Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit

Genre Chamber Pop

year: 06 - review: Here, Belle & Sebastian dabble in glam rock, lazy lounge jazz, and ersatz blues, enhancing their swinging '60s pop fixation with horn charts, the occasional flute, and Motown rhythms, while even rocking harder than ever before (but that's on a relative scale, of course). This results in a fresh, lively listen, but a rich one too, since there's more to hear in the music as well as the words upon repeated listens. It's not a radical departure for Belle & Sebastian -- there are several intimate, folky numbers that would comfortably fit on their previous records. But having these tunes surrounded by songs that successfully stretch the group's sound gives The Life Pursuit an unexpected, wholly welcome vitality that not only produces a satisfying album, but suggests that a decade removed from their masterwork, If You're Feeling Sinister, Belle & Sebastian have managed to find a way to grow without changing their identity.

Annuals - Be He Me

Genre Indie rock

year: 06 - review: Annuals will make you dance without a care in the world, and that is a great feeling. Yet a surly sense of humor also creeps underneath these mini-pop epics, too, particularly on the dawdling "Chase You Off." It's nice to see that Baker, at his youthful 20 years of age, doesn't strive to be anything but the clever, impressionable young man he is. The bright-eyed display of Be He Me couldn't have been done any better, and that in itself is a welcome refresher when it comes to listening to indie rock today.

Lifehouse - No Name Face

Genre Rock Pop

year: 00 - review: Jason's lyrics are brilliant written and sang with emotion. You can just feel him sitting there and porring his heart out. It's really annoying that radio stations only play "Hanging By A Moment" even though that's a great track, the real beauty lies in songs like "Everything", "Somewhere In Between" and "Breathing". The new album is a little dissapointing. This is by far the best Rock album I have ever heard. Nothing like Creed btw, trust me on this one, this album is worth every penny.

Tom McRae - Tom McRae

Genre Adult Alternative

year: 01 - review: He appears quiet, but the lure of an eyeful of tears and a shattered heart casts some of the most simplistic, depressing beauty on Tom McRae. "He Cut Her Hair" flows over a graceful symphony, and his inquisitive lyrics are haunting and mystifying -- think Sparklehorse, Nick Drake. An emotional honesty on cuts like "Bloodless" and "One More Mile" are melancholy, but one may get a sense that Tom McRae isn't an empty individual. He has a smile peeking through this lovely piece of work regardless of such lush darkness.

Cat Power - 'The Greatest'

Genre Indie Rock

year: 06 - review: The Greatest is exceedingly well done, and people who have never heard of Cat Power before could very well love this album immediately. However, it might take a little more work for those who have loved her music from the beginning.

Evanescence - Acoustic & Rare

bio: The goth-inspired Arkansas rock band Evanescence, with its Linkin Park-meets-Tori Amos sound backed by chugging guitars, easily made it to the top of the charts in 2003 with its Wind-Up Entertainment debut album, Fallen. Singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist/songwriter Ben Moody formed the band at the end of the '90s after meeting in their early teens during a "youth camp," Moody said in a statement. "I heard Amy playing Meat Loaf's 'I'd Do Anything for Love' at the piano. So I went over to meet her, and she started singing for me. I was pretty much blown away, so I suckered her into joining a band with me."

Counting Crows - August And Everything After

Genre American trad rock

year: 93 - review: Every song is poetic and lyrically beautiful. When the words are meaningful and the music is well done it makes for a great album and this one has both.

Dave Matthews Band - Under The Table And Dreaming

Genre Adult Alternative American Trad Rock

year: 94 - review: On their major-label debut, Under the Table and Dreaming, the Dave Matthews Band is helped by the lean production of Steve Lillywhite, who manages to rein in the group's tendency to meander. The result is a set of eclectic pop/rock that is accentuated by bursts of instrumental virtuosity instead of being ruled by it. That also means that the Dave Matthews Band is capable of turning out pop songs, and as the hit single "What Would You Say" and "Ants Marching" illustrate, they have a flair for catchy hooks.

Interpol - Antics

Genre indie rock

year: 04 - review: Interpol have produced a soaring, inventive album that, while incorporating the deliciously dark atmosphere of ‘Turn On The Bright Lights’, merely uses it as a base to create more ambitious, warmer soundscapes.

Tangerine Dream - Tyger

Genre Ambient Soundtrack

year: 87 - review: Tyger sees Tangerine Dream set the poetry of William Blake to music. While the combination of styles will inevitably be off-putting to some -- particularly stuffy Blake fans -- the results are surprisingly evocative and listenable. Tyger might not be one of the most accessible albums within Tangerine Dream's catalog, but for those wishing to explore the group's more adventurous side, it's a worthwhile listen.

Alan Parsons Project - Tales of Mystery and Imagination

Genre Soft Rock Prog Rock

year: 75 - review: Tales of Mystery and Imagination is an extremely mesmerizing aural journey through some of Edgar Allan Poe's most renowned works. With the use of synthesizers, drums, guitar, and even a glockenspiel, Parsons' shivering effects make way for an eerie excursion into Poe's well-known classics. The instrumental "Dream Within a Dream" has Orson Welles narrating in front of this wispy collaboration of guitars and keyboards. The EMI vocoder is used throughout "The Raven" with the Westminster City School Boys Choir mixed in to add a distinct flair to its chamber-like sound.

Rush - Moving Pictures

Genre Arena Rock Hard Rock Prog

year:81 - review: Not only is 1981's Moving Pictures Rush's best album, it is undeniably one of the greatest hard rock albums of all time. The new wave meets hard rock approach of Permanent Waves is honed to perfection -- all seven of the tracks are classics (four are still featured regularly in concert and on classic rock radio). While other hard rock bands at the time experimented unsuccessfully with other musical styles, Rush were one of the few to successfully cross over. The whole entire first side is perfect -- their most renowned song, "Tom Sawyer," kicks things off, and is soon followed by the racing "Red Barchetta," the instrumental "YYZ," and a song that examines the pros and cons of stardom, "Limelight." And while the second side isn't as instantly striking as the first, it is ultimately rewarding. The long and winding "The Camera Eye" begins with a synth-driven piece before transforming into one of the band's more straight-ahead epics, while "Witch Hunt" and "Vital Signs" remain two of the trio's more underrated rock compositions. Rush proved with Moving Pictures that there was still uncharted territory to explore within the hard rock format, and were rewarded with their most enduring and popular album.

Joy Division - Substance 77 - 80

Genre Post Punk

bio: Formed in the wake of the punk explosion in England, Joy Division became the first band in the post-punk movement by later emphasizing not anger and energy but mood and expression, pointing ahead to the rise of melancholy alternative music in the '80s.