Album: Kicking Against the Pricks

Artist: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

Released: 1986, Mute

Links: Allmusic, Amazon, Trouserpress

Brief Review: An all covers album featuring reworked songs by Leonard Cohen, Velvet Underground, Cash, Orbison etc etc. Definitely worth hearing.

Album: Murder Ballads

Artist: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

Released: 1996, Mute

Links: Allmusic, Amazon, Trouserpress

Brief Review: An entire album of songs (and ballads!) devoted to death, mayhem, murder. Certainly teach young upstart rappers a thing or two with this album.

Album: Tender Prey

Artist: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

Released: 1988, Mute

Links: Allmusic, Amazon, Trouserpress

Brief Review: Features one of my favourite songs 'The Mercy Seat'. All of their albums are good (and some are better than others) so you can't really go wrong.

Album: Ultimate Materials II

Artist: KK Null

Released: 1995, Fourth

Links: Allmusic

Brief Review: KK Null records ultra distorted guitar in this double album of instrumental madness. Not for the faint hearted.

Album: Ultimate Materials III

Artist: KK Null

Released: 1995, Manifold

Links: Allmusic

Brief Review: Um, more of the same. Especially freeky in the mid section when the guitar abuse winds down and monastic chanting takes over before being overwhelmed by more messed up guitar.

Album: Aurora

Artist: KK Null & James Plotkin

Released: 1994, Charnel

Links: Allmusic

Brief Review: Ambient isolation - freaky, understated, mellow guitar, tape manipulations from these two guitar abusers (Plotkin in Old and Null in Zeni Geva).

Album: New Kind of Water

Artist: KK Null & James Plotkin

Released: 1996, Charnel

Links: Allmusic

Brief Review: More of the same - sends your head to a completely different place (and its not pleasant either).

Album: Snivilisation

Artist: Orbital

Released: 1994, London

Links: Allmusic, Amazon, Trouserpress

Brief Review: Orbitals early output has to be the most consistantly great techno ever released. Unlike many they actually had cohesive albums and tracks you could listen and relate to as a whole rather than just club singles. Having said that their previous album 'Orbital 2' or the Brown album (due to the cover) is better IMHO.

Album: Viva Last Blues

Artist: Palace

Released: 1995, Domino

Links: Allmusic, Amazon, Trouserpress

Brief Review: A lot rockier than previous releases but it still retains that lonesome alt-country feel. Usually I'd run a mile if someone mentioned the 'C' word when it comes to music but Will Oldham sounds so desolate and weary that this tends to transcend the usual cliches. All of the early Palace releases are highly recommended.

Album: Doolittle

Artist: Pixies

Released: 1989, 4AD

Links: Allmusic, Amazon, Pixies

Brief Review: Seemed to soundtrack pretty much all student life at Uni when it was released. Sounds a little dated today but its still a definitive college-rock album.

Album: 4 Track Demo's

Artist: PJ Harvey

Released: 1993, Island

Links: Allmusic, Amazon, Trouserpress

Brief Review: After the scorch and burn of 'Rid of Me' people wondered how much of PJH had survived the Albini-effect; only to find out that the rough demo's sounded pretty much the same - stripped and intense.

Album: Dummy

Artist: Portishead

Released: 1994, Go

Links: Allmusic, Amazon, Trouserpress

Brief Review: Blew away pretty much everyone in '94 with this understated beauty. Billy Holiday-esque crooning over downbeat jazzy atmospherics and chunky beats & scratching.

Album: Rated R

Artist: Queens of the Stone Age

Released: 2000, Interscope

Links: Allmusic, Amazon, Trouserpress

Brief Review: Cottoned onto this about 18mths after it was released to see what all the fuss was about and lo and behold - it is actually great stuff. A little like 'Badmotorfinger' QotSA make metal/rock paletable for people with an IQ over 50. I'm particularly partial to the song with Mark Lanegans vocal input - 'In the Fade' is godlike.

Album: Songs for the Deaf

Artist: Queens of the Stone Age

Released: 2002, Interscope

Links: Allmusic, Amazon, Trouserpress

Brief Review: Followup album with more of the same metal for non metal fans. Its a great album but some songs don't seem as strong as their previous album.