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Marvelous 3 Hey! Album (Hi Fi/Elektra/Warner) The Marvelous 3 are tattooed love boys who look "rock" but play pop. They've got both ears pierced and shaggy 'dos and short leather jackets--altogether signifying "Brit," but they come from the States. And their music fits right into this transatlantic messthetic--a power pop that evokes late new wave as much as Cheap Trick (you know, all of it circa 1979). Oh yeah--and there are three of them, and they are marvelous enough to pull off the name. 8/10 (Chris Yurkiw) Ratwurst Self-titled (Miracle) Nice German accents, for a couple of Toronto boys. Ratwurst do a gothic/industrial goof-pop thing, silly like Sprockets and minimal like Bauhaus (the furniture, not the band), best listened to while wearing a black turtleneck. If Montreal's own damaged duo Deja Voodoo came out as closet Casio creeps, or if Suicide had had a sense of humour, they would have sounded like this pair. Given their tunes "Berlin," "Ja!" and the theoretically romantic "Girly Girl," I can totally see these guys doing a bill with the Subumlauts. 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) B-Side Player 1 Press Start (Junior High/Fragrant)
Various Together as One (Moonshine/Koch)
Together as One was recorded live on New Year's Eve '98 in Los Angeles at the rave of the same name. So-Cal promotional teams Insomniac and Go Ventures got together to showcase all styles of electronic music and "create a harmonious environment of true benevolence previously unknown to the world." That's nice. A sort of homage to the last year before Y2K, if you will, featuring artists like Sniper, Carl Cox and DJ Dan exorcising some demons. 7/10 (Krista)
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A body-rockin' funky breaks compilation out of Los Angeles, complete with ragga samples, hip hop loops and cut-up old school beats, topped off with a little DMC-style scratching. DJ B-Side action figure and cardboard for breakdancing sold separately. But what makes this CD really worth buying is the letter attached to the liner notes, petitioning Kevin Costner to stop acting. Anything to keep The Postman Part II from making it to the theatres! 8/10 (Krista)