Dangerous Magical Noise
(In the Red)
****
The Detroit Cobras may be the ones with big American tours and rumors of industry courtship, but the Dirtbombs are the Motor City act that can really go the distance beyond riding the rock shoulder as an elevated cover band. Plus, frontman Mick Collins is a fucking legend--he was back in the Gories days, and this latest release, Dangerous Magical Noise, is a smash hit. The Detroit rockers' third album moves from anthemic power pop to songs like the spazzed-out "Stuck in Thee Garage"--where Collins lets loose to show he can still belt 'em out better than little garage rocker pussies half his age. Although there's a lot to be said for the raw meat of the Dirtbombs' debut, Horndog Fest, Dangerous is such a smart, upbeat, eclectic party album that it's hard to refrain from calling it the best Dirtbombs release to date. JENNIFER MAERZ
RIDE
Waves
(The First Time)
****
Now that shoegazer is no longer a closeted desire, it's nice to have a new collection of music from the band the term is perhaps most famously associated with. Ride's Waves comprises 17 original recordings taken from BBC Radio 1 Sessions dating 1990-'94, and the previously unheard versions of singles and one-offs demonstrate just how enveloping the Oxford, England band's sound was--even if the liner notes reveal that the legendary John Peel had to be persuaded to put them on the show in the first place. Not just for the completist, Waves stands firmly enough on its own for the newly curious, too. Especially great is the live session featuring "Let's Get Lost," "1000 Miles," and "I Don't Know Where It Comes From." KATHLEEN WILSON
MARTIN REV
To Live
(File 13)
***
Best known for conceiving the relentless, minimalist electronic pulse that powered Alan Vega's paranoid rants in seminal NYC band Suicide, Martin Rev is the godfather of any punk-like sounds emanating from synths over the last quarter century. While Suicide was still in its prime, Rev released a self-titled solo album in 1980 that remains one of the most mind-warping electronic opuses of its era. He's been relatively inactive since then, issuing a few solo efforts and two erratically brilliant Suicide full-lengths. Against all odds, To Live finds Rev roaring back to peak form, but this ain't Suicide redux. He flashes unexpected styles throughout the disc's 13 tracks, including some pummeling Stooges/Jesus & Mary Chain-style rock, Twin Peaks-influenced retro-kitsch pop, hot-footed samba/electro/jazz, and a few nerve-shredding soundtracks to HAL's breakdown in 2001: A Space Odyssey. While Rev's lyrics are mostly inane, he invariably mutates them into evil hisses, lending yet another fascinating layer to his sinister soundscapes. DAVE SEGAL
**** Lon Cheney
*** Boris Karloff
** Robert Englund
* Warwick Davis
