The Courtneys

Plenty of bands are mining the early '90s alt-rock explosions for sonic ideas, but few make plundering as much fun as the Courtneys. The Vancouver via Calgary trio (their rhythm section were part of Cowtown noiseniks Puberty) ooze oversized T-shirts and teen angst on their debut self-titled full-length. Repurposing Thurston Moore's buzzy guitar tone for the kind of thoughtful, pop-minded song craft we always knew he was capable of, guitarist Courtney Loove, bass player Sydney Koke and singer/drummer Jen Twynn Payne blasted out these eight tracks in a mere three days. More a document of their heady early period than a curated album, not everything represents the Courtneys at their peak. However, there are enough hooks and excitement on tracks like "Manion" and the stunning "90210" to rocket this disc up to the top of your playlist.