David Simutis

Yes, nü-garage is the new grunge, and yes, Australia's Vines began life as a Nirvana cover band. But if the teenagers that make up the quartet continue down the eclectic and electric path Highly Evolved lays down, there's no doubt that they'll outlive the hype. (They were called the second...

It sure sounds like a good band on paper: A slightly obsessive-compulsive songwriter named Billy with a shaved head and lots of famous musician pals. A singer (also bald) from a dark, foreboding, prog-metal band that hasn't released a record in four years yet still boasts a huge underground following...

The The Naked Self (Nothing) Matt Johnson must be a patient man. It's been six years since the last album of new The The music (and four since the all-Hank Williams covers set, Hanky Panky) but he continues to sound very much like himself. As the one constant of the...

Morphine The Night (Dreamworks) If there ever was a band for listening to late at night, drunk and feeling sorry for yourself while reviewing all the wrong choices you've made, it's Morphine. The band's sound is built around singer Mark Sandman's noirish baritone and two-string slide bass, drummer Billy Conway's...

Clinton Disco and the Halfway to Discontent (Astralwerks) A Cornershop side project seems almost unnecessary. The British band -- best known for its hit "Brimful of Asha" -- merges Indian melodies and instrumentation with Western rock, folk, punk, and dance music. The Cornershop banner, in other words, covers a lot...