...of the 90s would do well to check out the second-wave ska revivalists of the early 1980s including The English Beat, Fishbone, The Specials, The Selecter, and The Toasters.

Then, check out new albums by Dub Pistols, Prince Fatty (more reggae, but still), and The Slackers.

After that, go back to Desmond Dekker, Roland Alphonso, The Skatalites, and other early ska pioneers.

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You know them from the Oscar won for the Swell Season (Glen Hansard fornts both bands). I'm realy digging the back catalog.

Burn the Maps: A very dark, and bittersweet record. Lots of atmospherics reminiscent of For The Birds. Loud, loud, with amazingly dense quiets.

The Frames seem to be name checking 90's American alternative rock: Dream Awake starts with a soaring guitar pulled almost directly from the Smashing Pumpkins mid 90's hit, Today, but quickly settles into pure Frames and album closer, Underglass, does a better Pixies than the Pixies did with the semi-recent Bam Thwok.

The real highlight of this record is Trying, a perfect example of the dynamics that make this band so great -- discordant background electronics, delicate acoustic melodies, soaring vocals, orchestration, and slow builds to a point where the sound almost cracks.

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