Think Squeeze meets Radiohead in a cage match, with each group taking turns overpowering the other stylistically. I'd pay to listen. Fortunately, I don't have to (one of the perks of the job). A quintet out of North Carolina, Jump Little Children knock off 14 numbers that you'd swear came from across the pond. "Hold Your Tongue" sounds like a Radiohead cover band. Slightly whining vocals, slow buildup, nice guitar work. But then you'd swear "Too High" was an incarnation of Squeeze. No matter the influences, good music is good music, and this is good music. Radiohead seem to have won the bout on this go round, but look for the rematch.

Though the title may reflect my feelings about bands of this ilk, unfortunately, "passing" never seems to occur. Like so many other bands that feature drum clinics, guitar riffs in fifths over a close range, and the requisite screaming vocals, these lads from Cleveland seek to put themselves on the map. Maybe kids in the Beavis and Butthead mold will snap their necks to the cadence of the songs, but not me. And when Mark Hunter screams in the upper registers, it reminds me of Sam Kinison, and then my mind starts to wander. And that's part of the problem here. Another is distinguishing between songs (they all sound the same). The lyrics are inane horror stuff. What else? Never mind. www.chimaira.com

Think Latin-influenced folk rock done in a slightly electric vein, and you'll be in the neighborhood of Fernando's follow-up to Old Man Motel. The opener, "The Jackal" is a ballad, mixing at times pedal steel and trumpet, while Fernando fingerpicks away on a classical guitar. Confused? And that's track one. His voice is like a laid-back Paul Westerberg, and though the songs don't immediately grab, over time they seep in, and it's quite relaxing. "Blue Room" shows he can gas things up, though there's too much echo on his voice. If you're looking to take the edge off a long hard week of work, give Fernando a call.

Fast-paced pop, hook-filled rock on tap here. Kind of like Blink-182, but without the obnoxious teen attitude, and not as overproduced either. Maybe a bit of Foo Fighters as well, which makes sense considering the appearance of Chris Shiflett on "Bouncing Off the Walls." Though some may toss this in the punk bin, the faster numbers are speed pop through and through. More intricate songs like "Hate Every Beautiful Day" reward the listener with a construction other than the standard 1-4-5. Guitar work is smoking. Production is killer. So why aren't these guys getting radio airplay? Come on, already. www.sugarcult.com

Two crazy kids. One killer disc. If you like that ethereal sound of Portishead and others, where vocals twist and turn like a snake climbing a tree, then you've just found another disc to add to your collection. Kristen Sampsell's voice is chameleon-like, changing to fit the background that the music creates. Maybe it sounds like Sinead O'Connor, as on "Conspiracy," maybe you can't pin it down, but it grabs hold of you and keeps your attention. Dan Yashiv is her counterpart, a studio whiz who studied music classically, and the result is a big sound, the kind of stuff you hear in ritzy bars while downing martinis and you forget to find out who it is. Well, it's Lure. www.lurenyc.com

Four bright emerging talents, all solo artists, get together and sing each other's songs, first as a lark, now as a touring gig. Strange how life plays out. Anyway, Beth Amsel, Jess Klein, Erin McKeown, and Rose Polenzani have individually played more coffeehouses than you can shake a cappuccino at, and all are skilled at what they do. Songs range from bluesy numbers to ballads, and I'd like to point out who does what and who sounds like what, but there are no liner notes in the advance CD, which leaves me in the dark. Suffice it to say there's enough beauty here for everyone's ears. If they ever come to your town, see them. www.voicesontheverge.com

First off, yes, those arrows are part of the band's name. Thank God for the computer culture, eh? As for sound, remember Renaissance? Wince if you do. This trio from the windy city has a similar sound, big, baroque, sweepy numbers that meander here and there. Gina Gonzalez has a pretty voice that's usually doubled. Joe Nuccio plays a real nice bass, and Vincent Narco fills the air with various keyboard sounds. The songs have a European feel to them, and "Be That As It May" has pop potential if the tempo picked up a bit. Kudos to Dave Uhrich for smoking guitar bits. Classically influenced rock from Chicago just for you. www.signingeinstein.com

There's a certain anticipation after reading the band's name and the disc's title – bring it on baby, I say. Dirty-old-man mentality aside, the tunes are quite poppy, quickly accessible, and fun. Though Gail Silverman's voice is no powerhouse, it is playful and a perfect fit to the band's sound. "Nut in Your World" is an up-tempo funky number with some wicked guitar work from Benny Landa. Silverman's voice also fits nicely on "Who the Hell Are We," sounding coy and child-like in spots as she ponders the universal question. Though there are times where the production is a tad uneven, overall, it's a good first effort. Now, back to that title.... www.mp3.com/gspotband

