THE SHINS
Oh, Inverted World
(Sub Pop)
****

With music as insistently catchy as that of the Shins, comparisons are an instant temptation. The Elephant 6 Collective comes to mind--bands like the Apples in Stereo and Neutral Milk Hotel (imagine a really clean version of On Avery Island with quicker, happier chord progressions). And then there's the Beach Boys--"Girl Inform Me" nods at surf on guitar and layers guitarist/vocalist James Mercer's sweet tenor in a hook-upon-hook manner that is so pretty it borders on aggravating. But it doesn't aggravate, especially when it's followed up by "New Slang (When You Notice the Stripes)," which again is vocally reminiscent of Neutral Milk's Jeff Mangum and also calls to mind the surgical songcraft of a writer like Elliott Smith, replete with graceful progressions and brainy, breezy dynamics. Lyrically, the song is image-laden and adventurous ("Godspeed all the bakers at dawn/May they all cut their thumbs and bleed into their buns 'til they melt away"), as is the rest of the album. In the manner that Guided by Voices is derivative in exactly the right way, the Shins cull references from all the great pop and psychedelia that has taken place since the '60s--we could start with the Beatles and work up through XTC, into the Elephant 6, and keep on going if we wanted--to make a referential, brilliant record, which had better blow up, or the world has forgotten what pop music is all about. JEFF DeROCHE

16 HORSEPOWER
Hoarse
(Checkered Past Records)
**1/2

Infusing the band's love of Cormac McCarthy and good scotch with fire-and-brimstone polemics has served 16 Horsepower quite well over the course of its progressively admirable catalog. The band's Appalachian noir has always translated beautifully in live settings, but the uneven production of this collection, recorded during a 1998 tour, does little to reflect 16 Horsepower's spooky spectacle. The tracks of lead guitarist Stephen Taylor are inexplicably high in the mix, obscuring standup bassist Pascal Humbert and undermining the fluid foundation the quartet relies upon so heavily. Two of the three cover choices, "Fire Spirit" by the Gun Club and "Day of the Lords" by Joy Division, are surprisingly flat and awkward, but the inclusion of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Risin'" nearly saves the whole record. The heading-to-the-gallows vibrato of Taylor's guitar wraps seductively around David Eugene Edwards' vocals with such ominous assurance that you almost wonder if John Fogerty should just turn the song over to them permanently. HANNAH LEVIN

SOUL BROTHERS SIX
Funky Funky Way of Making Love
(Jamie)
****

I'm always a soul in need, so it's always nice to dig some soul indeed... right, but, you know... whooo-WEE, I ain't seen this much NATURAL in a long time! Hmmmm, maybe I oughta get outta Seattle more often.... Anyway, I swear, this collection WILL scratch ANY itch you may have for heavy groovin', 'cause SB6 gets fun-kay when they oughta, and, of course, they always drippin' with soul! You know, I'm always amazed, IMPRESSED, when I hear a group's recordings from the early '70s whose writin' is firmly rooted, for lack of better words, in a '60s tradition, 'cause soul music 'round that time was swiftly maturing past... um, say boogaloo, even funk, and was evolving into the more sterile, be it good or bad, pop form it'd become in the late '70s and beyond. Right, so SB6 is THAT type of "good" for me... their music places them in BOTH decades, taking what fuckin' counts and makin' it WORK! MIKE NIPPER

WEEZER
Weezer
(Interscope)
***

Your relationship with Weezer started in 1994. The band's first self-titled release (a.k.a. "the blue album") passed you a couple sweet love notes in homeroom, held your hand at the skate rink, and gave you a peck on the cheek after school. For years following, only a few B-sides kept you happy. Then in 1996, apparently you got too clingy and Pinkerton slapped you in the face. It was unapologetic and angsty, and though you loved it, Pinkerton didn't seem the least bit concerned with whether or not you hung around. Well, Weezer has decided it really can't live without you. This third release (call it "the green album") is Weezer's way of sending you bunches of flowers. It's sappy, catchy, and fun, perhaps even sweeter than "the blue album" was, back in the day when it was courting you. No apology necessary boys, but thanks so much for the flowers. MEGAN SELING

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Is It... Dead? A Study in Northwest Hardcore
(Crash Rawk/Sub Pop/ Rocknroleplay Records)
***

