earwax   Ben Vaughn Rambler '65 (Rhino) Ben Vaughn has had a long love affair with cars - Dodge Ramblers specifically. On one of his oldest songs, "M-m-motor Vehicle" from a 1986 album with the Ben Vaughn Combo, he sings, "I got a 1959 Rambler American baby, aren't you impressed?" I was. The first time I interviewed Vaughn he took me for a spin in his shiny white '64 Rambler. Its bench seats and vinyl interior were the perfect setting to hear rock 'n' roll. Now he's recorded an entire album in his powder blue 1965 Rambler American while parked in southern New Jersey. The former Jersey/Philly boy, who now spends his time in Cali writing the theme music for the TV show Third Rock From The Sun and Men Behaving Badly, has crafted a snazzy collection of songs. Vaughn played all of the instruments in the Rambler's cramped back seat (imagine if he'd chosen a Miata!), and appropriately, these are simple rock 'n' roll songs - perfect for cruising American highways. The opening track, "7 Days Without Love," has the muffled, mono-sound of early '60s AM radio replete with harmonica, effects, guitar and drum machine. "Heavy Machinery" has a bongo-beat and "engine solo." The Rambler gets jacked up for the groovy "Levitation" which features a sitar solo (the only instrument on the album not played by Vaughn). "Boomerang" is pure Vaughn - a goofy love song with accordion-like keyboards - as is the power-pop-driven "Rock Is Dead." Rambler '65 improves upon his last lo-fi project, Mono U.S.A., which was recorded in his Camden basement. Somehow, with its radio-styled edges, inspired effects, and tight (claustrophobia-enhanced?) performances, Rambler '65 should get better mileage. - Margit Detweiler   Ginger Baker Trio Falling Off the Roof (Atlantic) Fans of classic rock may recognize Ginger Baker as the percussive spark in Cream - Baker propelled that guitar-infused rock combo with his unique, albeit straightforward, playing. More recently, the drummer has expanded his musical sensibilities to include jazz, and with surprising success. Falling Off the Roof finds Baker swinging with guitar virtuoso Bill Frisell and bassist extraordinaire, Charlie Haden. The trio stamps a distinctive sound onto each of the compositions, whether they're wafting through Haden's "Our Spanish Love Song," riding the pulse of "Amarillo Barbados" or swinging on standards like "Bemsha Swing" and "Au Privave." The combination of Frisell's electric guitar and Haden's acoustic bass creates a perfect canvas for Baker, who plays with tasteful reserve. Bela Fleck contributes some valuable assistance on three tracks. Falling Off the Roof embodies the sort of adventurous jazz-fusion that his Flecktones have re-popularized in recent years. Falling Off the Roof is nothing revolutionary, but the album possesses the sort of conviction and heart that have long been characteristic of Ginger Baker. - Nate Chinen     Cibo Matto Super Relax EP (Warner Bros.) Cibo Matto's blissed-out duo Miho and Yuka have popped up with another batch of dreamy electronic food-related oddities. While remaining true to their trip-poppy studio pose, Cibo and Co. show off a surprisingly quirky and messy inventiveness on several tracks. This long EP is built around several tweak-hop versions of "Sugar Water" (which originally appeared on Viva! La Woman) - one from Beastie Mike D. and Simins that emphasizes thick beats and '60s pop atmospherics; another from Brit dub-concoctionist Coldcut that funkily chops 'n' dices; and an acoustic take chock full o' dobro, piano and Stonesy blue guitar licks and drums. A Stones fascination remains as Cibo performs a spare cover of the Rolling one's "Sing This All Together" with lo-fi cockiness. Another cover, Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Aguas de Marco," is a smooth brass-driven samba ballad that's lilting and romantic in mid-'60s fashion. Still, it's the spicy new tunes here that'll really grab you. - a.d. amorosi   Marisa Monte A Great Noise (Metro Blue) As Brazil's best-selling female singer, one would expect Marisa Monte to sound closer to what "we" think of as populist Latin music like Estefan or Secada. But Monte is no ordinary singing populist. Her warm tenor tones sweep elegantly and sensually across