Sunday, January 1 1995
Happydeadmen, After the Siesta
This quartet from a small burgh in Sweden is relentlessly jangly even though they often pen ironically maudlin lyrics.
Bruce Hornsby: Here Come the Noise Makers
It is a dilemma faced by many suddenly successful musicians—what do you do when your first album is a multiplatinum smash with a #1 single…
The Hippos: Heads Are Gonna Roll
Heads Are Gonna Roll is to be played at maximum volume, according to the six guys who make up the band: Ariel Rechtshaid (lead vocals,…
Eric Heatherly: Swimming in Champagne
At first listen to Eric Heatherly’s debut album, I immediately thought of early Dwight Yoakam. Then I thought maybe I was simply confusing Dwight’s “Brand…
Don Henley: Inside Job
Dear Don: On your new album, Inside Job, on a song called “Annabel,” which I assume is named after your daughter, you sing: In this…
Hagans / Belden: Re-Animation: Live In Montreal
The trouble with drum’n'bass as a fertile grounding for jazz is that it is, almost by definition, one of the least-soulful styles around. It pushes…
Haystak: Car Fulla White Boys
Immediate sign of trouble: in the special dedications on the CD jacket, Haystack says he would like to “dedicate this project to my grandparents for…
Hoven Droven: More Happy Moments with Hoven Droven
A crashing wall of guitar sound a la Soundgarden or Mettalica segues effortlessly into Celtic-sounding fiddle music. Whining wah-wah and power drumming are blended with…
Sara Hickman: Spiritual Appliances
Sara Hickman is a member of a large and growing club: an under-appreciated musician with a solid back catalog of interesting and adventurous CDs, who…
Herb Ellis Trio: Burnin’
In a world of power trios filled with heavy guitars and obnoxious, rock-beat drummers, it’s nice to know that there’s still room for a “power”…
Mark Helm: Everything’s OK
Here we go again. Another indie popster gets compared to Elliott Smith, Big Star, and the Beach Boys. Seems like those are the Big Three…
Hot Club de Norvege: Parisian Honeymoon Suite
There is a scene in Woody Allen’s love letter to jazz, Sweet and Lowdown, where Sean Penn, playing make-believe jazz guitar prodigy Emmet Ray, goes…
Har Mar Superstar: self-titled
Okay, I plead guilty to a certain amount of stupidity and blind faith. I admit that the only reason I was interested in Har Mar…
The Helio Sequence: Com Plex
In the ‘80s it was fashionable to compare any band that wasn’t metal to the Beatles. Even when they sounded more like Pink Floyd, Todd…
Hog Molly: Kung Fu Cocktail Grip
With a title like that, it’s gotta be cool…right? Right?! The answer to that is NO. No, no, and again -– no. Hog Molly is…
Bruce Haack: Hush Little Robot
If you’re not familiar with Bruce Haack, here’s a potted history. A gifted musician and composer of everything from musicals to musique concrete, Haack was…
Tami Hart: No Light in August
Mr. Lady Records received a tape of 4-track recordings from a young woman in high school named Tami Hart. The story goes like this: Kaia…
Hixxy, Force & Styles: This Is Noize
Tere is yet another rave compilation from the folks at Highborn. Actually, it’s not Highborn, it’s hiGHBorn. Gotta be sure to get that GHB reference…
Cliff Hillis: Be Seeing You
A great number of wrong-minded people believe great power pop stopped happening a long time ago. For those of us who know differently, I think…
The House of Love: 1986-1988: The Creation Recordings
Before we examine this compilation more closely, I would like to indulge in some personal reminiscing. The House of Love will always have a special…
