considering this had to be special ordered, and is so damn good.. get's my vote.

------------------------

I'll thro out For Against, Kevin Tihista (although he gets some love on the board), Broadcast, Oranger, Died Pretty (from back in the day), Green Pajamas/Jeff Kelly is so under-rated it's sad, babybird from the UK especially his lo-fi stuff, Czars/John Grant have not reached the audience they should....

Hannah Marcus is the my favorite female artist. I'm not sure I've ever seen her name mentioned on this or the cmj board.

There's a lot of indie-pop records that I can think of, but my choice would be:

Aereogramme - Sleep and Release
- Got great notices upon release but I haven't heard anyone bring it up since. Ever.

lil wayne - the carter
trick daddy - thug matrimony
squarepusher - ultravisitor
mouse on mars - radical connector
tujiko noriko - from tokyo to naiagara
raphael sadiq - instant vintage
david banner - mta2 baptized in dirty water

Linus Of Hollywood - Let Yourself Be Happy

Madlib - Shades of Blue

It's a good pop album.

The Weakerthans - Reconstruction Site.

Great pop album, I'm really surprised more people aren't into it.

agreed

the #1 candidate that comes to mind (circa 2002):

"says pop" roman candle

jim white - drill a hole into that substrate ...

i'll second the New Year's The End is Near, which i consider the Kadanes' best effort since Transaction de Novo. it may not present a new or divergent style, but it's a snapshot of them at their best.

KPH

clann zu - black coats & bandages

i almost said that one.

I like A Story in White quite a bit more than Sleep and Release. Any Aereogramme would qualify, though. Also, if you don't have that Lift to Experience (some of our come-latelies), you're really missing out.

Just about every good world music release has gone underappreciated but I don't think thats what you're looking for so I'll throw out seconds and thirds in support of

Jon Brion, The New Year and Joe Henry

and add a few:

Joe Pisapia "Daydreams"


I've probably posted more about my love for this album more than any other on CMJ's BB over the last few years, but it still goes underappreciated. The few people that I know checked it out seem to like it (Billy R, MCaputo, & Poptodd) but I don't know if many others even checked him out. It even ended up making mcaputo's listmania.

I'd describe it as folky chamber pop. Not Lame reviewed it as the Left Banke meets Nick Drake which I'd say is a pretty good description of his sound.

You can check out a few of his songs on his website here One of the clips, River song, is my least favorite on the album, but the others are very good.

Brendan Gamble "Heartless Moon"



RIYL: Nick Drake, Elliott Smith, Badly Drawn Boy

From AMG:

Unlike his old bands, the hard pop Poster Children or the dreamy the Moon Seven Times, Brendan Gamble's solo debut is a good old-fashioned piece of '70s-style singer/songwriter mopery, closer in mood to Joni Mitchell's Blue than Nick Drake's Pink Moon, though sharing similarities with both. All 13 of these songs were written during the breakup of Gamble's marriage to his former partner in the Moon Seven Times, Lynn Canfield, and lyrically, they're exactly the mixture of recrimination, resignation, sadness, black humor, and anger that usually accompanies the breakup of a relationship.

Two tracks including the excellent title track can be sampled
here

Tora Tora Torrance "A Cynic's Nightmare"


AMG:

Minneapolis' Tora! Tora! Torrance! follows in the footsteps of the city's greatest rock band — Hüsker Dü — with a collection of aggressive tunes that fuse hardcore punk and melodicism. A Cynic's Nightmare is an awe-inspiring set that adds a touch of classic rock to the unbridled fury of At the Drive-In. "Sapphire Jungle" rumbles to life amidst feedback, a slow stomp beat, and epic, ascending riffs even worthy of U2, until the distorted call-out vocals and experimental noise place the song in the Relationship of Command canon. The singing on "I Thought This Was a Punk Show" is all Blood Brothers, but the music is large-scale, arena-ready rock & roll complete with Guns N' Roses guitars. The beauty of A Cynic's Nightmare lies in Tora! Tora! Torrance!'s ability to let songs simmer — the band will go at a Led Zeppelin pace where its contemporaries might blast through with speedy punk aggression. It's spirited, exuberant, and passionate, with the pomp and aural theatrics of Queen ("I wanna smell your sweet, sweet sweat") but the D.I.Y. grit and delivery of a band like the Minutemen — a swell combination to say the least.

One track is available for sampling here

Jonathan Pointer "Love Songs from the Outskirts of Bliss"



From AMG:

With his second record, Love Songs From the Outskirts of Bliss, Jonathan Pointer produces haunting portraits of love, self-doubt, and the passage time, all delivered with a wit, wisdom, and sense of craft and focus that sets him apart from the usual pack of singer/songwriters. Pointer's songs — dour yet droll, self-effacing yet confident — illustrate life's contradictions with candor and grace, whether caught up in self-examination, trying to mend a broken heart/home, or rationalizing the realizations of either...Pointer will occasionally go for the big emotional moment, but more often than not he settles for the smaller ones, and it's these which leave the most lasting impressions. Musically, it's these same sorts of subtleties that create the perfect aural atmosphere for the material, which is primarily built around his understated, superb guitar. Every little touch, from the Kurt Weill-like violin, guitar, and accordion interplay of "Washington St." to ambient electric guitars, or even a ukelele solo, is always in the service of the song. Pointer owns a hoarse baritone that brings to mind early Tom Waits, whose influence is apparent on one of the album's best tracks, the carney-inspired "Arcadia," with it's cast of sideshow freaks and whores. But it's another similarity to Waits that helps make Love Songs so good. Pointer draws inspiration from various points on the musical map to create something that is not only special, but his own. Self-produced, along with Crit Harmon, Love Songs From the Outskirts of Bliss is a truly impressive second outing — poignant, intelligent, and sophisticated.

