This is a reviews page based on my own collection, which just keeps growing despite itself. If it isn't listed here, it's because I don't own it yet, or I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Also, bother your local "new rock" radio station and make sure they are playing "new rock" and not "Rock the Casbah," which is not new.

note: entries in red text indicate my pick for the artist's best available album. A gold numeral indicates the POPocalypse winner of the year's best album; second- and third-place winners are in blue. Green lettering indicates an obviously exploitative record company compilation without apparent artist input.

EARWIG: Under My Skin I am Laughing (****)
This 1994 album was the only release by this European three-piece. It's very minimalist, with Kirsty Yates's whispered vocals over quietly repeating synths and sequencers. The deeply unpleasant lyrics tell of bitter unhappiness and loss, for a profoundly chilling effect. After its release, one of the members left; Kirsty and the remaining member (I'm unsure which) continued as the duo Insides.

ELASTICA: Elastica (1995, UK #1, US #66, ***)
While never the most original of acts, to dislike the dirty and real Britpop goddesses of Elastica is to dislike pop. Unless you're a fan of Wire, in which case you can call Elastica a bunch of hacks. Or a fan of Sparks or the Stranglers. Their '95 debut is full of swiftly moving guitar pieces which rarely challenge the three minute mark but hit lots of buzzsaw heights along the way. "Connection" brought them to America's attention and the top 70, but it's "Car Song" that hits the beautifully-disposable mark with crystal clarity. Definitely an essential '90s album.

ELASTICA: "Line Up" CD single (1994, UK #20)
Their chart debut was this single, featuring "Vaseline" and a pair of BBC Peel session tracks.

ELECTRAFIXION: "Zephyr" CD single (1994, UK #47)
This short-lived 1994 reunion of Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant, after Mac's solo career flopped, as did the Ian-less Bunnymen, prompted the later reunion of Echo & the Bunnymen. Electrafixion left behind a few singles and a scarce album in its wake. "Zephyr" is a guitar-heavy pop anthem, and promises great things.

ELECTRAFIXION: Burned (1995, UK #38, ***)
Louder than the Bunnymen, with a hint of grunge and heavy on the black sunglasses imagery, Electrafixion failed on the world's charts but their album is quite good. Key tracks: "Sister Pain" and "Mirrorball."

ELECTRONIC: "Get the Message" CD single (1991, UK #8)
Four good mixes, two by mixmasters DNA, of a pretty lazy song and an extended mix of the bonus cut "Free Will."

ELF POWER: A Dream in Sound (1999, ****)
This 1999 album continues Andrew Rieger's wonderfully dense experiments in pop melody and structure. The Athens four-piece, performing here with several guests, includes members of other Athens bands who belong to a music "collective" called Elephant 6 and who also perform with Olivia Tremor Control, Macha and Neutral Milk Hotel. The best track is the propelling, radio-friendly "High Atop the Silver Branches," which matches Laura Carter's vocals with a storming march of percussion, although "Simon (The Bird with the Candy Bar Head)" is another candidate for single play. If 1999 wasn't so packed with amazing albums, this would definitely have made my top 10.

ELF POWER: The Winter is Coming (2000, ***)
Not taking any long rests or anything, Elf Power had a follow-up in the shops just over a year later, but Winter, while not without many charms, is markedly inferior to Dream. This is in no small part due to the absence of Laura Carter from the mic. There's a pretty good instrumental called "Green Sea Days," a room-shaking stomp called "The Naughty Villain," and plenty of psychedelic lyrics, but this is disappointing in comparison to both Dream and their live show. Creatures followed in 2002.

THE ELLEN JAMES SOCIETY: The Survivors Parade (1992, ***)
The defunct Atlanta act had been a crucial live fixture in the late 80s even before touring with the Indigo Girls and signing to their Daemon label. Sadly, they met the same national resistance that Kristen Hall faced, from radio stations who felt one act of denim-wearing guitar-playing Atlantans was enough. This is despite the Society's very different, and aggressive guitar sound. Little more than a local footnote now, it's a shame they didn't make it farther.

SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR: "Murder on the Dancefloor" (2001, UK #2)
This is a remarkably cute and singable dance single from a British starlet with a gorgeous pout and a posh delivery. It remained on the UK chart for ages and is available here in a package with a remix, a bonus song ("Never Let Me Down") and the video on CD-ROM.

ENO: Here Come the Warm Jets (1973, UK #26, **)
Brian Eno had left Roxy Music several months before this album's release amid ego battles with Bryan Ferry. Their respective solo albums were released weeks apart. While both LPs featured several guest parts by the rest of Roxy, there was little indication these two had ever been in a band together. Ferry's was among the first of the rock cover albums, a thundering look back at music's past. Eno's wasn't much like anything that had come before, with squealing synths and experimental tape loops hammering out something like conventional pop structures. The album gets progressively denser as it wears heavily on, with some of the sonic mess in "Driving Me Backwards" and "Dead Finks Don't Talk" calculated to induce nausea in the listener. It's a bold statement, but not a very listenable one, and Eno would have minimal chart impact, despite several superior follow-ups, for the next five years.

EURYTHMICS: Touch (1983, UK #1, US #7, **)
Deeply disappointing. The band's third album does contain two remarkable numbers, "Here Comes the Rain Again" and "Who's That Girl?", but the rest of the album is just upbeat filler. The last two songs sound like half-baked B-sides with no thought or emotion behind them. A compilation album would be better value to hear the genius of "Here Comes the Rain Again" without the dull stuff around it here.

EURYTHMICS: Revenge (1986, UK #3, US #12, **)
They begin to adopt a harder edge on this 1986 album, which leads with the aggressive hit "Missionary Man" and only shows a more passionate side occasionally. "When Tomorrow Comes" and "In This Town" are really strong and emotional, only one track, "Let's Go!," is flotsam.

EURYTHMICS: We Too are One (1989, UK #1, US #34, ***)
Their last album for a decade sees a return to a traditional pop sound after some of their more recent, harsh singles. Lushly orchestrated and played very well, it really is the best possible album to go out on and features the spectacular "Don't Ask Me Why."

EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL: "Missing" CD single (1995, UK #3, US #2)
The album version and three radical remixes of their worldwide hit. The eight minute Chris & James Full On club mix is particularly good.

EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL VS. DRUM 'N' BASS: "Walking Wounded" CD single (1996, UK #6)
Five mixes here, all interesting experiments. Unfortunately, the song wasn't upbeat enough to make any of these all that strong and the very genre of drum n' bass isn't all that cool. Approach with caution.