Radiohead
Best of
Capitol





It's not hard to cash in on the last greatest band in the world, and after Radiohead's surreptitious departure from Capitol Records, for its experiments in the Internet age - the label was bound to try.

The greatest hits catalogue comes in three very different packages. With the first, a single-disc collection, Capitol succeeded in repackaging some of the band's biggest hits into a record that lacks cohesion or much care for the artist's catalogue.

The individual tracks are incomparable, Selections from The Bends and OK Computer show how Radiohead pushed the limits of music in the late 90's and for a listener looking for a first taste of what made Radiohead great, the record opens the door.

However, it's the double-disc and record set, which includes more material from Kid A and Amnesiac that truly shows the full breadth and ambition of the band.

--Jonathan Shieber




Plants and Animals
Parc Avenue
Secret City Records





Montreal trio Plants and Animals play whimsical folk rock songs with titles like "Faerie Dance" and "Feedback in the Field." So it's not surprising that there's a pastoral slant to their musical musings. Lead singer Warren C. Spider has a reedy timbre to his voice that gives the band's airy tunes an immediate and authentic quality. It serves them well on joyous woodland romps like "Bye Bye Bye" and an exquisitely hushed song called "Early in the Morning." But if there's one song that brings all of the group's best elements into play, it has to be the chillingly lonesome "Sea Shanty" - a perfect hymn to the mysteries of the deep. The album finishes with an eastern flavored jam called "Guru" that closes things out on a high-spirited note.

Take a listen to Plants and Animals song Faerie Dance

--Amy Wagner