Kevin McKeough

Chicago music fans rang in the New Year with enough high-profile performers to field an awards show. Here's a look at some of the highlights as 1995 melted into 1996:...

Freakwater Old Paint (Thrill Jockey)(star) (star) (star) Songwriter Catherine Irwin self-consciously infuses old-time hill country music with a jaded, ironic sensibility. As a result, the songs on Freakwater's fourth record...

When looking for stocking stuffers, almost everyone can use a few new CDs to add to their collection. Here's the best of new and recent compact-disc boxed sets: - Rock...

Paul Kelly Deeper Water (Vanguard) (star) (star) 1/2 In his late-'80s work with the Messengers and on "Wanted Man," his solo debut from last year, Paul Kelly set insightful vignettes...

Robert Cray Some Rainy Morning (Mercury) (star) (star) (star) Although it's the first of Cray's nine records not to include a horn section, "Some Rainy Morning" otherwise maintains his trademark...

Hum You'd Prefer an Astronaut (RCA) (star) (star) (star) On their third record and major-label debut, Champaign quartet Hum fuse their ocean-waves-crashing-against-the-rocks guitars with lurching metallic riffs that have become...

Sparks Gratuitous Sax and Senseless Violins (Logic) (star) (star) Brothers Ron and Russel Mael have been mixing mannered, arty pop with mannered, absurdist humor since 1971. Their first record in...

Pavement Wowee Zowee (Pavement) (star) (star) 1/2 Eighteen songs and nearly an hour long, Pavement's fourth album teeters between material that solidly focuses the band's strengths and mannered, indie-rock indulgences....

Radiohead The Bends (Capitol) (STAR) Along with Beck's "Loser," Radiohead's smash single "Creep" made up a sort of low self-esteem hit parade for disaffected pop fans. Lacking that dubious appeal,...

Red House Painters Ocean Beach (4 AD) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) The quietly intriguing music Mark Kozelek makes with his band Red House Painters suggests a cross between Simon and Garfunkel's prettiness and...