Where does an apocalyptic auteur go after having becoming fabulously successful? Trent Reznor returned from a half-decade sabbatical to confront contemporary music's mediocrity with Nine Inch Nails' "The Fragile." This brilliant 23-track double CD expands industrial rock's boundaries with mostly traditional instruments: cello, standup bass, violin, drums and especially guitars filtered and often refigured through synthesizers. Click here for the full review.
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: "Madonna"
Speaking of apocalyptic outsiders, ...And You Will Know Us by The Trail of Dead affirm Austin, Texas
as the Lone Star State's avant-Americana capital. Their sophomore CD is a sonic guitar epiphany, an emotional crisis and a conceptual gem. Guitars chime, squall, feedback and settle, only to explode again in tuneful cacophony. Songs don't end as much as resolve with electronic effects &151; sometimes dissonant, sometimes haunting, but always soundtrack cinematic. "Madonna" is dark and essential. Click here for the full review.The Flaming Lips: "The Soft Bulletin"
Long after its commercial collapse, Oklahoma's Flaming Lips prove that alternative rock still has a breathtaking ra
nge of possibilities. On "The Soft Bulletin," big Lip Wayne Coyne combines soaring pop orchestrations, big backbeats, symphonic strings and glistening guitars to rebuild pop. "The Soft Bulletin" showcases Coyne's childlike innocence, idiosyncratic lyrics and emotional reach for lofty themes that you can still sing along to. Like orchestrated pop icons Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, big Lip Wayne Coyne is an American original and his "Soft Bulletin" is real news.The Poster Children: "New World Record"
Like legions of indie bands, the Poster Children started the decade making their own records, organizing their own shows and living in tour vans before being swept up and then dropped by majors who had little vision beyond the fast buck. "New World Record" lays down sharp guitar phrases, barreling basslines and a building disillusionment appropriate to the Poster Children's career path. Topics include alienation, killing time, being written off and even forsaken by God all with a wry take, occasional funk groove or Latin rhythm.
Juno: "This Is the Way It Goes and Goes and Goes"
Juno spring from the now unlikely city of Seattle with a typecast sou
nd soft-then-loud guitar dynamics, but "This Is the Way It Goes and Goes and Goes" defies expectations. The quintet's three-guitar assault rallies to eruptions, but the magic is in the band's meditative approach. Whether dreamy, dissolute or heartbroken, the building sentiments color the barrages. Like its title, "This Is the Way It Goes and Goes and Goes" allows no release, leaving you shaken and alone with your troubled thoughts.Honorable Mentions:
The Supersuckers: "The Evil Powers of Rock and Roll" full review
Los Lobos: "This Time"
Wheat: "Hope and Adams" full review
Red Hot Chili Peppers: "Californication"
Cibo Matto's "Stereo Type A"