Right now, the Vines are the toast of England, and it's easy to see why. Just as the British are going barmy for such New York garage revivalists as the Strokes and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, these four handsome Australian lads are doing a fine job of plundering decades worth of trashy-yet-tuneful American rock. Besides serving up stripped-down garage anthems ("Get Free," "Outtathaway!") and updates of Bleach-era Nirvana ("Highly Evolved," "In the Jungle"), their debut album also trafficks in the spacey, pseudopsychedelic aura that has defined a lot of recent Brit pop -- witness "Mary Jane," which duplicates the day-dreamy vibe of the Beatles' "Dear Prudence" as well as any Oasis song. Highly Evolved is a promising first effort that suffers from retro fever, natch, but with all of their members still in their early twenties, the Vines have plenty of time (and enough songwriting smarts) to outgrow their influences. (CHRISTIAN HOARD)

The Flaming Lips Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (Warner Bros.)

The long-reigning kings of big-sky psychedelia emerge from their Oklahoma City bunker to ask this musical question: If the Powerpuff Girls took on Black Sabbath's "Iron Man," who would win? The answer, in this case, is the listener. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots isn't the end-to-end triumph that was 1999's The Soft Bulletin, still the most beauteous of Lips albums. But the production is equally ambitious, with burbling electrobeats underpinning sci-fi orchestrations that sound like the brainchild of Esquivel and the Orb. Techno isn't the band's forte, as "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 2" demonstrates. But elsewhere the trio's love of sound sorcery is gently folded into gorgeous melodies such as "In the Morning of the Magicians," "Are You a Hypnotist??" and "Do You Realize?" "All we have is now," Wayne Coyne sings, and the Lips sound absolutely ecstatic to be living in the moment. (GREG KOT)

Robert Plant Dreamland (Universal)

Back when Robert Plant was the voice of Led Zeppelin, his enthusiasms included country blues, Middle Eastern music and Sixties folk. These days, his taste in songs remains the same, but the way he plays them has changed. While the inspirations for Dreamland -- Bukka White, Tim Buckley, Jesse Colin Young -- seem very Led Zeppelin III, there's nothing Zeppelin-esque about the music. A disappointment? Not if you prefer Plant in ballad mode. There's a lovely understatement to the White-derived blues "Funny in My Mind," while the dreamy, symphonic "Song to the Siren" out-aches Buckley's original. Best of all is the lack of bombast: Plant's slow-burning "Hey Joe" (a nod to folkie Tim Rose) leaves plenty of room for the guitars to cut loose but stops short at letting them rape and pillage. And that restraint is what ultimately illuminates this album, from the tart take on Dylan's "One More Cup of Coffee" to the lovely, elegiac cover of Skip Spence's "Skip's Song." (J.D. CONSIDINE)

Laura Minor Salesman's Girl (Hightone)

Caution: Laura Minor may have you dancing in your underwear, singing into a hairbrush. A little bit country, and a little bit rock & roll, the Florida native unleashes youthful energy with her debut, Salesman's Girl, a collection of poems turned songs about -- what else? -- love and loss. Lyrically, it might seem as if Minor's on a one-way road to Melancholyville, but no matter how her heart aches, her optimism transcends. Deep down, she still believes in all the good stuff, like when she empathizes with her lovelorn sisters in "American Girls" and advises, "Don't give up on love just yet." Minor displays the torch and twang of a young Patty Griffin -- less developed, but equally promising -- with a Sheryl Crow backbone. Thanks to Minor's vivacity and the fleshed-out melodies provided by her very able band, the songs have the hookability of the kind you'd hear in the cab of an old Ford truck. (ROBIN AIGNER)

Various Artists Austin Powers in Goldmember: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack (Warner Bros.)

Austin Powers works pretty frickin' hard to get his mojo workin', and a man of his caliber needs a foolproof soundtrack to get his shag on. As hostess for this sonic soiree, Foxxy Cleopatra -- a.k.a. Beyonce Knowles -- salutes Austin's "solid gold goldmember" on the horn-heavy, soulful and funky opening track, "Work It Out." Britney Spears does her part to promote promiscuous sex on the remix of "Boys," joined by Pharrell Williams of N.E.R.D.; and Dr. Dre uses heavy beats to erect his dead-sexy remix of the Rolling Stones' "Miss You." And the party wouldn't be complete without Angie Stone's confident rendition of the 1970's funk classic "Groove Me"; Paul Oakenfold's "1975," his trippy take on the disco hit "A Fifth of Beethoven"; and Dr. Evil cussing over Little Orphan Annie's signature tune, "Hard Knock Life." This is one soundtrack you won't need a Swedish-made penis enlarger to get excited about. (KERRY L. SMITH)

Rick Holmstrom Hydraulic Groove (Tone-Cool/Artemis)

These days, few can make the blues seem as fresh and flat-out fun as guitarist/singer Rick Holmstrom. An Alaskan native who moved to L.A. to soak up the influence of respected blues hands like Junior Watson and Smokey Wilson, Holmstrom's music has a retro feel but keeps its feet firmly planted in the New School. On his fourth solo album, the guitar great enlists producer Rob Shnapf (Beck, R.L. Burnside, Foo Fighters), and keeps things interesting with sampled sound-bites of blues elders and guest turns by DJ Logic and organist John Medeski. The vibe is a joyful, party-ready take on the blues, with crisp arrangements that jump and jive -- the perfect foil for Holmstrom's stinging licks. On the shuffling "Pee Wee's Nightmare" the tone of his guitar is Beatles sweet, repeating a frenetic riff while horns and wurlitzer push the song to climax. "I just want to make you smile," implores Holmstrom over "Maria's" throbbing bass line. Music this good won't allow for anything else. (EVAN SCHLANSKY)

Perfecto Presents Seb Fontaine Horizons (Perfecto/Thrive)

Since rounding off his four-volume Prototype series on the Boxed label and leaving his post as resident at superclub Cream last year, DJ Seb Fontaine has been pretty quiet. But with this spirited double-disc mix, backed by Paul Oakenfold's Perfecto imprint, the Brit with DJing in his lineage (his father met his mother while she was DJing in Ibiza) proves he's back on form. Horizons offers a crash course in the poppier elements of underground progressive house. This smoothie of undiscovered, protein-packed gems includes dirty ditties like Fingerfest's "Autoporno" and "A Little Bit Paranoid" -- with its Right Said Fred-esque vocal chant -- and Electronica's "Churn Up," a trance-y number featuring former Sneaker Pimps vocalist Kelli Dayton. It's a diverse mix of under-saturated, hearty tracks that reaffirm Fontaine's place at the head of the party. (JOLIE LASH)

(July 15, 2002)