Unlike the last column, this one will have a few more releases in it as I catch up with the pile of stuff sitting next to my computer. While I have been recuperating I have been doing my best to listen to everything I have. It’s a motley collection of stuff that is for sure.

No DVDs this week just a whole mess of CDs re-releases and new stuff in equal measure. To start off lets go for some new stuff.

CD reviews

Pawbox: s/t

This five-song EP from this lot is quite a shock. Despite hailing from LA this reminds me of Tears for Fears right down to lead singer Will Moore’s voice. This is poppy music, which has an '80s tinge, played rather well. That is no surprise because the experience of this lot is quite impressive. If this EP is anything to go by this group could go quite far. They are musicians to watch.

Carlton Walker: A Very Rock Opera…

Twenty tracks and a concept album would scare off many but not me. This album is well worth the time investment. What it most reminds me of is Marillion. Carlton Walker even has a voice that sounds like modern Marillion. This is a rock prog opera that has been created with quite a bit of effort and talent. Each time the CD is played, it gives the listener another reward. This is a very English sounding prog effort that is to be commended. However, it's not for the faint of heart but for the musically brave and appreciative.

Great Kat: Worship me or Die & Beethoven on Speed

Complete nutter, musical genius and child prodigy, the great Kat both amused and bemused back in the '80s. Here we have her first two releases; the later being the one through which she found her milieu. This is classical music played by a guitar shredder who knows the music inside out via her classical training. It's mad, bad and a bit balmy. Love or hate her, you can’t deny that she does what she does with loads of feeling.

Ratos de Porao: Brasil, Just another crime in massacreland, Anarkophobia & Feijoada Accidente-International

You have probably never heard of this group but you likely have heard of the members' good buddies Sepultura. This lot is the punk equivalent of Sepultura; doing for the punk scene what the Seps did for metal in their home country. The last CD involves this band paying tribute to the members' international punk heroes including DRI and the Dead Kennedys. Punk completists will appreciate these re-releases remastered on CD. Metal Mind has done a typical job with lots of info in the liner notes.