new introductory bit here.

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.

"A Thousand Trees" is the lead track on the thundering, anthem-filled debut from Wales' Stereophonics. One of the leaders of late 90s British rock, with lines that can be drawn to the Manics and to Oasis, the band didn't dent US radio, meaning Americans probably missed such booming gems as "Not Up to You" and "Check My Eyelids for Holes." The band cemented their reputation as a smart and loud rock band with a blistering and successful English tour which guaranteed their 1999 sophomore effort a UK #1 debut. Preceded by the raucous and short "Bartender and the Thief" single, the band slew any remaining critics before landing some small success in America with a tour. Alternative radio here played "Pick a Part That's New" for a while. "Half of the Lies You Tell Ain't True" is angry and features some awesome guitar work. "She Takes Her Clothes Off" and "I Stopped to Fill My Car Up" both tell tragic and sad stories in a quieter mode, and both feature very sharp lyrics by Kelly Jones.

Jones's raspy voice is strangely reminiscent of Rod Stewart, and the noise is something akin to a competent AC/DC. The mix somehow works however, and the strength of the lyrics carries the band through what could be cliche or pomposity. 2001's Just Enough Education to Perform, however, saw a decline in lyrical quality. Too many songs are wrapped around slogans or simple choruses to be as effective as their earlier work. Despite a strong debut and a hit single, "Mr. Writer," which attacked the music press, the album has not sold very well in the long run and slipped quickly from the charts, and has also lacked the small support from US radio that its predecessor gained.