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Save Ferris It Means Everything (Starpool/Sony) There's something familiar about the voice of Monique Powell, chanteuse for this Cali ska-pop circus. But vocal stylings aren't all that Save Ferris share with Gwen Stefani and Co.--there's the huge production values also. But Save Ferris veer off into torchy swank, sparing us any slappy funkoid foolishness. Points are scored on the strength of the Dexy's Midnight Runners cover alone. 7/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) Chris Thomas King self-titled (Attic) New Orleans native Chris Thomas King is a bluesman with Top-40 ambitions. Mixing urban rhythms with bluesy rock, he crosses genres with limited success. Whenever his bluesy side takes control, as on "I Cried" and "L.A. Angel," he excels, but his attempts at urban grooves are lacking, to say the least. Stick to what you know, Chris, we'll all be better off. 7/10 (Gerard Dee) Fu Manchu The Action Is Go (Mammoth/ Attic) On their second LP, Fu Manchu pull the heavy dune-buggy boogie out of directions past and switch into pedal-to-metal gear toward galaxies unknown. Sure, they're still celebrating all things Black Sabbath with bongloads of fuzz 'n' feedback ("Evil Eye," "Unknown World"). But while certainly not as cerebral as Voivod, it's the supersonic vibe to "Trackside Hoax" or "Laserbl'ast" that proves that there is metal beyond the likes of White Zombie's last gasps. 6.5/10 (Lorrie Edmonds)
Is Art Alexakis talking about the "afterglow" following Everclear's breakthrough album Sparkle And Fade? Or the "afterglow" of a depresso life following a childhood of innocence--a theme Art really can't shake? I think So Much for the Afterglow should be read as So Much for the Powerful If Plodding Rock Band You Knew, because this one is Art's pop record--something he's neither smart nor talented enough to pull off. 5/10 (Chris Yurkiw)
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Everclear So Much for the Afterglow (Capitol/EMI)