Nik Rainey – Page 20 – Lollipop Magazine

Butter 08 – Review

December 1, 1996

A little bit of everything from horn-driven espresso-bongo-distorto schmutz to sampled-samba clean-and-jerk to a diatribe against Simins as a role model.

Beyond the Calico Wall – Review

December 1, 1996

Heavy stacks of echo, sound effects, and backwards nursery rhymes, accurately (if unwittingly) pinning the sounds of acid psychosis to tape.

The Divine Comedy – Casanova – Review

December 1, 1996

Who but a Limey could blow his arrogance to Empire-sized proportions and slyly deflate it with every over-emotive syllable from his stiff upper lip?

Flipside – #104 – Review

December 1, 1996

The grandpappy of all U.S. punkzines remains densely teeming with torrents of tiny text and a far wider frame of reference than most any other ‘zine.

Robert Forester – Warm Nights – Review

December 1, 1996

At this late date, it’s a distinct pleasure to hear someone playing pop free of conceptual gimcracks and favoring mood over brood.

Oblivians – Popular Favorites – Review

December 1, 1996

The Oblivians belch out under-two-minute rotgutabilly tirades like “Guitar Shop Asshole” and “She’s a Hole,” swagger-staggering in pools of cheap beer.

Negativland – Over the Edge, Vol. 2 – Review

December 1, 1996

At its best, the results achieve synapse-jumbling new extremes of aural pranksterism, non-linear noise layering, high satire and low comedy.

El Vez – G.I. Ay, Ay! Blues – Review

December 1, 1996

El Vez came into being in 1990 with an indelibly hilarious image that he calls “Elvis con salsa,” that famous pompadour combined with a pencil-thin mustache.

Nik’s Piks For Ninety-Sihks – Column

December 1, 1996

Stereolab – Emperor Tomato Ketchup: I’m tempted to call this their best retro-techno concoction yet. It’s also their best album with a condiment in the title.

Banana Split Infinitives – “Chakra Suck” / “Butterfield 8” – Review

November 1, 1996

A typical approach to their burst-bladder grindcore dirge-pop – Spectoresque production, fuzzed-out Mellotron, and Byrne Skarr gargling with sulfuric acid.