JUDE
King of Yesterday
(Maverick)
*1/2

Are you old enough to remember when pussyfied, poofy-haired pop stars like Leo Sayer and the Captain and Tennille used to go on The Muppet Show and do big, flashy production numbers with puppets? That's what Jude's music reminds me of, and I do not mean this in a nostalgic, cute, "wear your Miss Piggy belt buckle to the Cha-Cha" kind of way. I mean it in a "Wow! This makes me want to crumble an ancient 45 of Bread singing 'Diary' into shards and force it down his throat!" kind of way. TAMARA PARIS

THE STROKES
Is This It?
(RCA)
***

The best rock groups are always the best thieves, and NYC's mondo-hyped Strokes certainly know how to steal. They also know how to slap what they've stolen into a pretty package (both on record and in PR photos), which is why Is This It? has already made the rounds, hopping from CD burner to CD burner throughout the hipster circuit. Is the hype worthy? Of course not. It never is. But Is This It? definitely has its moments, and even if the group doesn't end up "saving rock and roll," as critics are suggesting (just as last year's hip group didn't, nor the year before last's--is rock and roll even in danger?), there is still much to admire, especially in spectacularly named singer/writer Julian Casablanca. Confident, blessed, he alone helps the Strokes scratch at the surface of impending greatness, hinting at a group that could one day move beyond its Velvet Underground-reared roots to become possibly deserving of all the rabid hype. As it stands now, Is This It? is a damn fine record, but it ain't the second coming. I guess rock and roll will just have to keep on dying for a while.... BRADLEY STEINBACHER

THE DAVID
Another Day Another Lifetime
(Jamie)
****

This month, my ravin', cravin' ears' fave rave is SoCal's the David!! Until NOW, these fellas been for collectors only, so DUH, I'm soilin' my drawers as I'm JUST fuckin' hearin' 'em now! My reaction too is the David don't blaze no new "freak" avenues, but they got songs fallin' nicely beyond mid-'60s three-chord thump-mmmm-bump. They SOUND like a better stateside garage band who took steps into the psychedelic while retaining "garage" energy, and stayin' smartly this side of "hippie." It paid off for 'em at the time... they got some airplay, even charted locally--too bad it won't enough for the squares to remember 'em. Right, my only problem with ADAL is, why ain't it a complete retrospective? Where's them single tracks?! And... ATTENTION: GARAGE GEEKS!! Tho' there's alotta buzzin' 'n' fuzzin' movers, there IS some well arranged, NON-distracting "orchestration"! And, fore I fergit... this AIN'T the David from Canada, do NOT confuse 'em. Canada's David kinda sucks. MIKE NIPPER

TERRORISTS
Forces 1977-1982
(ROIR)
***

In the late '70s, a band called Terrorists enjoyed underground status as a reggae tour de force on the New York scene. Forces is the definitive collection of their work. The punk-rooted Terrorists were intimate with the nuances of reggae, and their music spans what, at the time, was the extent of the genre. They render ska, rock-steady, and roots-era sounds with maturity and understanding. But the Terrorists also had punk sensibilities, no doubt a product of their NYC punk environment. Forces gives the listener a window into the legacy Terrorists personified, a nexus of punk rock and Jamaican music that led some bands to great success even as the Terrorists remained fixed in cult obscurity. KRIS ADAMS

MARK INSLEY
Tucson
(Rustic Records)
***

Funny thing about country-western, it seems like the more you fuck up, the better your music. Judging from Mark Insley's splendid sophomore offering, I'd bet the family farm that he's done some very, very bad things. Though Insley released only one record, back in 1996 (the somewhat suspiciously titled Good Country Junk), he's managed to gather legendary Tony Gilkyson of X and Dave Alvin of the Blasters to weave just the right combination of grit and silk around his grief-stricken, guilt-ridden lyrics: "Last Chance Gas, I must have missed it/I'm stranded on this road, learning what's beyond all my control/Everything looks different when you're walking and not just speeding by" ("Middle of Nowhere"). Insley may have tripped up in his past, but taking those tedious old 12 Steps and making them dance a little two-step shuffle goes a long way toward earning the universe's forgiveness. TAMARA PARIS

FLESHIES
Kill the Dreamer's Dream
(Alternative Tentacles)
***

The Fleshies have all the makings of a great punk act: songs that hurtle faster than delinquents from the five-O, a spazzed-out frontman, and really inane lyrics. Kill the Dreamer's Dream runs around with fists clenched, ready to fight, too drunk and clueless to have a worthy enemy. Whether they're plowing through a hate-the-police rant ("Fat Cop," "[What If We] Arm the Homeless,") or a booze bender ("Shitface," "Led Fuckin' Zeppelin, Man"), it's clear this is one band you don't want to set off. Thing is, the Fleshies know they're crazy. Otherwise, why would they be screaming at lung-popping volume about meatballs? ("Meatball rollin' really fast/Meatball rollin' up your ass/Meatball hot on your plate/Meatball you gonna get laid," from "Meatball"). Yeah, they're punks through and through, but they also shred through more than three chords, turning old-school punk into something a little faster, a little more mental, and a little more AC/DC-after-hours than the music of their forefathers. JENNIFER MAERZ