"Shallow End of the Gene Pool" by Mariner Nine.

Aside from the ridiculous album name and juvenile song titles ("Dude, I'm Growing My Hair" and "Red Rocket Serenade" had me chuckling as I imported the disc to my collection), this record is an impressively awesome effort. I have never heard anything about this band, and the production, while decent, shows that these guys are probably nobodys who had enough money to cut an album. On some of the songs, you can even hear the white noise from certain instruments being punched in during the recording process. A little shoddily done, but the songs are so good, that I forgive literally every shortcoming this record has. That's no small feat, as the smallest thing (especially silly song titles) can mean a deal breaker for me. So far, this is one of the only records in this review process, that I have listened to over and over simply because I like it so well. The songs have a similar vein, but the ideas are always fresh and never repeat themselves. This is perfectly done, colorful indie pop, and I'm going to track down any other recordings by this solid outfit.

"Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" by MK Ultra.

This album rules. The songs are tight and interesting, the lyrics are great and the production is nearly perfect. It turns out the man at the helm is one John Vanderslice. I guess he's gone on to do great things as a solo artist, and while I'm not familiar with those works, it's easy to believe when hearing the material on this record. This dude is a talented song writer who possesses a strong, and seemingly innate sense of flow and structure. He also knows when to end a song, which is nice. Too many artists these days seem to beat their songs to death. My only gripes are as follows: there are too many tracks and the cover art is retarded. Definitely pick this one up and check it out, though. Noteworthy songs are True Crime, Billy Dale Hunt and the amazing Santa Maria. Simple, focused and a rare kick-ass treat.

Smells Like the Nineties Part 2: "Tidal" by Fiona Apple.

This album spawned a monster. Suddenly every floosy who could mash on a piano and attempt to emulate an amalgamation of talented, black female vocalists, were getting record deals. At least this record is good. Fiona's dusky vocals always border on being tawdry, but never come across as trashy, or needy. That's a tough line for a female artist to walk these days and my hat's off to her. She does it gracefully. Her piano playing isn't exactly spectacular, but her chord progressions and compositional skills are noteworthy. All of these ingredients seem to coalesce effortlessly into a record that's complex and rewarding, but easy to listen to.