Letters To Cleo : Releases >>
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Go! >>
The Boston quintet had a fine run with a '94 debut that included the hit "Here & Now" and a slot on the Melrose Place soundtrack. A sophomore slump followed. But there's life aplenty in zippy, Veruca Salt-like "Anchor" plus "I Got Time" and "Sparklegirl." If it's any help, singer Kay Hanley can be plotted on a grid between Cyndi Lauper and Gwen Stefani. --Jeff Bateman
Wholesale Meats and Fish >>
Aurora Gory Alice >>
What hath Frente! wrought? Unbearably cute major-label debuts like Aurora Gory Alice by the Boston-area quintet, Letters To Cleo. Wispy- voiced singer Kay Hanley empties her high school poetry notebook over lightweight and instantly forgettable pop fluff like "Big Star" (which isn't even about the band) and "Mellie's Comin' Over." Letters to Cleo prides itself in its wimpy worldview and sophomoric naivete. For that, I prefer the Murmurs or Lisa Loeb or even (ecch!) Frente! --Jim DeRogatis
Aurora Gory Alice >>
Sister >>
Spirit of '73: Rock for Choice >>
It's best not to be overly critical of good intentions. Take, for instance, Spirit of '73, a benefit compilation for the music industry's pro-abortion-rights organization, Rock for Choice. The album concept: songs by female or female-led acts of the '70s, the period of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, redone by female or female-led acts of today, with profits going to help pro-choice groups. A neat idea, particularly if you support the cause. Hear Spirit of '73 for what it's worth and you'll surely get a kick out of its more inspired remakes: Maria Muldaur's "Midnight at the Oasis" done with the wild harmonies and jangly guitars of L.A.'s that dog, and Olivia Newton-John's "Have You Never Been Mellow" given an alterna-reading by Pet. And you'll also appreciate Rosanne Cash's classy performance of Joni Mitchell's "River" and Cassandra Wilson's surprisingly effective take on Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly with His Song." But if you can't restrain your cynicism, you may conclude that most of the songs are pale copies of the originals; that the "'70s segue bits" (like the sound of a hair dryer or a waterbed) sprinkled between songs are incredibly dumb and unauthentic; that the record's politics are well-meaning but naive ("Circulate a petition," it suggests, as if the signatures of a few dozen 16-year-olds will make Newt Gingrich quake); and that, except for tracks like the sisterhood anthem "We Are Family," most of the covers provoke the question "What's the point?"--Roni Sarig
huH >>
10 tracks from the huH sampler.
All I Want for Christmas -- A Hits Post Modern Syndrome Compilation >>
1) Tony Bennett & kd.LANG - Moonglow - Tony Bennett & k.d. lang
2) Ray Ray Rain - Bettie Serveert
3) Bright Yellow Gun - Throwing Muses
4) Protection - Massive Attack
5) The Party Rages On - Zumpano
6) Letters TO Cleo - Here And Now - Letters To Cleo
7) Can't Sink This Town - Freedy Johnston
8) Deep Shag (Sunny Ray Mix) - Luscious Jackson
9) Are You Gonna Go My Way (Acoustic) - Lenny Kravitz
10) A Girl Like You - Edwyn Collins
11) Shudder TO Think - X-French Tee Shirt - Shudder To Think
12) Sour Times (Nobody Loves Me) - Portishead
13) Little Bastard - Ass Ponys
14) Engine KID - Breakdown - Engine Kid
15) The Last Time We Talked - Small Factory
16) Formaldehyde - Sons Of Elvis
17) Ode To My Family - The Cranberries
18) WAX - California - Wax
19) Sleeper - Delicious - Sleeper
Here & Now >>
Awake >>