I put this on and skipped straight to "Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (1922- )" by the erudite and militantly pro-library metal band Blöödhag. My regular gal responded, "Oh Jesus, not more Cookie Monster music," a reference to how many of the "singers" in modern metal/hardcore bands sound like the infamous Sesame Street glutton. I've never had a good comeback and am always at a loss to explain my love of this oftentimes brutal (Botch, Teen Cthulhu), occasionally cartoonish (Blöödhag) brand of rock and roll. Perhaps it goes back to some childhood discontentment, perhaps to Sesame Street itself. It was a pretty weird show: seven-foot talking birds, furry green misanthropes living in trash cans, the Rain Man-esque, number-obsessed Count. You could drop a fortune on therapy trying to undo the damage, or you could save money and self-medicate with the cathartic aggression of Is It... Dead? Northwest noisemakers Homo-Eradicus, Akimbo, Raft of Dead Monkeys, and others offer a (mostly) warp-speed tour of the pissed kid's psyche--and that's good enough for me. JOSH HOOTEN

PAGANS
Shit Street
The Pink Album Plus!
(Crypt)
****

Shit baby, DAMN... y'all ain't got NO idea how long I've been on my knees PRAYIN' for this loada HEAT! Uh-huh, and if you don't know the Pagans... well, this shit is, like, MANDATORY as they were rockin', angry, "how-low-can-a-punk-get" PUNK ROCK... made, with pride, right here in the U.S. of A.... Cleveland no less!!! And like that ain't enough... we get TWO collections, Shit Street AND The Pink Album Plus! Nice... SS is all studio recordings, plus the Pirates Cove show; Pink Plus is, duh, the (live) Pink Album, the tracks cut from the original Pink Album, and a buncha other, earlier "outtakes." Oh, econophiles, these're on LP too, sportin' the "better" tracks, tho' I believe there is at least ONE LP-only track, but the CDs are fucking loaded, and of course BOTH formats come with a cool detailed history. Yeah, so like shit baby... DAMN! MIKE NIPPER

AFRIKA BAMBAATAA
Looking for the Perfect Beat 1980-1985
(Tommy Boy)
****

A must-own for hiphop fans, this compiles 11 of Bambaataa's greatest sides into a single CD. Starting off with both versions of "Zulu Nation Throwdown" (by the Zulu Nation Cosmic Force and Zulu Nation Soul Sonic Force, respectively), one can hear the origins of contemporary party rap like the Jurassic 5 and Jedi Mind Tricks. The real gold here is, of course, the Arthur Baker epics "Renegades of Funk," "Frantic Situation," "Looking for the Perfect Beat," and the seminal Kraftwerk-meets-the Bronx bass workout, "Planet Rock." Featured MCs include Melle Mel, James Brown, and a little-known lady with "rhymes galore" named Lisa Lee. The granddaddy of Miami bass, Detroit techno, and underground hiphop, Bam continues to reign supreme. "What's the name of this nation? Zulu! Zulu!" MURRAY CIZON

J. K. & CO.
Suddenly One Summer
(Beat Rocket)
****

Damn. THIS is my album of the month! Why come? Well, 'cause SOS impressed me, top to bottom, as a VERY coherent "concept" record AND a honest to GOD sike-a-delic record. Yep, it's SIKE, tho' NOT what yer "radio" or hippies consider "sike." Like, SOS ain't long-hair HEAVY, Doors "light my hippie ass on fire," or "West Coast" flower power! Rather, SOS was recorded with session guys by a kid (J. K. was a TEENAGER of 15) from Las Vegas, in Vancouver, BC! It's true! Anyway, so SOS is very dynamic and thoughtfully written sike, the phrasing and trippy FX all play along with--instead of OVER--the songs, and it's very "Anglo." In places it sounds like (the good) Procol Harum AND (gasp) Sam Gopal! However, this was recorded in early '68 before there were many, in the U.S. anyway, examples of sike to rip the fuck off!! Smart fuckin' kid that Jay Kaye. MIKE NIPPER

HANA
Omen
(First World)
***

Omen articulates a gorgeous dynamic between the two principals in Hana: one, an accomplished composer, Jeff Greinke; and the other, the lauded vocalist of Sky Cries Mary, Anisa Romero. Perhaps best known for founding the excellent instrumental project Land, Greinke is well equipped to produce ethereal, even transcendent music that draws the listener into a state not unlike lucid dreaming. Romero, on the other hand, has an evocative voice that could easily take the fore against just about any backdrop of instrumentation. The potential for conflict between two such powerful elements is definitely here. But Hana is symbiotic--each member's exceptional talent shines without overpowering the other. Omen is a showcase, then, with Greinke creating an ambient mist through which Romero's voice cries, variously pleading, seductive, and haunting, as it delivers thoughtful, often forlorn lyrics. At times Greinke's music takes off on its own, luring the listener away with him. But Romero always returns to pull the focus back. Omen is a tranquil album in spite of its spacy melancholy--best listened to with eyes closed. KRIS ADAMS