Album

Patchy selection from the man Quentin Tarantino called "a musical journalist, a chronicler of his time"

Unsatisfactory smattering by genius Memphis quartet/trio, the acme of twisted'70s power pop

"Songs of murder, mob law and cruel, cruel punishment" get the once-over

NY's nerdiest are smarter than The Strokes

A Derbyshire-bred, Manchester-based group formerly known as the Dakota Oak Trio. DOT loiter pleasantly at the dewy, bucolic end of post-rock. Fridge are, perhaps, their closest contemporaries. And just as Kieran "Four Tet" Hebden's solo output outshines his work with Fridge, there's a sense DOT's Dave Tyack and James "Pedro" Rutledge make much better records on their own. Plenty of ramshackle virtuosity, crafty folktronica hybrids and limp singing amongst these 10 tracks, but the earth remains resolutely unshattered.

Live follow-up to 2001's Last Man On Earth with all-star band

Six years and three albums later, FQ is still one big enigma

Eighty-three examples of Stephin Merritt's pop art from 99/2000

Well-presented, bonus-heavy reissues-if only Quo were worth it

Raised in rural New Mexico, Dameon Lee—aka Lowlights—gravitated first towards power pop with Albuquerque combo Scared Of Chaka. In 1999, six albums later, he set about beating a more sepulchral trail of his own. Co-produced by Dustin (Rocketship) Reske, this painterly debut is a sad-slow delight. Nothing maudlin about it either. Lee's voice has an autumn-leaf warmth, carried on swirls of organ noise, understated pedal-steel and shadowed by the faint harmonies of Angela Brown.