Pop: Album reviews

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Backsliders `Throwing Rocks at the Moon' (Mammoth/Polydor) The pick of 10 albums re-released to celebrate the 10th birthday of the US indie label Mammoth, Chip Robinson's hard country rockers have turned in an alt.country classic; "If I Was King" is one of the best rustic songs ever - and the other 10 are very good too. HHHH

Hell `Munich Machine' (Disko) German DJ Hell brings a great sense of fun, disco and humour to techno with this diverse but coherent album, which sees Hell throwing in a few covers as diverse as No More's punky "Suicide Commando" and Barry Manilow's "Copacabana". These sit well with his own blend of clubland sounds. HHH

Kruder Dorfmeister `The K&D Sessions' (Studio K/G-Stone) It might be a remix album, but this Viennese duo stamp their personality and soundscape on tracks by Roni Size, David Holmes, Lamb and others to form a coherent, dubby effect which merges ambient and drum'n'bass over two CDs. HHHH

Various Artists `Fear and Loathing' (Geffen) An essential for Hunter S Thompson fans, it sits mostly in the late Sixties and early Seventies, journeying through West Coast psychedelia, country rock, Perry Como and punk. The result has got enough novelty to arouse wider interest. HHH