. This one is a little more along the lines of Jade Tree stuff. There are some nice emo songs on this CD. The band is excellent. " The Doorframe Challenge" is almost a Velvet Underground or Lou Reed sort of thing. Overall this is a good CD, it’s a little too slow and droning for me, But emo kids will love it. B. Jones

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