MODEST MOUSE
Building Nothing out of Something
(Up)****

For those fans who don't already have every Modest Mouse recording, this handy collection puts into one place every 7" and rare track the band has made since 1996, including the three studio tracks from the now out-of-print Interstate 8. So, technically, it's nothing new, but for many people there will be stuff only previously heard in concert, or not at all. This hardly needs to be said, but for what it's worth, Building Nothing out of Something is every bit as awe-inspiring as every other note of Modest Mouse's output. When a band has no weak points, how can there be B-sides in the traditional sense? Consider this release a trailer for their major label debut, which should be out in the spring. ERIN FRANZMAN

MUDHONEYMarch to Fuzz(Sub Pop)****One of the many great things that can be said about March to Fuzz, a two-disc/three-LP collection of Mudhoney's greatest hits and rarities, is that it's just as much fun -- if not more -- as seeing the legendary four-piece live. Not one sneer or drop of snot is lacking, and the discs are stuffed end to end with favorite tunes that'll have you repeatedly throwing your head back, exclaiming, "I LOVED THIS SONG!" (even though you're not in a club and no one's listening). Could a Mudhoney fan want anything more? KATHLEEN WILSON

SUE GARNER AND RICK BROWNStill(Thrill Jockey)****Bassist Sue Garner and drummer Rick Brown have indie-rock credentials up the yin-yang: As members of Run On, they contributed to some of the most complex and beautiful work of the era (compare Run On's Matador debut LP, Start Packing, with Pavement's Wowee Zowee from the same year for a primer on how shallow the latter band actually is). Since the somewhat inharmonious dissolution of Run On, Garner's released one solo LP, To Run More Smoothly, which is a more reflective work than her contributions to the band. With that solo release, Sue established herself right up there with Jenny Mae and Azalia Snail as one of the most weird and winsome chanteuses of the post-Barbara Manning era.

However, since Rick Brown's a tapehound, there's a lot of porto-static atmospherics to these tunes as well, kinda like Yo La Tengo's between-song fizzle-wizzle on Electro-Pura. On "Absorbed," Doug Weiselman adds great reed work to a song that already sounds like it's slowly sinking below the surface of a large body of water. Meanwhile, Tara Key contributes some garbled guitar to "Fussy Fuss," which pits a sample of the black Brit '60s group the Equals against slapping Germanic rhythms.

Teutonic overtones reappear in the rollicking "Asphalt Road," which reiterates the inevitable Yo La Tengo comparisons. Textures run through this LP the way peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and Darvon ran through Elvis Presley's colon. Check out the bolero rave-up on "Short and Semi-Sweet," or, for that matter, "Swimmingly," where Garner, who looks like Moe Tucker, confirms herself as the rightful heir to Patti-Smith-as-torch-singer. Except for one shitty Lennon cover (which admittedly ain't very long), this album is worthy of your attention. JOE S. HARRINGTON

DJ ME DJ YOUSimplemachinerock EP(Emperor Norton Records)NO STARS

DJ Me DJ You's Ross Harris and Craig Borrell have had enough experience remixing the likes of Beth Orton, Fantastic Plastic Machine, and Titan to give them plenty of credibility. So it seems at first listen that Simplemachinerock's premise of scattering samples from dated porn films and old children's story records over exotic tabla rhythms might be auspicious. Miraculously, it quickly wears thin, like white tube socks purchased in a package of six. Not quite nasty enough to titillate, nor crafty enough for long-lasting value, Simplemachinerock comes across as an indulgent concoction of mismatched ingredients that makes for a flimsy five-pack of synthetic blends. ERNIE REIDEL

GRAIG MARKELVerses on Venus(Mag Wheel/Recovery)***Here's a pleasant surprise: Former New Sweet Breath frontman Graig Markel has reinvented himself as a soul singer. That's usually the kind of move that begs for a punch line, but Markel deserves props. His voice, which strained to compete with NSB's semi-spastic pop, is actually much more suited to the laid-back mood and sparse instrumentation of his solo debut, Verses on Venus. He shows off his best falsetto on songs like "Better Lost Than Gone" and "All That Glitters," waxes optimistic on "Coming Up Roses," takes a funky instrumental detour in "Pixels to Percent," and closes the album with the epic gem "True Giveaway." (The last few refrains of "Whatever you said, it was over my head" are sung with such resignation and longing that they're hard to shake away.) For a songwriter whose lack of consistency can occasionally be downright frustrating, it's a giant leap forward -- and an album unlike any other you've recently heard. BARBARA MITCHELL

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