Down by Law All Scratched Up! Epithath/Cargo Claiming to have paid their dues but still spouting the same ole tired punk shit. Only, and this is a bonus, they hate Counting Crows, and aren’t afraid to say so. May I quote? “Counting Crows must die/I’d like to punch them in the eye/all the crap I hate so much/everything about them sucks....” So they can’t be all bad. About half way through the disc you get into the pattern of the lyrics and can easily sing/shout along with the vocalist—singing all about the human condition without ever expressing an opinion about life. Ah.... And then by the end of the disc you and DBL forget all about punk and just get on with the bid- ness of music! And by then its too late to like these boyz. Ah well. by K. Moore Autour de Lucie Autour de Lucie Nettwerk If Crash Vegas moved to France...This Parisian quartet have a really great sound. This album is easy to listen to. The track “L’Echappée Belle” was originally released on a French independant label, and boy have they come a long (and well deserved) way. There are a couple of english tracks, but this album is language-less. Good music doesn’t need to bait people by doing songs in specific tongues. by Kim eh?! - various artists Cargo Just what you’d expect of a compilation from indie distributors Cargo—eclectic, non-mainstream, and eminently listenable. Merlin, Malhavoc, Furnaceface and Facepuller all existing in the same space. Even three Francophone contributions. All Canadian, all the time. Neat-o. by Joyce eh?! Truckerbutt Gumby's Last Stand Jag Adolescent rants, three guys trying to figure out sex and relationships and other people and themselves, twisting volume and distortion into some nouveau rock/ punk/industrial art form—but they forget form; pretending to be artists. Uniform in their lack of musical growth, fully illustrated with their tribute to the voice from BCTels voice messaging system. Instead of singing decent lyrics, most of each song is spent with the vocalist explaining what he wants to say, without expecting any emotional response from the audience [no matter how remote. I have to wonder if they’re this self-indulgent live...] Full of tired, tired cliches. Ack. Must have read the A. Morrissette book of writing song lyrics; the one that mistakenly espouses the use, nay, dependance on regurgitating overused cliches, claiming they’re music. by K. Moore Pluto Pluto Virgin Pluto.is one of the brightest new bands to emerge from the Vancouver music scene. If you like Soul Asylum then you will love Pluto’s CD. The songs ‘Paste’ and ‘When She Was Happy’ frequent Vancouver’s airwaves. Pluto is a super-charged band that can belt out songs with the best of them. This is one CD that has a summer sound so playing it loud is mandatory. The songs ‘Uncola’ and “Black Lipstick’ are two songs that have the potential of being the kind of good songs that get embedded in your head and won’t come out. by Marcel Martin ? mor Dottie DEY eT Yen PO OPT Le ye yy oe Pp at Imperial Teen ee Seasick soar “iba gy SA ea pe Slash If you’re still in grade school or if you’ve been living in a remote Tibetan village for the past 30 years or so, Imperial Teen may appeal to you. If neither of the above is the case, then you may find yourself with a case of deja vu when listening to Seasick. That, and perhaps a vaguely nauseous feeling in the pit of your gut. Why? Because Imperial Teen is churning out gritty (that’s gritty with an “sh”) three-chord pop-rock that would be equally at home in any | of the “garage rock” scenes of the last three-and-a- half decades. . rae ie ete | ee I ‘spose my problem is that, at the ripe old age of 26, I’ve outgrown the age demographic that this 38-minute slice of tedium was probably marketed for. My cluttered melon is filled with enough rock ‘n’ roll knowledge and pop culture esoterica that I can tell the difference between hash and, in the case of Imperial Teen, rehash. If Imperial Teen were hash, the drug that is, they would make you cough like the good stuff, but they wouldn’t get you high, they would just give you a headache and make you really sleepy. Believe me, this shit isn’t the shit, it’s just shit. by Kevin Sallows Foxfire Various Nettwerk Watch for Foxfire in theatres early September, but until then you can enjoy this album. It’s a compilation from various artists that can be played at any time. The tracks range from The Cramps doing “let’s get f*cked up” to a melodic Kirstin Hersh tune. Hey, I cleaned my room to this one, and got it all done! If you want to wait till you see the movie, by all means, but I don’t think that should be necessary. by Kim aie te ith Taek rey PAPA BRITTLE THE CRAMPS Pe eee tts dei) {95a Oa st. 4 01 i feasts MYSTERY MACHINE WILD STRAWBERRIES i SHAMPOO CANDLES OX