When you get a self-produced disc, there's apprehension, the worry that you're stuck with 45 minutes of bad music. Such is not the case with Milena, whose creepy, haunting music is quite good, though perhaps drearier than you might like. "Brave Blond Boy," the opener, starts with a Bjork-like bass riff, but soon Milena is bouncing guitar snippets from channel to channel. Other tunes are just as quirky and off balance, in the sense of, oh, Sonic Youth, Courtney Love, Bjork, or some other avant-garde rocker, but there's a lot to admire here. Besides, anyone who includes a picture of Derek Smalls (Spinal Tap's bassist) on the cover, can't be bad. Cheer up, I say, and keep writing songs girlfriend. www.milenarock.com

Does the world need another Backstreet Boys or 'N Sync? Ask a teen, not me. And though Ball in the House tread water close to these groups, they are mid-twenty somethings with a bit more talent than the other boys. There are no extended vocal histrionics, like a little cracker stuffing as many notes into a verse as he can while making it look painful (think national anthem), just solid harmonies. And there's no overly slick production either – you don't picture flash pots and heavily choreographed aerobic dance numbers. Plus, they're more engaging than a Folgers commercial. On the disc, they succeed better with the slower Motown stuff than the bubble-gum pop and, hopefully, they'll stay in that neighborhood. Their take on Culture Club's "Karma Chameleon" is fun too. www.ballinthehouse.com

His music is folkie, slightly gassed up. Yet you don't feel the compulsion to take the guitar out of his hands and smash it the way Belushi did in Animal House. Did I say he's from Jersey? The 11 tunes paint a good picture here, songs mostly about relationships, you know, the traditional boy-girl troubles. And DeGrazio picks some nice guitar. Heck, he plays 99% of the instruments on the disc. The only complaint I have about the ASCAP award winner is that sometimes his vocals get buried in the mix, overshadowed by the onslaught of keyboards. Or it just could be the gig I played last night that blew out my left ear. This disc should lift DeGrazio from the coffeehouse circuit and into bigger venues. www.johndegrazio.com

Imagine this – a power trio that features a didgeridoo [world's oldest wind instrument, from Australia] on the first track. Way to go boys. The disc is populated with heavy-metal type tunes, minus Satan's voice. Guitar work is heavy and distorted, and the dirty sound is understandable, as guitarist Jimi McClane is pictured with a Rickenbacker (yeouch!). Unfortunately, the creative mind that prompted the touch of Australia in the opener must have quickly shot his wad, since the bulk of the songs, though heavy and banging, plod across the room, lacking hooks or melodies. Adding to the problem is the production, a bit clipped on the high end. www.feltsideout.com

Remember the big-hair metal bands of the mid-'80s? Well, picture that little blonde girl from Poltergeist saying, "They're back." From Cortland NY come Pull, a band that has released an admirable disc of straightforward heavy-metal rock. What seems to be absent are the redundant heavy-metal cliches – dual-guitar fire-blazing leads, double-bass frenzied kick drums, big-organ sounds, layered vocals. Oh sure, you'll find them all, but in such moderation it's like looking for Waldo, and it gives the songs a refreshing sound. You'll hear influences from the bastions of heavy-metal past, yet it's surprisingly hard to pin a "they sound like..." on Pull. For that they get a big thumbs up. Rock on boys. www.pull.iwarp.com

There's avant-garde, and then there's just plain out there, and Lukkarila is certainly alone in his orbit. Primarily acoustic guitars and vocals, he takes a decidedly different approach to songs – lyrics are biting and true, if from a somewhat skewed perspective. On "Road Trip," for example, he sings, "Next thing you know we were porking again, Then we walked out to get more beer, And you were hit by a car, So I knew it was time to leave this place, But it's been the best road trip by far." Or his cabaret, beat-poet, jazzy "Twenty Bucks," a tale of a 16 year old's odyssey with an over-50, bloated prostitute. Sure it's bizarre, and it's not sing-along stuff. But for the hearty souls out there, it's worth the venture. www.lukalips.com

Three MCs and a DJ. Really. What's it sound like? Try a cross between P-Funk and Frank Zappa. At first I didn't like it (the pot references annoyed me, for one), but there's no doubt about the funky feel, and the disc does groove. "EZ Decision," though samples are abundant (well, they'd have to be with this lineup), will get your feet up on the dance floor in a heartbeat. And, yeah, there's more than just pot references that garnered this disc an "Explicit Lyrics" sticker, but if you just listen to the groove and get down, you'll be smitten as I was. Funk fun, though the web site takes a bit to load if you visit. www.badronaldmusic.com

From the opener, "Contact," (well, there's a 31-second intro as the first cut, but...) I'm hooked. It's a swoopy, hippity hoppity groove fest, and even though he says "contact" a billion times, I'm not put off. Think soulful Motown ballads with a modern twist, the hip-hop, acid-jazz feel maintaining a link to the past. And that switch between past and present is seamless, like when the ballad "If There's Love" leads to "Let the Drummer Kick It," with scratching sounds and looped vocals. Even "Drummer" settles down into a B-3 groove with drums, bass, and vocals. Though nothing gets too speedy here, the laid-back cool will treat you right, and you'll be glad it did. www.citizencope.com