even the most spare melody, always finding a hook on which to hang such exacting phrasing. After dueting with David Byrne on the Red Hot & Rio disc, Monte is updating her sound by enlisting the production skills of several "no wave" musicians and Brazil's most contrary, revolutionary writers (Gilberto Gil, Ceatono Velso and poet Octavio Pas) to produce a bizarre melodic disc full of lush textures and unique flavors. "Cerebro Electronicos" flies with off-kilter rhythms against cunjunto accordion riffing. The delicate breezy jazz of "Arpepio" is offset by the heavy beat, raw brass and organ thumping of "Magamalaberes." Live tracks like "Panis Et Circenses" and "Beija Eu" are so unwieldy in terms of their enthusiasm, they threaten to fly away. Monte anchors the mayhem with silken feminine magnificence. - a.d.a. Hovercraft akathisia (Mute) An investigation into the bleaker end of "experimental rock," Hovercraft's new album, akathisia, fashions futuristic soundscapes which meld together a range of genres - from industrial to world beat. Though Hovercraft should be applauded for their attempts to explore new territories of sound, sadly, their brand of instrumental noise tends to grow tiresome and monotonous. (The band members themselves claim their music is heavily influenced by the movement of tectonic plates - exciting, eh?) This might fare better marketed as the soundtrack to the next apocalyptic movie, involving cyber-meltdowns and inevitably featuring David Bowie. Or better still, it's the perfect bachelor pad background fodder for the goth-rock loverman. For everybody else, however, akathisia's droning, none-too-mellow vision might grow a bit depressing - such gloom and doom could put you over the edge, reaching for a little Kylie Minogue. - Corrina Zappia   Oval 94Diskont (Thrill Jockey) No, your CD player isn't broken and you aren't experiencing a meltdown. What you're listening to is the deconstructionist hymns of Oval. This German trio makes a manipulative, repetitious but beautiful rattle and hum out of old busted, faulty and skipping CDs. They force this broken music through their own computer operations and make it more like a science project. With an heart that lies closer to algebra than art, their music is hauntingly melodic but maddening - a detonated aural collage sure to sicken when it's not enrapturing. Whole string sections sound as if they're being ripped from their seats in "Cross Selling," while "Shop In Store" rings with discordant harmony vaguely reminiscent of Philip Glass' Indian electronic-opera material. That such trailblazing (and winkingly silly) uncomfortable sounds are made from remnants - a discarded music - gives words like "recycled" and "trash" interesting new meanings. - a.d.a.   The Softies Winter Pageant (K) The vocal and guitar duo of Jen Sbragia and Rose Melberg delivers more of the trademark confessions of largely painful emotional honesty on The Softies' second album. But Winter Pageant's best track, "Excellent," succeeds not for its honesty, but because it's bent on self-deceptive persuasion. While the song presents itself as an homage to the sweet beginnings of a relationship, every line is loaded with the hurt and loss that pervades the rest of the album. Winter Pageant's musical high point appears early: "Pack Your Things and Go" includes bells to brighten up the mix of vocal harmony and strings. More typical is "Tracks and Tunnels," on which the delicate guitar picking compounds the fragile emotional state of the lyrics. Unfortunately, The Softies' material tends to run together; it's hard to believe after listening to the album that one has just heard 14 different songs. - Chris Nelson   Starfish Frustrated (Trance) Starfish doesn't seem like a happy bunch. Their crunching guitars never slow down to allow a cheerful ditty. Nevertheless, there is harmony in their noisy guitars and charged songs. "Canada" is eight minutes of East Indian-influenced music that builds tension and alienation. "P. Rock," with its jarring guitars and chorus of vocals, sounds like a lost track by X. In many ways, Frustrated owes a debt to the Sex Pistols and early '80s L.A. punk. This is not an album to be played on a quiet Sunday morning. After so much middling