The Albums

Air - Moon Safari (Caroline) 

One gorgeous synthetic dream, either twenty years behind or light years ahead of their time, I'm not sure which. Their sound is multiple interpretations of the same theme: Jeff Lynne in a disco ("Remember"), Gary Wright meets Kraftwerk ("Kelly Watch the Stars"), Sade in outer space ("All I Need," the ready-for-Vegas "You Make It Easy") or jazzy excursions like "La Femme D'Argent." Air proved that hyperkinetic beat speeds may be nice for some, but it doesn't make a difference how fast you run if you don't make it to the finish line. Look for this to be revered the same way Massive Attack's Blue Lines is honored now.

 

Elliott Smith - XO  (Dreamworks)  

Awesome, awesome, awesome classic pop from a very bitter soul. Smith's heartbreaking tenor matches his songs perfectly, giving him the air of vulnerability that he needs to pull off lines like "My feelings never change a bit/I always feel like shit." Some thought it hypocritical for Smith to sign with Dreamworks after being involved with a label called Kill Rock Stars. I disagree. If it lets him spend a little more money and make an album as solid as this (which still sounds sparse even though it's much more involved than his previous outings), then don't let me keep you from selling out, Elliott.

Pernice Brothers - Overcome By Happiness (Sub Pop) 

Who knew that Sub Pop had such a sensitive side to them? Well, no one, really. But Joe Pernice, who also plays for Sub Poppers Scud Mountain Boys, decided to do an unapologetic pop album, and the world is a much better place because of it. Pernice has this whisper of a voice that seems out of place on some songs (the opener "Crestfallen," for example, which has two distinct parts very similar to Teenage Fanclub's "The Concept"). And some of his lyrics can get a bit tedious (the suicidal subject of "Chicken Wire," the corporate sellout in "Monkey Suit"). But the arrangements are sublime, with orchestral sweeps that made me swoon.

Rialto - Rialto (Sire) 

Bubble gum Brit Pop, Oasis with some Pulp, sure. But the tunes, man, the tunes. Louis Elliot put together one great collection of songs, even if he's trying to corner the teenybopper market with his songs of lovers gone astray ("Monday Morning 5.19"), destructive relationships ("Love Like Semtex"), and one definite Beatles robber ("Summer's Over," which stole its chorus from "A Day in the Life"). Rialto may never reach the dizzy heights of their Brit Pop peers, but in a year where Blur went into hiding, Oasis put out a B-sides album ("Reissue, repackage, repackage," so goes the Smiths song), and Pulp just went off the deep end, Rialto hit the nail on the head.

Neil Finn - Try Whistling This (Work/Sony) 

You would expect a solo album from a man who's been in the business since he was nineteen a little sooner than his fortieth birthday (You read that right, early MTV fans, Neil Finn is 40). But as the saying goes, good things come to he who waits. A lot rawer than was to be expected from someone who had the most pristine sounding records of the '80s while playing for the late, great Crowded House, and not even as immediately accessible as his earlier material. But Neil Finn, as one British magazine so eloquently put it, pisses genius, and Try Whistling This is just one more testament to that.

 

Belle & Sebastian - The Boy With The Arab Strap (Matador) 

This one took a while to reach me. On first listen, I found Belle ringleader Stuart Murdoch's voice a little too precious, and his songs too lightweight. But then it hit me, like all good records, on the fifth listen. Calling this band retro is unfair. Unlike most '90s bands that only sound '60s because they use lots of psychedelic effects, Arab Strap truly sounds like it was recorded in 1968. If they didn't reference Smiths guitar god Johnny Marr in a song ("Seymour Stein," a song written to the legendary A&R man), I would have considered this simply a lost master tape from thirty years ago. Mark my words: This is a cult band on the rise, but they will have an equally sized group of detractors. A love 'em or hate 'em band all the way. Count me in the former group.

Sinead Lohan-No Mermaid (Interscope) 

There has been a huge boom in the number of breakout female artists lately, and for someone who adores Kate Bush and kd lang, I think that's great. The problem is, the only ones worth a damn to me have been Sarah McLachlan and Beth Orton (whose album, Trailer Park, would be on this list, if it hadn't been released at the very end of 1997). And it's that bias that also makes me rave about Sinead Lohan, who's as close to an Irish Sarah as we're gonna get. Her arrangements float with the same ease, acoustic instruments propped up by drum machines. The best thing I can say about Lohan, though, is that she doesn't try to overdo it on any of her songs. What a relief that is.

