If you're the type pining for the sonic beauty of the mid to late seventies, when punk and power pop briefly reigned, then you'll have several reasons to pick up this CD. First there's the retro/lo-fi approach to recording, an overall ambience that reaches your ears sounding like something between an AM radio and a cheap boombox. Second are the songs, a mixture of punk and power pop that brings back memories of the Buzzcocks and a bunch of other one-hit wonder bands. There's also a good sense of humor at hand, with titles like, "It's a Good Day for the Boner People," or "Bad at Drinking." DFactor (Dave Murrow) plays all of the instruments here, and it's a respectable effort. "All Turn Blind," a Velvet Underground-influenced tune, is the standout cut. For more info, check out www.bombco.com.

Maybe there's something nostalgic in the air, since this offering from the Chicken Hawks harkens back to the days when the Cramps ruled the roost. Imagine Poison Ivy tossing her guitar to Lux Interior and taking over lead vocals, toss in a dash of L-7 for good measure, and you'll get an idea of what the Chicken Hawks sound like. Formed in 1995 by Betsy Phillips (vocals) and Peter Phillips (guitar), the latest lineup includes Tammy Gunn on bass and Hot Rod Todd on drums. The eleven songs here are rough and raunchy, from the opener "Stick It In" to the closer "Teenager." The lyrics can be repetitive, chock full of profanities, and overall, there's an angry tone. Maybe something happened to them in Iowa that really pissed them off. In any event, "High from Bastard City," a straight-ahead rocker, is the best cut here. Rafr.com is the website of the record label.

The first release by the Scoldees is an extremely well produced disc, populated with intelligent folk-rock songs. On several cuts, "Masks," for example, or "Silly Girl," an ethereal quality is created by overlays of keyboards and guitar riffs, much like an old Roxy Music song. Other tracks have a brighter, modern sound, such as "All I Want," or "My Pathetic Life," the title cut. A plus is that Nancy Sirianni alternates vocal chores with Jack Hoffmann, allowing for a bit more overall balance and variety. Although Sirianni is perhaps better known as the wife of comedian/writer Jackie Martling of the Howard Stern Show, should the band keep going in the direction established by this CD, she'll simply be a Scoldee, whatever that means. www.scoldees.com

Hearing the Joe Walsh riff of the first track leaves no doubt to the style of music found on this CD from Michael Nitro, a Phoenix-based guitar player. And that's plain and simple rock and roll. Almost. Don't yank the disc from the player too quickly, because there's a good mix of R&B here as well. Sure, Nitro can fire off some ripping good solos when needed (though some get buried in the mix), but hey, there's a horn section on tracks like "I'm Ready," and "Get a Life." Nitro, who has opened in the past for monoliths like Deep Purple and Bon Jovi, shows his sensitive side as well with the quieter ballads like "Catalina Sing." Though at times some of the tunes hedge on redundancy, overall it's a solid effort. www.michaelnitro.com

I'll be upfront about this CD, and the deal is, I'm just not sure what to say about it. There are elements that are obvious; the production, for example, is quite good, someone threw a ton of money in that direction, and the caliber of the musicianship is very high (the drummer is the son of jazz great Buddy Greco). I just don't know what audience the boys are shooting for. Too light for alternative/college stations, not rough enough for rock stations, the trio must have been concentrating on the top-forty dial, but even for that crowd something just doesn't click. A song like "My Mother Likes Black Men," while potentially humorous, just doesn't pay off. "What Would DeNiro Do" is possibly the best track, a pseudo rap song reminiscent of Frank Zappa. You can find the CD at www.musicforce.com.

It's a shame there are only eight songs on this self-titled debut, because what is there has a lot going for it. The playing is solid, the production crisp, and the vocals strong and clear. In the style of, say, Natalie Merchant, or Edie Brickell before she shacked up with Paul Simon, the songs of Methuselah Jones should find a wide audience. Though overall the CD is a bit dark, the use of violin and mandolin provide a country/Celtic feel, and there is some stellar work to be found. The track, "It's Over," placed sixth in the 1997 John Lennon Songwriting Contest, and is the strongest cut, although "Black Hole," a lively ballad, is a close second. As the band grows, the songwriting should brighten up, and hopefully their next CD will feature more songs. www.methjones.com

Given the name, you'd expect something literary, and in this case, it's the lyrics, or more important, the stories they tell. "There Goes Betty Again," tells a story about alien abduction, complete with theremin fills. Then there's "Jack's Lullaby," a dying person's farewell to Dr. Kevorkian. Aside from the storytelling, most songs feature Peter Chance's acoustic guitar weaving in and out, while Laura Ogar enhances the aural atmosphere with her synthesizer work. It is Chance's vocals, however, that become a bit distracting in spots, either reaching out of range in the upper register, or half-singing, half-talking like Fred Schneider of the B-52's. It makes the songs seem comical or a bit too theatrical, and gives the production an almost Sesame Street-type feel. www.novellas.com

Oh, if only I had some papers and some pot. The reason? FullOn's latest, an interpretation of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Maybe all this recent rehashing of the seventies, the groovy Gap ads, Fox's "That '70s Show," and more, has been taken too seriously. Given that context though, Alice D is right on the money. There's enough reverb and wah-pedal action to make you wistful, and for the older crowd out there, you'll have visions of seeds rolling down the center of a double album. There's a lot of jamming here, a definite Grateful Dead influence. Heck, there's even a thirteen-and-a-half minute song. So throw the disc on, put on the headphones, light some incense, and smoke 'em if you've got 'em. www.realityanonymous.com

This five-song EP feels moody and plaintive, and, aptly like its title, very fall-like. September is somewhat somber and dark, yet with enough power chords, pop, and funk to make this a great pick. The trio of Molly Bancroft (guitars and vocals), Simone Simonton (drums), and Meimi Sato (bass), hail from Georgia, and would seem to be perched on the edge of national recognition. The songwriting is intelligent, the production great (it says in the liner notes that "no one played keyboards," but it sounds like it, so good for them), the playing strong, and the lyrics poetic. So what's stopping them? Good question, and the answer would probably be solid hooks. You know, the part of the song that sticks in your head that you can't get out all day. If they had it, and I'm guessing they will on the next full-length CD, they'd be big. And they'd deserve it too. www.orangestar.com/lift/