You can check out mp3's here

np: The Walkmen "Bows & Arrows"

not only did it make my listmania, it continues its steady climb UP the list.
easy top 5 five record of the last 4-5 years. thank you billy g.

big thumbs up for Joe Henry as well. (Fuse & Tiny Voices)

Hellz yeah.
I forgot about that one.
And ditto on the thanks.

this was the first review i ever wrote for a major publication.

I agree with billy g that Joe Pisapia's Daydreams definitely belongs on a list of criminally ignored albums (edit: and, just like caputo and todd, thanks to billy g for the intro). I'll also second/third/fourth/whatever Joe Henry Tiny Voices, and Jon Brion Meaningless.

I also agree totally that the Weakerthans Reconstruction Site, the Sleepy Jackson Lovers, and Jim White Drill A Hole etc. are all worthy albums, but I don't know if I'd say any of them were neglected or underrated.

Some others:

[img][200:200]http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000089YC6.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg[/img]

Warren Zanes Memory Girls (2002)

This got top honors on my 2002 Shmoo poll.

"This long-delayed solo debut from the former Del Fuegos' guitarist (and brother of that band's singer turned solo artist, Dan) is more than worth the wait. This is an expansive display of the younger Zanes's distinctive songwriting, compelling viewpoints, and almost embarrassing wealth of pop-smart hooks and melodic riches. Though occasionally cloaked in lo-fi production conceits, Zanes's bright pop muse simply won't be denied, whether framed by the spare, folksy acoustic settings of "First on the Moon," "Did You Recognize My Love"'s jazzy cabaret, or the staccato, McCartney-meets-XTC guitar charms of "If You Could Stay." With musicians such as Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, and Morphine's Billy Conway lending deft support, Zanes isn't afraid to let his quiet, plaintive voice float across the occasional lush orchestral arrangement, or evoke a playfully off-kilter Stax-meets-exotica charm on "Hey Girl." Tracks like "Everybody Loves You" and "Main Street" almost seem to strain at their alt-pop moorings, but Zanes simply soars elsewhere on the record." --Jerry McCulley

[img][200:200]http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00005IAFF.01._SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg[/img]

The Bicycle Thief You Come And Go Like A Pop Song (2001)

This is Thelonious Monster's guiding force Bob Forrest's solo album. He's helped out by Anna Waronker and John Frusciante on a set of heartbreakingly personal songs that sometimes rock but mostly wallow in an odd sort of defeatist melancholy. It's the aural equivalent of that hazy glow that shrouds L.A. at night. Any fans of Elliot Smith, Josh Rouse, melody, heart, and soul should check this out.

[img][200:200]http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000C3I8D.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg[/img]

Oh Susanna Oh Susanna

excerpt from AMG: "It's an old trek what is called roots music these days to something closer to rock, and Suzie Ungerleider, aka Oh Susanna, makes it on her eponymous album. Rock is, of course, a relative concept, and on this album it's the Americana variation, low on tech but rich in feeling. (The only keyboard on the album is acoustic or electric piano; even a B-3 is apparently too slick for this mix.) But there's greasy slide and pounding drums on tracks like "Right by Your Side," with down-home horns that add up to a Band feel over a toned-down Stones groove. The I-VII-IV chord change coming out of the verse on "Mama" also has a Stones quality, and the vocal line on "Mama" echoes "Angie" a bit, but the feel here also draws from Uncle Tupelo and more contemporary variations."

[img][200:200]http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000066ALB.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg[/img]

American Death Ray Music Smash Radio Hits

excerpt from AMG: "If Lou Reed had spent his youth writing raucous, technicolor teenage hip-shake anthems instead of gray love songs to heroin, the result might have sounded like American Death Ray. It's that good. While Memphis rock seems to owe a great deal to comeback comrades like the Oblivians, the Compulsive Gamblers, and the Gibson Bros. (who mixed bits of blues and punk to apocalyptic sonic effect), American Death Ray owes more to glitzy '60s and '70s icons like the Velvet Underground, David Bowie, and T. Rex, but with a healthy amount of Stooges damage, as well. Sexy saxophones and humming organs bop along at an irresistibly danceable pace as Diablo rattles off his lyrics in a slightly bratty, coolly unconcerned Lou Reed cadence. American Death Ray waves the sequined banner of glam rock, but its gritty Memphis pedigree seeps through enough to keep the edges rough and the rhythm dirty."

There's just so many overlooked gems. While searching AMG next time, look up any of these:

From 2002: Flophouse Jr. Hour Glass House, Brundlefly By The Way, Jerk With A Bomb Pyrokinesis, Paul Melancon Camera Obscura, The Paybacks Knock Loud, The Nasty On CitySick, Chuck Prophet No Other Love, Reigning Sound Time Bomb High School, Scott Miller and the Commonwealth Thus Always To Tyrants

2003: Tim Easton Break Your Mother's Heart, Grand Mal Bad Timing, John Ford Bullets For Dreamers, Over The Rhine Ohio, Tangiers Hot New Spirits, Veal The Embattled Hearts

have you heard their cover of michael jackson's thriller?

Papa M - Whatever, Mortal



4.5 stars from AMG

Whatever, Mortal is a good album. That writer's really hurtin with the two Cohen comparisons in as many consecutive sentences, and 4 in toto.

psssssssshhhhhhh.

I'll agree with the Cat Power folk, especially since alot of these bands (like Clann Zu & Moonbabies) I've only heard a couple of tracks of theirs.

I found the review to be a bit much, but I figured it might catch someone's eye with all the namedropping going on.