Remy Zero-Villa Elaine (DGC) 

Equal parts Radiohead's OK Computer and Grant Lee Buffalo, Remy Zero put together a very courageous record for an American band. Scary as it seems, this may be the start of the next progressive rock era, which started with great intentions in the '70s but quickly degenerated into "Who's The Most Obtuse?" Remy's songs have structure, which gives them a huge edge, but they're not quite a pop band. If they survive the Universal/Polygram merger, (look for hundreds of bands to be without contracts in the next couple months) I expect bigger things from these guys.

Blink - The End is High (Mutant Sound System) 

I read one piece on this Irish quartet, and never saw anyone else mention them again. This was fortunate for me, because I really liked the record. Too bad for everyone else, because they missed out on a good band. Blink does a very successful fusion of '80s and '90s Manchester. "A Planet Made of Rain" and "Would You Kill For Love" shows them out-New Ordering New Order, while "This One is Wild" and "Dead Little Bird" jump like early Madchester rockers The Milltown Brothers. Definitely appeals to the retrohead in me.

Dada - Dada (MCA) 

Surprisingly strong effort from this California trio, who seemed hopelessly lost after 1996's El Subliminoso. Still need to listen to it more, but it will please anyone who enjoyed their first two albums.

Honorable Mention:

 

Mezzanine - Massive Attack

Dark and moody, and even aggressive at some points, but riveting throughout. Massive circles the wagons after 1995’s Protection and show the world why, despite the fact that they’re all DJ’s, they’re one of the bands of the ‘90s as well. Besides, if Liz Fraser of the late great Cocteau Twins is singing on your record, you must be doing something right.

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The Singles

Great Songs from Bands Not on the Albums List

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service-Propellerheads (Dreamworks).

The quickest nine minute song you’ve ever heard, Big Beat men Alex Gifford and Will White team up with composer David Arnold and assemble one kickass cover of the Bond theme. I would advise against driving to this, you’ll finish the song doing 120mph. Available on the P-heads album Decksanddrumsandrockandroll, but your best bet is Shaken and Stirred, David Arnold’s project dedicated to modern remakes of Bond themes. Other guests include Pulp, Aimee Mann, Iggy Pop, ABC’s Martin Fry and Chrissie Hynde.

The Rockafeller Skank-Fatboy Slim (Astralwerks).

Come on, sing along with me, the words are really easy: "Right about now, the funk soul brother/Check it out now, the funk soul brother." Repeat for four minutes, simmer for one minute, then heat on high for two more minutes, and you have the most infectious (and also the admittedly dumbest) dance song of the year. Who knew that underneath the surface of Housemartins bass player Norman Cook lurked the oh so demented alter ego Fatboy Slim, who found pleasure in slicing and dicing Duane Eddy riffs to ribbons and coupling them with monster drum beats? Look for this to be a stadium song in a year or so.

April Fools-Rufus Wainwright (Dreamworks).

The best song World Party never wrote (though I wish they’d cover it because Karl Wallinger’s voice is a hundred times better), Rufus steps out of his father Loudon’s shadow and releases an album that owes more to show tunes than pop music. The album as a whole didn’t do much for me, but this song is a gem, with an incredibly catchy climbing vocal that screams "Sing with me now!" Its ace in the hole, though, is the kick in the teeth at the end of the chorus: While he’s singing "And you will believe in love, and all that it’s supposed to be," you fall for the hook. And that’s when he delivers the KO punch with "But just until the fish start to smell and you’re struck down by a hammer." A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, indeed.

Flagpole Sitta-Harvey Danger (not a clue whose label they’re on).

The best song with the worst title. Come on, guys, you about as white as you can get, and you’re using the word "Sitta"? Regardless, this is the "Longview" of 1998, with the shuffle beat, power pop guitars and ultra catchy chorus of "I’m not sick, but I’m not well."

Battersea-Hooverphonic (Sony)

Bands doing drum and bass will continue to be a risky venture, but "Battersea" raises the bar so high, everyone else should just quit trying now. Not only does this Belgian band pull it off, they added an orchestra on top of it. Call it a kindred spirit of Massive Attack’s "Unfinished Sympathy," with the fantastic beats and heartbreaking strings. Forget the whining about the new lead singer. She’s great. What they need is a lyricist.