grunge and alternative rock, Starfish is refreshingly loud, brash and armed with all things young and dissident. - Elva Ramirez   Trans Am Surrender to the Night (Thrill Jockey) This instrumental, guitar, bass and drums trio makes the most of things by adding an array of synthesizer and pedal effects. Their second full-length contains some engrossing songs, but is more impressive taken as a whole. A postmodern symphony of sorts, Surrender's dark hues, terse arrangements and uncanny sense of introspection take the listener on an emotional ride in and out of the subconscious. "Motr" begins the set evenly before plunging into the frantic staccato rhythms and convoluted melodies of "Cologne." "Rough Justice," the LP's climactic midpoint, plunges into a sea of static and chaos through the jagged, avant "Zero Tolerance." From here, order is restored, culminating in the uplifting "Carboforce" and final resolution of the title track. Not a pick for the pop junkie, but a truly masterful work. - Brian Howard     Various Artists subUrbia: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (DGC) The soundtrack to subUrbia in no way mirrors the dull monotony associated with the suburbs - it sounds more like suburban kids on a weekend escape to the big city. Its collection of "hip, urban 20-something" tunes includes an original score by art-rock faves Sonic Youth plus offerings by the likes of Beck, Boss Hog, and Girls Against Boys. Steve Malkmus, Pavement's sardonic golden boy, collaborates with Elastica for a remake of X's "Unheard Music." Though Malkmus' and Justine Frischmann's pissy vocals blend well (and begin to sound frighteningly similar), the result is overpoweringly more Elastica than either Pavement or X. A few of the highlights are Beck's "Feather in your Cap;" Superchunk's whine about suburban complacency, "Does Your Hometown Care?" and Sonic Youth's "Bee-Bee's Song." Ahh, if only the suburbs were this cool - there would be no more loser Friday nights hanging out at local Waffle Houses, dreaming of life in the big city. - C.Z.   Various Artists The October Revolution (Evidence) This live recording celebrates the "energy music" revolution introduced at an historic 1964 Manhattan music festival. The movement was set in motion by veteran free-jazz improvisers as a response to hardbop formalism and the British Invasion. Each of the participants' contributions are outstanding. Drummer Ali samples percussion styles from just about every African-American-based genre and then melds them in a sizzling, high energy aural dance that has no meter. Doublebassist Wilber Morris lays down a heavy foundation and embellishes it with folky melodies and stuttering bowed effects. Pianist Borah Bergman - all fingers, forearms and elbows - does his relentless Cecil Taylor thing. Horn player Joe McPhee contributes frenzied tenor sax and fat fluegelhorn reminiscent of Bill Dixon's pneumatic sputterings and gripping lyricism. McPhee proves himself a magician at interjecting a theme, rhythmic pattern or mood into the most chaotic, grating group melees to transform them into "compositions." A mannered seven-minute performance by pianist Myra Melford's trio separates two "pieces" of the featured group's musical negotiations. - Todd Margasak   Various Artists Sourmash: A Louisville Compilation (X-Static/Boss Snake) Say "Louisville" and you may not think cutting-edge rock and roll. But Kentucky gave birth to such superstars as Squirrel Bait and Slint, and the proud tradition continues. A thorough look at what goes on in KY rock, Sourmash features some gems and a look at which players dominate the scene by playing in several bands. Louisville heavy-hitters The Palace Brothers offer "Little Blue Eyes," featuring Will Oldham's trademark lovelorn warble and threadbare guitar. Tara Jane O'Niel, former bassist for defunct indie-rock cubists Rodan, appears twice - on Retsin's "Duck Out" and Drinking Women's "Housewives/Pots and Pans." Other standouts include Nod's haunting "The Gift," Driftin' Luke's "The Tempest" and Grayson Hall's hint-of-Slint, "That's All." The general tilt here is toward the "Little Bit Country" end of the spectrum, but it's a good mixer of whiskey-drenched twang and indie basement rock. - B.H.