Now that shoegazer is no longer a closeted desire, it's nice to have a new collection of music from the band the term is perhaps most famously associated with. Ride's Waves comprises 17 original recordings taken from BBC Radio 1 Sessions dating 1990-'94, and the previously unheard versions of singles and one-offs (including covers of the Pale Saints' "Sight of You" and Dead Can Dance's "Severance") demonstrate just how enveloping the Oxford, England, band's sound was--even if the liner notes reveal that the legendary John Peel had to be persuaded to put them on the show in the first place. Not only for the completist, Waves stands firmly enough on its own for the newly curious, too. Especially great is the live session featuring "Let's Get Lost," "1000 Miles," and "I Don't Know Where It Comes From." KATHLEEN WILSON

RHYTHM & SOUND
W/the Artists
(Asphodel)
****

The Versions
(Asphodel)
****

It is not a stretch to say that Basic Channel, who are now called Rhythm & Sound, are the most important and influential group to emerge from Germany since Kraftwerk. In the early '90s, Basic Channel made techno dub; at the start of the 21st century, Rhythm & Sound make dub techno. Basic Channel excavated Detroit; Rhythm & Sound excavate New York City, specifically a small dub label that was based in the Bronx called Wackies. A number of the singers on these two CDs, W/the Artists and The Versions, recorded with Wackies during the late '70s and early '80s--Chosen Brothers and Love Joys, for example. Other singers on the CD are living reggae legends, like Cornel Campbell, whose vocals on "King in My Empire" express, with eerie perfection, the Rasta longing for human rights in a world dominated by inhuman corporate power. Though based on roots and dub reggae, these tracks are techno at the bone; it's techno simulating dub, techno producing a sonic hologram of the autumn years of real roots reggae. CHARLES MUDEDE

ERASE ERRATA
At Crystal Palace
(Troubleman Unlimited)
***1/2

Other Animals, the 2001 debut from Erase Errata, sounded like a cramped classroom of overexcited, "gifted" fourth-graders: brainy and enthusiastic, but also congested, cacophonous, and high-pitched. Not so with At Crystal Palace, the Bay Area quartet's succinct sophomore outing. Thanks to improved production, the personality quirks of the songs and fight- choreography interplay between individual performances jump out of the mix. Rather than any single melodic hook, it's the intertwining of Ellie Erickson's staccato bass riffs and Sara Jaffe's cat-scratch guitar lines that makes herky-jerky numbers like "Ca. Viewing" and "Retreat! The Most Familiar" stick in your craw like ancient caramels (or an old Bush Tetras single). Even when rendered through antique microphones--or megaphones--Jenny Hoyston's vocals sound punchier, and her trumpet parts are no longer lost in the chaos. Factor in Bianca Sparta's propulsive drumming, plus a 27-minute running time, and you've got the perfect dance-party platter for hyperactive smarty-pants people of all ages. KURT B. REIGHLEY

THE DIRTBOMBS
Dangerous Magical Noise
(In the Red)
****

The Detroit Cobras may be the ones with big American tours and rumors of industry courtship, but the Dirtbombs are the Motor City act that can really go the distance beyond riding the rock shoulder as an elevated cover band. Plus, frontman Mick Collins is a fucking legend--he was back in the Gories days, and this latest release, Dangerous Magical Noise, is a smash hit. The Detroit rockers' third album is 100-percent original, with Collins' wide range gliding over the fuzzed-out guitars and dual drumming with utter precision. The album moves from anthemic power pop to songs like the spazzed-out "Stuck in Thee Garage"--where Collins lets loose to show he can still belt 'em out better than little garage rocker pussies half his age. (The band also drags out an oldie, a slower version of the Jim Diamond-fronted "I'm Through with White Girls.") Although there's a lot to be said for the raw meat of the Dirtbombs' debut, Horndog Fest, Dangerous is such a smart, upbeat, eclectic party album that it's hard to refrain from calling it the best Dirtbombs release to date. JENNIFER MAERZ

THE GO
The Go
(Lizard King)
**Whatcha Doin, in the Appetite for Destruction category. But don't finalize the greatest-hits CD set list yet: There's always the chance the band's lost season-in-hell record (differences over which both parties cite as the reason for the split with Sub Pop) may someday surface. Hey, if it all seems too epic, that's because it is. TANYA RICHARDSON

**** Freddie *** Jason ** Teen Wolf * Casper