Frozen-Madonna (Maverick/Warner Bros.)

Up with her absolute best material, this song had to have been made just for me: Madonna teams up with her best collaborator Patrick Leonard, and asks ambient god William Orbit to produce. The result is frozen, indeed: this song is so haunting I swear the temperature in the room drops ten degrees whenever I hear it.

One Week-Barenaked Ladies (Reprise)

Novelty or boyishly clever, take your pick. The fact is a very deserving band finally got their big break with a very worthy song. Now let’s hope it doesn’t kill them. As Adam Ant once said, when you get a Number One the only way is down…

(If you own a Mac and have the System 8.5 CD the Quicktime folder contains the video of this song.)

Discoball World-David Garza (Sony)

That’s Dah-VEED Garza, thank you very much. This Texas boy puts together what sounds like an American version of Pulp’s "Disco 2000." Starting with an incredibly cheesy drum program and evolving into a bubbly percussion riff, Garza shows some good promise. Now if the rest of the record didn’t sound so much like Robert Plant…

At My Most-Beautiful-REM (Warner Bros.)

Buck, Mills and Stipe channeling Brian Wilson on what I think is the prettiest moment of an otherwise unflattering album, Up. Songs like this make me wish REM would just act their age, like they did with Automatic For The People, and deliver the goods I know they’re capable of.

I Think I’m Paranoid-Garbage (Almo/DGC)

Despite the tepid reception from the public, Garbage put together a follow up every bit as good as their first record, and maybe better. "Paranoid" is an airtight mix of backward loops, fuzzy guitars, and an undeniable pop hook.

Honorable Mention:
In Love-Fear of Pop (Work/Sony).

A side project of Ben Folds, this song bears little resemblance to Folds’ main band, with cheesy drum programs and a synth bass line. And then, just when you think it couldn’t get any weirder, William Shatner starts emoting, in classic Kirkian mode, about a woman he dated until she tried to change him. Ben plays straight man, singing his sincere backing vocal while Shatner bellows "I can’t express myself, and, I, can’t, commit! You’re right! I can’t commit! To YOU…" Hilarious.

Guilty Pleasure Song of the Year:
Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)-The Offspring.

I’ve never like this band much. I thought their 1994 album Smash was filled with little more than Nirvana rewrites. But this song slays me. Give it to me, baby,

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Disappointments - The Albums

Biggest Disappointments-Albums I had high hopes for that now sit on my shelf collecting dust

This is Hardcore-Pulp (Island).

Critics raved about this concept album about "adult movie stars," but the whole thing just left me cold. I knew not to expect it to sound like their 1995 album Different Class, but I could have used a few more catchy melodies, please. Now I know why the Island reps thought the band was committing suicide when they turned the album in. They kinda did.

Electro Shock Blues-The Eels (Dreamworks).

Spielberg, Katzenberg and Geffen’s first music signing, who scored a very quick hit with 1996’s "Novacaine For The Soul," also went off the deep end, but you can hardly blame them. Frontman and main songwriter E lost his sister to suicide during recording and his mother to cancer shortly after finishing the album. The album is filled with songs about hospital food, having no dignity whatsoever on your death bed, and visiting funerals. Not exactly sunny stuff. He may have been able to disguise it with some good hooks, but he seemed to have left those in the waiting room. I haven’t ruled him out, but I hope he gets over this soon.

Human Being-Seal (Warner Bros.)

I just got this and can already tell it will not be getting played much in the future. Seal has the best sounding records out there. Trevor Horn makes even the thinnest song sound great with that comfy-as-a-couch production of his. But this album is surprisingly hookless. For a man who put together two of the best records of the nineties, it depresses me greatly to see him stumble like this. But stumble he did.

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Recurrents of 1998

Songs released before 1998 that are presently in power rotation

Paranoid Android-Radiohead (1997, Capitol)

Still blown away by this one.

I Will Survive-Cake (1996, Capricorn)

I don’t know how I missed this the first time, but I’m glad I caught up with it. I was never a big fan of this band, but their groove based version of the disco classic is the perfect ‘90s update to a song long needing a respectable cover.

We Have a Technical-Matt Sharp & Damon Albarn (1997, Beggars Banquet)

The lead singers of the Rentals and Blur have a go at an old Gary Numan song and the results are fantastic. True to the spirit of the original, but with a modern thump.

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