THE MINUS 5
Let the War Against Music Begin
(Mammoth/Malt)
****

THE YOUNG FRESH FELLOWS
Because We Hate You
(Mammoth/Malt)
*** 1/2

Scott McCaughey and Kurt Bloch preside over Seattle's music scene like pop godfathers, trailblazers as well as historians, all the while influencing and nurturing both the trends and the artists of the city's future. As well as fronting the Fastbacks, Bloch is a tireless producer who has lent his expertise to bands as diverse as Flop and Nashville Pussy; McCaughey runs his own label, figures in a handful of local bands as well as R.E.M., and still remains a constant face in the crowd at countless live shows. So it wouldn't matter whether either disc on this double release said anything more about these firmly established local icons, such are their grand reputations. However, the Minus 5's Let the War Against Music Begin is nothing less than spectacular pop songcrafting, resplendent in harmonies and keen musicianship. And the Young Fresh Fellows' Because We Hate You bursts with plenty of bar-band sing-alongs that ensure this jubilant band's live-show following stays gloriously vigilant. KATHLEEN WILSON

SWELL MAPS
Sweep the Desert
(Alive)
****

NIKKI SUDDEN
The Last Bandit
(Alive)
**

I've NOT enuff time or words to holler 'bout how I REALLY feel 'bout the Swell Maps. SO, for some sake of "economy," my suggestion is that y'all punkers and self-declared "in the know" indie drones NEED to find out exactly what this band means to YOU! I know that might seem, well, sappy, BUT... whether or not you know it, your definition of "taste" and what you diggin' now was, in part, designed by SM! Why? SM was playing clever, art-damaged punk, sans pretense, and devoid of too many cumbersome cerebral notions (um... tho' now you'd probably say they was "indie"-soundin'), and they did it all before mosta y'all was born! Right, so you owe it to yer ass to get this... AND SM's other recent collection, International Rescue. Oh, and if you wanna know what an ex-Map (Mr. Sudden) has been up to since 'bout '80, snag The Last Bandit. It's a new "Best of" kinda deal, and much more on the pop rockin' side of things. MIKE NIPPER

KRISTIN HERSH
Sunny Border Blue
(4 AD)
***1/2

With Sunny Border Blue, Kristin Hersh has found her most appealing sonic blend to date. The layered vocals, electric guitars, and splashes of horn or piano create perfectly crafted miniatures that bloom into unexpected epics. "Spain" begins in low gear, a steady-handed picture before the song erupts in the lines, "I wanted you to sleep with her and hate yourself/Instead of me." Her singing is visceral without ever crossing into histrionic pyrotechnics. On the album's opening cut, "Your Dirty Answer," Hersh tells a lover, "You're inscrutable/You're all mine." The mixture of the unknowable and the familiar infuses the reverie with uncertainty and deep love. The song builds to slivery, shouted declarations that have her sounding unhinged and in-the-moment in a way that few other singers can muster. Hersh's strength as an artist is her uncensored honesty about the cross-pollination between emotions and roles--between being a parent, a spouse, a lover, and an individual. She doesn't try to balance, weigh, or judge them; they are completely entwined. NATE LIPPENS

BILL RIEFLIN AND CHRIS CONNELLY
Largo
(First World)
***

Bill Rieflin spent a decade with Ministry and its spinoffs Pigface and Revolting Cocks before moving on to numerous projects (most recently Mark Lanegan's band, with whom, at the Showbox last year, he was hypnotic). Revolting Cocks and sometime Ministry vocalist Chris Connelly has joined Rieflin to make a somber record that is almost classical in its sensibility. Largo strips down to the stately elegance at the heart of Wax Trax! industrial: Rieflin's sad piano and Connelly's torchy lounge-goth vocals are accompanied by the sparest cello and electronic drums, with a result that sounds like a less theatrical take on conservatory freak Rinde Eckert or the stranger excursions of John Cale. Cale is referenced here with a faithful cover of his "Close Watch." "Wake 1," "Wake 2," and "Wake 3" are brief, simple arias that serve as the record's structural refrain, while "Rondo" sounds like the kind of instrumental, '70s-ish movie-soundtrack bits Pavement used to do for laughs, but continues far too long to be a joke. The songs at the end of the record go even deeper into a stranger territory. Largo stands at an audacious distance from its creators' loud roots and confirms their idiosyncratic seriousness. GRANT COGSWELL

AMY RAY
Stag
(Daemon Records)
***1/2

You think you know her after years of appreciating Amy Ray as an Indigo Girl. But listen to Stag with an open heart and you are surprised to discover something more grown-up and significant. More rock and honest pop, with undeniably Southern sensibilities. This is Amy Ray with crumpled daisies and smudged aprons and a creaky screen door, singing with overgrown bangs and a peeling nose. Alone, Ray renders herself confident, imperfect, and gracefully so, discovering blemishes and new strengths, polishing familiar patterns while being risky and innovative. She enlists the help of the Rock*A*Teens, Joan Jett, the Butchies, Luscious Jackson's Kate Schellenbach, and the Breeders' Josephine Wiggs, and--despite a few plucks of banjo and the word "yonder" used in the album's first song--leaves the sanctity of rustic prettiness behind, leaping into something inspiring, infectious, and really, really fun. MIN LIAO