Scott Fisher’s work caught the attention of two Grammy winning engineers—Jesus “Chuy” Flores and Dave Way—who offered to mix the album in between projects.  You can think of Fisher’s sound as a jazzier, bluesier version of Jack Johnson, but there is more to it than that.  Fisher’s tunes are well crafted and sophisticated in nature and his keyboard brand of pop offers a fresh alternative to the norm.  Accompanied by charismatic vocals these emotionally rich, carefully crafted tunes pull influences from the likes of Jack Johnson, Elton John, and Ben Folds and fuse them together with solid piano melodies and a touch of reggae-esque rhythms.  These lush creations are complimented by well-crafted instrumental work and the vocals don’t commit to one style, as Fisher’s range is all over the map.  “Atmosphere” features some beautiful cello accents.  “Forget About The Stars” is a smart piano ballad that calls to mind the likes of Coldplay, and the Marley-esque “Chains of Time” showcases Fisher’s lyrical exploration.  If you’re looking for an album that is easy to listen to Step Into The Future has a good flow from beginning to end. -NIN

The Self Righteous Brothers (Black & Greene Records)

It's not quite late eighties indie/college rock.  It's not quite avant-garde rock.  It's not quite alt-country.  It's not quite pop alternative.  It's not quite bizarro rock.  It's not quite polished recording.  The all-over-the-map record from The Self Righteous Brothers is, instead, a little bit of all of the above and then some.  It's not even so much as taking all of those styles and putting them in a blender.  It's more like taking all of them and then just plucking leaves off the musical tree as needed.  The presumption might be that if you enjoy music that is a big mixture of everything then this just might be a musical treat for you.  Realistically, thought, it's not quite good either.  -Repojay

This group is following the new trend of bands being called "collectives," reflecting the large size of the group as well as the interchangeable members of the group therein.  This has been popularized by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Broken Social Scene, and several others.  Personally, it's a load of crap to me.  What you really mean is one guy is a leader, and he hires whomever s/he pleases whenever s/he pleases.  See The Golden Palominos for the best example of this - though he was smart and hired real talent like Michael Stipe, Syd Straw, and Matthew Sweet.  Strange Rebel Frequency is also a collective so I'm prejudiced.  Despite that, this is a solid record that melds the moody soundscapes of Nick Cave with modern folk sensibilities of an Iron and Wine.  Leader David Cross writes the songs that fit the mood perfectly.  Once this band has the budget to do proper production they will be the darling of many a critic.  -Repojay

Tia Carrera – Heaven /Hell (Arclight Records)

I almost didn’t review this because I thought it was the chick from Wayne’s World, but after reading the bio I discovered all was safe because Tia Carrera are 3 dudes from Austin with a penchant for penning lengthy smokey blues tinged jams.  Heaven/Hell is a psychedelic rock album that only features three tunes; however, it is over 30 minutes long, so it is not recommended for those with ADD.  This three track spiritual journey is best experienced under the influence of (insert your drug of choice).  If you’re into the whole psych rock jam thing give these guys a shot.   -NIN

Hailed as one of music’s most inventive and distinctive producers, Timbaland prides himself on testing limits and pushing boundaries.  His creative genius has helped blur the distinction between R&B, hip-hop, dance, and pop and he is responsible for some of the most successful songs in recent modern pop/urban history.  In 2006 Timbaland produced a majority of hits that received massive airplay worldwide.  On his second solo album (the first was released in 1998) Timbaland collaborates with a wide variety of artists and shows the world that he is the master of many genres.  Each track presents a fellow protégé ranging from Elton John to She Wants Revenge to 50 Cent.  The music on this ambitious effort crosses cultural lines and fuses genres from rap, hip-hop, pop, punk, garage, world and rock.  “Give it to Me” featuring Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake is just one of the hit singles to be found, another being “The Way I Are” (with Keri Hilson & D.O.E.).  A Middle Eastern influence dominates “Bombay,” which showcases the talents of AMAR & Jim Beanz.  Off the wall beats and outlandish rock antics come courtesy of the Hives on “Throw It One Me”.  The She Wants Revenge-assisted “Time” glows with a cool New Wave sheen, and Justin Timberlake works the cool house funk on “Release”.  The lyrics aren’t stellar but Timbaland’s signature, futuristic club beats make up for that, and not every song is a hit but each one is expertly produced.  Timbaland definitely went out on a limb by experimenting with different styles and genres and for that Shock Value doesn’t disappoint.  -NIN

Tyler Read – Only Rock and Roll can Save Us Now (Immortal Records)

This good time feel good record is reminiscent of the days when rock was happy instead of whiney and glum.  Resisting the urge to fuse styles Tyler Reed delivers a straight up shot of energetic rock.  Only Rock and Roll Can Save Us Now delivers guitar heavy tunes complete with soaring back up vocals and contagious melodies.  “The Killer,” a dynamic little number, starts things off and sets the tone with its bouncy verse.  Other standouts include the explosive “Intentions” and the ambitious “A Litmus Test”.  These Louisiana boys give it all they got in “Fire Away;” thus, proving to the world that they don’t plan on going away anytime soon.  -NIN    

Unsane – Visqueen (Ipecac)

