Sumack - LP1:This Is Junk Rock (1999)

Los Angeles quintet Sumack calls their music junk rock, meaning a sound collected from discarded shards of hip-hop, alternative rock, folk, new wave, and electronica. This sounds much more salable than "shameless Beck rip-offs," pungent though the latter description might be. The group's 1999 debut, LP1: This Is Junk Rock, is a fine record, but every song is so reminiscent of Mellow Gold/Odelay-era Beck that Mr. Hansen should get royalties. That said, there's plenty to like here, especially the ironic groove of the opening "Metaphysical" and the aptly titled "Shoegazer." The dual vocals of Mark McAdam and Daniel Bernath have the right tone of overeducated brattiness, though it would be nice if secondary singer Kit Pongetti, whose voice recalls that of Yo la Tengo's Georgia Hubley, had more to do. About a third of this album appeared in remixed form on Sumack's major-label debut, 2000's Now Hear This. ~Allmusic