Scores of albums are released every week. And for whatever reason — record-company indifference, lack of publicity, bad timing, or just plain bad luck-many of the best drop out of sight. Here, then, are some of our critics' favorite recent pop underdogs (or, all too likely, underdogs-to-be):
Meat Puppets
Forbidden Places
A little bit country, a little
bit twisted rock & roll from a quirky Phoenix band.
Boogie Down Productions
Live Hardcore Worldwide
Gleeful concert
album that captures the collective rapture of live rap.
Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians
Perspex Island
Wordplay
doesn't get any more clever — or love songs more sarcastic — than on the
latest from this British folk-rocker.
Marshall Crenshaw
Life's Too Short
Snappy guitar pop from a
master of the form.
Bang Tango
Dancin' on Coals
Proof that funk and soul can be as
much a part of a heavy-metal band's world as leather studs.
Chris Rea
Auberge
Talented British rocker, a star in Europe but
unknown in the States, addresses mid-life concerns.
The KLF
The White Room
If spacey, soulful tunes like the hit ''3
A.M. Eternal'' don't get you moving, you may need to check your pulse
rate.
Kool Moe Doe
Funke, Funke Wisdom
Rap keeps evolving, but that
doesn't mean old-school rappers
like Dee don't have a few new-and positive-minded-tricks up their
sleeves.
Sam Phillips
Cruel Inventions
Female singer-songwriter who can
be tightly wound and undeniably sunny, sometimes within the same
song.
Kik Tracee
No Rules
A true rarity: A hard-rocking L.A. band
that excels at both stomping metal ravers and sensitive ballads.
Sandee
Only Time Will Tell
Former member of Exposé squeaks,
struts, and belts through adult dance pop.
Son of Bazerk
Bazerk Bazerk Bazerk
Manic hip-hop with dollops
of reggae, soul, and hard-core punk.
The Pyschedelic Furs
World Outside
We'd given these veteran
British new-wavers up for dead too, until we heard this collection
of surprising, sardonic songs.
Young Fresh Mellows
Electric Bird Digest
How can you resist
rock & roll this sweet and friendly — and with song titles like
''Sittin' on a Pitchfork'' and ''Hillbilly Drummer Girl''?
Richard Thompson
Rumor & Sigh
Celtic-rooted rock & roll that
sounds both adult and deranged.
Terminator X
Terminator X & the Valley of the Jeep Beets
Eclectic proof that rap DJs — in this case, from Public Enemy — can do
more than just spin records.
