Float On Oppenheimer, Take the Whole Midrange & Boost It, Bar/None RecordsThe wild sounds and colors blend together madly like thepop/rock equivalent of a Bollywood musical full of too-brightcolors, people dancing wildly, and big smiles all around.-- Tim Sendra, All Music GuideWith a title like Take the Whole Midrange & Boost It, I wasexpecting something with more oomph, but Oppenheimer'sspace-age pop is lighter than air. It's like ELO on helium, and JeffLynne's combo weren't exactly heavy (ah, but they were good).These mad Belfast scientists, Rocky and Sean, have talent toburn, but there's isn't a lot to grab onto. Carefully-enunciatedchoir-b

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Listening StationThe Age of Rockets, Hannah, Desolation Yes, Hesitation No Music [9/23/08] Like Death Cab for Cutie or the Postal Service (both featuring Seattle singer/songwriter Ben Gibbard), Andrew Futral's New York trio Age of Rockets serves up glitchy pop with little-boy-lost vocals. It may not be completely original, but if you're down with Gibbard and other soft-spoken gentleman of the indie-rock persuasion, their second platter offers abundant appeal.As for Gibbard, I don't mean to sell him short; he's good at what hedoes, and I don't doubt his sincerity. His brand of music isn't quitemy cup of tea, but I've never understood the hate certain p

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Heavenly Pop HitsBaskervilles, Twilight, Secret Crush Records (***/2) Imagine Mates of States witha hyperactive horn section, andyou'll have some idea what the Baskervilles sound like.At least that's the formula the14 songs on their second full-length bring to mind, since these fast-paced ditties feature boy-girl vocals and boisterous keyboard-playing. Others tunes recall slightly more sedate UK out-fits, like Heavenly and Belle and Sebastian (Mates hail fromSan Francisco, the Baskervilles from New York).I'm not surprised Seattle's KEXP has been playing the heck outof this thing. It's extremely accessible, and in the best possible sense (since "access

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North to Alaska, East to HarlemGladys Knight & the Pips, Claudine &Pipe Dreams: Original Soundtracks, Shout! Factory (***1/2)How can I work out this sweet relation?-- "Mr. Welfare Man" (Claudine)It isn't impossible to evaluate a soundtrack when you aren'tfamiliar with the film—I've done it plenty of times in the past—but it's a compromise at best without the accompanying narrativeto provide the proper context. In this case, I haven't seen eitherClaudine or Pipe Dreams, the sweet music from which hasbeen combined by Shout! Factory onto one compact disc.Released in 1974, the former revolves around a single Harlemmother of six (Oscar nominee Diah

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MOON IN JUNEThese are the reviews and oth-er assign-ments I'm work-ing on for this month.Amazon DVDs: Recount (HBO docudrama with Kevin Spacey and Tom Wilkinson), For One More Day (Michael Imperioli and Ellen Burstyn reunite for another Mitch Albom adaptation), The Criterion Collection - Classe Tous Risques (click here for my Siffblog review), The Criterion Collection - The Furies (Anthony Mann directs Walter Huston and Barbara Stanwyck), The Criterion Collection - Mishima: A Life in Four Parts (Paul Schrader directs Ken Ogata), and Bonneville (with Jessica Lange and Joan Allen).Amazon Theatricals: The Great Buck Howard (with John Malkovich and Colin

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