Lard, "Forkboy"
Lard, the collaboration between Jello Biafra (as you can clearly hear) and Ministry, usually sounded just like what you might expect that collab to sound like. But Ministry were having fun with it, and were just in full-on raging hardcore mode, and Jello was in fine form, so this album winds up being probably my favorite post-Kennedys Jello record.
People Under the Stairs, "Reflections"
People Under the Stairs hit their fifth album, and at this point, had really reached maturity as artists. They were now confident enough to not just crank out their old-school loop-based beats, but to add in some more compositions like this one. And to be able to write rhymes that can work together with this new style. It's a nice addition to their toolbox, and as a result, this is probably my second-favorite album from them.
Squarepusher, "Tomorrow World"
In a lot of ways, Squarepusher's career is defined by a push-and-pull between his experimental side and his drum'n'bass side. Once past Music is Rotted One Note, you sort of hear him moving back and forth between jazz fusion stuff and more nuts-and-bolts things. It keeps me on my toes, which is always nice.
Elvis Costello and the Attractions, "High Fidelity"
Costello's album Get Happy!! is his love letter to soul, and he ends up producing a fine record of blue-eyed soul, one of the better ones around. As with pretty much everything from this period, it's so very listenable, it's hard not to have fun with it.
Art Brut, "Nag Nag Nag Nag"
Art Brut started out arch, and after the first album made some waves, their second album just kept heading in that direction. They're not a joke band, but there's a winking, post-modern feel to things that sort of makes it feel distant. But at the same time, it's very straight rock, so it's also approachable. That tension sort of defines the strange experience of listening to Art Brut. But also? It's just rock, don't overthink it.