Quick Hits
(Email to a Friend)

Because we love our devoted brigade of PR flaks with all our hearts (and any other parts of our bodies that they'll let us expose) - and because they send us so much free shizit now that it has become virtually impossible to review and interview every band - we've fallen back on the character trait that landed us at this third-rate publishing house to begin with: laziness.

Each month, Quick Hits will give you several bits of data to help your all-important purchase decision: a photo of the band or album cover to stoke your fantasies; a spot review -- so we feel like we actually did something; a thumbs up or thumbs down buying guide -- so we can exert our mighty market power, and an MP3 or WMA sample -- so you can tell us to go screw and decide if you like the bands yourself.

Bottom of the Hudson	Holiday Machine			Absolutely Kosher
	Just in time for school, Holiday Machine drops six Sebadoh- and Dinosaur Jr-inspired tracks that you'll play loud on your top-end Creative speakers in hopes that that distant blonde from down the hall will hear and poke her head in to probe your emotional depths. And at the low, low price of about $10 on Amazon, we have to say this is well worth your money. No signs of the sophomore slump, as evidenced on the fifth track, "Candyman." Click the link to your right to hear for yourself.		Candyman	Pick this up!
The Chicharones	When Pigs Fly			Camobear Records
	It's been more than a decade since since Canada released Snow, and his 12 Inches of Snow, on an unsuspecting U.S. hip hop public -- and we've mistrusted Canadians ever since. The Chicharones make strides toward mending relations with When Pigs Fly. Mic master Sleep spits a convincing flow, even when his style sounds a little too much like today's hip hop household names. But when he does come original, his rhymes mix well DJ Josh Martinez' melodies, and the album's arrangement is a complex blend or raps, riffs, and a bunch a vaguely familiar dialogue samples a la Big Audio Dynamite. Well worth your time.		Pork Rind Discotheque	August 23rd
Ribeye Brothers	Bar Ballads and Cautionary Tales			Times Beach
	The remnants of Monster Magnet (yes, that Monster Magnet) have reemerged in a foot-stompin', ass-kickin' rockabilly jammy that leverages all the controlled force of Tom Cronin's stoner rock vocals. You won't find any "Negasonic Teenage Warhead" on Bar Ballads, but if you thought you were too cool for rockabilly (or just not cool enough) you'd be surprised at how universal and accessible this Ribeye tastes. And they have the best album cover of 2005 so far...		Nothing to Show You	October 18th

Want more free music and reviews? Check last month's Quick Hits here!