This Week In Music: 8/6-8/12

This week in music listening, featuring patent-pending two-word reviews:

Redd Kross: Researching the Blues – masterful powerpop
Ministry: The Land of Rape & Honey – industrial metal
Poison: Flesh & Blood – unexpected growth
Mike + The Mechanics: The Living Years – mostly fluff
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones: Pin Points & Gin Joints – suprisingly upbeat
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – early gems
Medicine: Shot Forth Self Living – repetitive shoegaze
KIX: Cool Kids – expanded sound
Mercury Rev: Strange Attractor – lesser Rev
Parliament: Gloryhallastoopid – songs suffered
Monster Magnet: Mastermind – mighty metal
Mr. Big: Actual Size – lacking originality
Ours: Precious – familiar territory
Mudhoney: Superfuzz Bigmuff – grungy goodness
Queensryche: Operation Mindcrime II – successful follow-up
Steelheart: Wait – mellow affair
Bloc Party: Four – excitingly diverse
The Posies: At Least at Last – serious undertaking
Jon Chinn and the 1803: The Tiniest Light (Sampler) – want more
Robert Pollard: Moses on a Snail – few clunkers
Stereolab: Peng! – lacks depth
XTC: Drums & Wires – brainy pop

This Week In Music: 7/2-7/8

This week in music listening, featuring patent-pending two-word reviews:

Matthew Sweet: In Reverse – underappreciated epic
The Saints: Eternally Yours – buzzsaw punk
Prong: Carved Into Stone – metal fury
Rufus Wainwright: Want One – audacious theatricality
Steelheart: Tangled in Reins – party rock
Cats In Boots: Kicked & Klawed – needs seasoning
The Grays: Very Best Years single – obscure gems
Green Day: Warning – deceptively simple
Blur: Under The Westway single – welcome return
Rocket From The Crypt: Live From Camp X Ray – too short
Redd Kross: Teen Babes From Monsanto – impressive beginnings