December, 1997 | Lollipop Magazine

Wnico – Bon Voyage – Review

December 1, 1997

Wnico hail from the Bad Brains school of rock, mixing aggro punk, hip hop, reggae, and dub all on the same disc.

White Hassle – National Chain – Review

December 1, 1997

Listen as two members of Railroad Jerk (Marcellus Hall and Dave Varenka) take it to the backwoods for some blues/country skronk!

Ween – The Mollusk – Review

December 1, 1997

The songs are smooth to the point of cheesy. Then slowly light dawned over Marble Head: this is Ween’s ’80s tribute record.

Verbena – Souls for Sale – Review

December 1, 1997

Birmingham, Alabama’s retro/modern garage-rock band conjures lush lo-fi grooves, invokes Stones-like melodies, and fills in the cracks with ambient putty.

Tokyo Trashville! – Review

December 1, 1997

The liner notes to this Tokyo garage rock comp give the impression that the sheer hideousness of the Japanese pop scene inspired most of these bands to form.

The Ska Zone – Review

December 1, 1997

Maybe the underlying theme was the ska twilight zone. Maybe the scary coincidence is that all of these ska bands played sci-fi metal instead of ska.

The Duran Duran Tribute Album – Review

December 1, 1997

Near the end of “Rio,” Goldfinger switches from ska to Dio’s “Rainbow in the Dark,” both in rhythm and vocal melodies, yet keeps the lyrics to “Rio” intact.

Take Warning – The Songs of Operation Ivy – Review

December 1, 1997

Energy was the whole fix and nothing other than a fix. Glue Factory Records pulled together a venerable whos-who of Southern Cali bands to appease you.

Poptopia! ‘70s Power Pop – Review

December 1, 1997

People who like power pop probably like Cheap Trick, but when asked, they say they like Big Star. The bands selected are totally misrepresented here.

The Vibrators – We Vibrate – Review

December 1, 1997

“Baby Baby” and “London Girls,” from this pseudo-greatest hits collection, are straightforward, unabashed love songs, more Dave Clark Five than Buzzcocks.