> Dogs Die In Hot Cars - Please Describe Yourself. Probably the best 
> (and most
> accurate) of the new groups aping XTC, but I'll be damned if this 
> doesn't
> sound like a "lost" record released between "English Settlement" and 
> "Mummer".
> Completely brilliant with incessantly catchy choruses. It's out in 
> the  US on
> Tuesday; definitely give it a listen!

Two thumbs up from this direction as well, although between Dogs Die 
In Hot Cars and another new favorite of mine, Say Hi To Your Mom 
(whose second album DISCOSADNESS is perhaps the first glimmer of 
nostalgia for mid-'90s bedroom DIY indie pop), 2004 can officially go 
down as The Year We Ran Out Of Band Names.

> Primal Scream - Dirty Hits. Good summation of their career; does a 
> good job
> grabbing good tracks from bad albums (it has every good song from 
> "Give Out
> But  Don't Give Up") and misses only a little (the sublime "Star"). 
> Truly one of
> the  best rock/dance crossover groups of the '90s.

Does it continue the unfortunate tendency to ignore the pre-"Loaded" 
material entirely?  No reason for Bobby to be embarrassed of songs 
like "It Happens" and "Velocity Girl."

S

NP: REAL GONE -- Tom Waits