Music Meltdown

Super Furry Animals

Radiator

(Creation)

Last year (well, last school year, to be exact), Super Furry Animals released one of the best debut albums of the decade, Fuzzy Logic. The songs were catchy, full of hooks, slightly trippy, slightly silly, and fully fun. The Welsh band was embraced in the UK, becoming a quick success and starting theories about a potential Welsh musical invasion.

The Super Furry Animals' music captures the sounds of the past, from the 60s and 70s especially, using them as a base to build on and create a sound that is both current and timeless, unique and without peer.

The Furries' second album, Radiator, is easily as good, if not better, than their first. Continuing to play on bizarre themes and inspirations for their songs, lyrics focus on such topics as the relationship of Albert Einstein's parents ("Hermann Loves Pauline") and a legendary Mexican beast ("Chupacabras"). The intrinsic popiness to the band's music is still there, and the musical experimentation not only meets, but surpasses that of Fuzzy Logic , using distortion and numerous effects to achieve unique but accessible results. The standout track is the latest single, "Demons," which builds slowly and smoothly to a powerful yet lamenting chorus about the state of society.

Radiator has been available as an import for a few months now, although no domestic release date is currently scheduled. Word is they were dropped by their U.S. label, Sony, most likely due to low album sales the last time around - if that's the case, it's just another sad statement on the American music industry, and the inability of the public to see past its marketing games to where the truly good music lies. Import prices or not, Radiator is worth every penny.

-Doug Levy

Mary Lou Lord

Got No Shadow

(Work)

Subway songbird Mary Lou Lord is back in the bins, this time offering a thinly veiled 13-song tribute to all of her favorite artists: Dylan, Shawn Colvin, Joni Mitchell - basically, everyone with a knack for crafting clever, simple tunes and a penchant for all things acoustic.

On this record, Lord's a little bit country, a little bit rock 'n' roll, and a whole lotta folk. Songs like "Some Jingle Jangle Morning" and "Western Union Desperate" employ Lord's simplistic playing and trademark breathy vocals. The similarly rendered "Subway" reflects her experiences performing on Boston's Red Line. While this familiar approach is good for a few heartfelt moments and deeply heaved sighs, the real highlights include the self-consciously bumpkinesque "Shake Sugaree" and "Throng of Blowtown," which comes as close to raucousness as anything else found here.

"Lights Are Changing" comes up short when compared to the version found on Lord's self-titled EP, which featured Juliana Hatfield on backing vocals. This time the song, like so many others on this release, suffers from a tendency toward restraint; one is left wishing Lord would simply unleash whatever musical demons are lurking behind that eternally cute pixie face.

Got No Shadow is an apt title for this release. While it's a pleasant enough listen, full of thoughtful lyrics and sensitively rendered melodies, the material is lacking in weight. The music has little substance, no body with which to cast a shadow. Hopefully, future efforts will take more of a risk and employ Lord's obvious musical talents. Until then, she'll remain a novelty - a girl whose sidewalk concerts have secured a career - rather than an artist of importance.

-Laura Bond

Cheeky Monkey

Four Arms to Hold You

(Big Deal/Shoeshine)

Cheeky Monkey is not a real group - it's a collaboration between singer/songwriter Michael Shelley of Half Empty and Scottish popster Francis MacDonald of Teenage Fanclub fame. The idea was conceived when Shelley ran across unfinished demos written by MacDonald and called him up from New York; before they knew it, a great friendship was formed. MacDonald invited Shelley out to record an album, but they only had three days together - three days of continuous recording.

The end product is Four Arms To Hold You (a take-off on "Eight Arms To Hold You," the original title of The Beatles film "Help," and of Veruca Salt's last release), half an hour of poptastic tunes, the kind which often take a group months to achieve. The sound is similar to Teenage Fanclub, Tom Petty and the Traveling Wilburys all rolled together with a definite blues influence. The opening track, "That Kind of Girl," sung by MacDonald, is brilliantly melodic with great hooks and a catchiness to rival flypaper.

Shelley, who has a great rhythmic quality to his voice, sings most of the other songs. He sounds a lot like a younger Tom Petty but still retains an early nineties effect, making for an interesting yet lively sound - something not often found in the past few years. "Monkey Man," the second song, is soulful, yet humorous, and rolls from the speakers with ease. The best song on Four Arms To Hold You, though, is "Robert Lloyd," written and sung by Shelley. It has the power to stick in your head for hours after hearing it, without getting annoying.

Also of interest is a cover of Chixdiggit's hockey anthem "Gerry Cheevers," which sounds great acoustic.

-James Casey

Various Artists

What the World Needs Now...Big Deal Recording Artists Perform the Songs of Burt Bacharach

(Big Deal)

Burt Bacharach is everywhere. Everyone knows Burt; they just all don't know they do. He's a songwriter who penned great classics like "(They Long to Be ) Close to You," "Don't Go Breaking My Heart," and "Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head." The likes of Dionne Warwick, The Beatles and Dusty Springfield have made hits out of Bacharach's songs, and now indie pop label Big Deal has gathered a bunch of their best bands together to do some covers.

Shonen Knife, the bubble-gum pop Japanese band that sounds like a bunch of cartoon characters with fuzz-distortion, take on "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head." The Absolute Zeros bring "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" back to its sixties roots after a spin as a New Wave hit from Naked Eye. Mitchell Rasor, who's described in the liner notes as a "folk-rocker," does a beautifully airy rendition of "I Say A Little Prayer."

All these bands manage to do authentic covers, giving the songs a very nostalgic, retro sound. Many even throw in backup singers oohing and sha-la-la-ing, as well as horn sections. Songs you've already heard a zillion times, like those on this release, can't get any better - they just need to live up to their potential.

What the World Needs Now is a relaxing trip down memory lane, with the occasional super-'90s electric guitar pushing the songs along. Two different generational definitions of pop co-exist nicely here, with the bands giving the songs just the right amount of authenticity along with modern-rock innovation.

-Annie Holub