SAMIAM - Astray (2000)

MMMM

Punk infused with a massive dose of melancholy, this is a quality album, but unless you are in the mood for it you might find it a little oppressive. Brilliantly catchy at times, and heartrending at others, this puts me in mind of the Cure at times (though it sounds nothing like them). This band could've been huge if things had gone their way.

VISION - Watching the World Burn (2000)

MMMM

A very good album with some killer songs and one absolute classic (Close Minded) this is the only proper 'Hardcore' album I've ever really clicked with. Typically for this genre it's fairly predictable, but this fuses energy and songwriting so well that you can't fail to love it.

DWARVES - Come Clean (2000)

MMMMM

A wonderful album of pop-punk tunes, with an epic running time of about twenty minutes! Still, it's quality not quantity as they are always telling us and this thing has no filler whatsoever. Just brilliant, catchy songs and a perfectly balanced production. Excellent, and their best album to date.

BAD RELIGION - The New America (2000)

MMM

A very disappointing release from Bad Religion, but even a bad BR album is a good album, so there's plenty to enjoy here. Notable tracks include 'The Hopeless Housewife' and 'World Without Melody'. Overall this featured more than the usual amount of filler you would expect on a BR album, but as I said, even bad BR is pretty good!