Album of the Day

After scoring a commercial breakthrough with 1997's INTERNATIONAL VELVET, Welsh band Catatonia built on that success with EQUALLY CURSED AND BLESSED. The set's 1999 release date puts it at the tail end of the Brit-pop era, and its confidence and punchy songs are in keeping with that scene - tracks like “Dead from the Waist Down,” “Londinium” and “Storm The Palace” remain irresistibly catchy. Yet Catatonia were more than mere ear candy; frontwoman Cerys Matthews skewers London, consumerism, the monarchy and more on these 11 originals, with a delivery that's as alluring as it is focused. EQUALLY CURSED AND BLESSED deservedly went platinum in the U.K., and we'll give the album another spin now to celebrate Matthews' 50th birthday.