This three piece noise rock outfit from NYC is known for their intense music and garish cover art.  Unsane have been slamming it out since the late 80’s.  They released a slew of albums, gone through a number of labels, lost a drummer—Charlie Ondras—to a heroin overdose, and almost lost guitarist/vocalist Chris Spencer to a mob beating.  After all that the band took a mini break (can you blame them?), parted ways, formed a new group, and reconvened in 2003.  All those years of pent up angst has finally been released in Visqueen.  This in your face record pairs sludge ridden crunch with stoner rock riffs and 80’s hardcore hammering.  Even though it has a cleaner sound than past releases, Visqueen hits hard with tracks like the bombastic “Only Pain” and the aggressive “Shooting Clay”.  The anthemic “Last Man Standing” will get the pit moving and motivate fans to buy the group’s most accessible album to date. -NIN

On Tantrum, The Vacancies deliver a straight up shot of raw, in-your-face punk ‘n’ roll with solid bass lines, powerful riffs, and protest minded lyrics ala the Clash.  The Ohio natives are high on energy and big on harmonies and they deliver this unpretentious record with youthful vigor.  The band’s debut release won Album of the Year at the Independent Music Awards, and Joan Jett was so intrigued after two shows that she signed them to her label.  Yes, these boys have created quite a buzz, and Tantrum is set to open even more doors.  It’s a stronger record than their debut with twice as many hooks, aggression, and a plethora of witty lyrics.  The Vacancies are on a mission to keep punk alive, and you can help them do it.  -NIN

Featuring classic Brit rock artist such as XTC, The Kinks, and Adam Ant mixed with modern rockers with a Brit edge this soundtrack pairs luscious 80’s tunes with (classic) rock favs.  Featuring Adam Ant, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, and The Fratellis’ take on T-Rex’s “Solid Gold Easy Action” this disc is a trip down memory lane.  This entertaining collection ends with David Arnold’s 23 minute epic composition, “The Hot Fuzz Suite,” which is a collection of musical cliché’s that is pure genius.  With its great beats the Hot Fuzz soundtrack makes for entertaining background music for any party. [Ed note: if you haven't seen this flick, you should.  Fantastic!  -ed.]  -NIN 

Various - Super Heroines - Anthology 1982-1985 (Cleopatra Records)

How many local band releases have you seen over the years that you just gloss over?  If you're like me (and thank goodness you're not) the answer is way too many.  Most of them are horrid for one reason or another.  For some reason, the garage stuff from the Eighties that you've never heard of is exceptionally horrible.  One only takes interest if some or all of the people move on to bigger and better things.  For example, the mediocre demos of Tabitha's Secret are much more interesting knowing that one of the main guys got the boot when Rob Thomas reformed the band at Atlantic's request into Matchbox Twenty.  Super Heroines is one of those bands from the early Eighties that would've remained forgotten.  Instead, Eva O went on to Christian Death and later joined Jill Emery, who was a part of Hole at some point.  So, now they move up from being a forgotten bad local Eighties band to a footnote.  Congratulations.  It still sucks.  -Repojay

Out of all the Eighties hair metal bands to revive themselves twenty years later, I'm not sure Vixen was even on my list.  The all-female metal group got major kudos back in the day for being so estrogen heavy.  However, in retrospect, they really did get by on a lot of good looks and novelty as their original songs weren't that spectacular to begin with.  Yet those titles look positively fresh and innovative compared to their new stuff.  Sounding not quite metal and not quite alternative, these depressing by-the-books numbers are just so bland that they might as well change the band name to "Plain Jane".  Adding insult to injury must be David Bowie turning over in his grave to their take of "Suffragette City".  What?  David Bowie's not dead?  Then he must not have heard the new Vixen record yet.  -Repojay

Wicked Little Dolls (Carnygoat Records)

I wish every once in awhile a band would throw a couple of bucks at a marketing expert.  Why spend a ton of time and money on recording an album only to make your first impression flop by cheapening out on the album art?  At least New York's Wicked Little Dolls also recorded the album cheaply by just churning out 10 songs in 24 hours.  But, this is the sleazy kind of energetic brilliance that makes this debut a wonderful treat.  The slut goth aesthetic just embraces you with every listen.  Songs like "Dolls Gone Mad" or "Rotten Candy" are just itching for a horror soundtrack like none that have come before it.  There's not a lot of trailblazing here, but there is a certain future for the ravenous female fronted horror sounds of this group.  -Repojay

First off – congrats to XRayOK who was recently signed to Cordless Recordings (WMG)!  This group deserves it.  On Like Life (their second album) XRayOK starts off sounding like a mid 80’s rock band – the good 80’s brit-rock, not the hair stuff.  As the album progresses, they move into a more electronic sound on “Smile” (think Berlin with the guy from Franz Ferdinand fronting).  After checking them out on MySpace and hearing their latest song “Chemistry” (not included on this CD), the more dance oriented rock direction is where they are headed, and XRayOK sounds tight.  Sure to be played on KROQ as well as industrial dance clubs, XRayOK is a band to watch.  -J

The Young Gods formed in Switzerland over two decades ago but never became a household name.  Their latest, Super Ready, features an array of electro-industrial funky groove laden jams.  Like most electro groups The Young Gods utilize electronic instruments to craft their music; however, they layer sampled guitars over live drum tracks as opposed to the other way around.  The songs are a complex work of art that draws on a wide range of styles and influences, such as baroque classical, ambient soundscapes, and 60’s pschedelia.  “I’m The Drug” is reminiscent of early Chili Peppers.  The distorted keys of the industrial tinged “C‘Est Quoi C’Est Ça” calls to mind Nine Inch Nails.  Middle Eastern textures color “Stay with us”.  The Chemical Brothers have cited The Young Gods as an influence and “El Magnifico” proves why.  You really have to give these guys credit for their willingness to experiment and take risks.  -NIN