Review: Animal Collective - Feels

Animal Collective - Feels: I've tried again to like the Collective and while I did enjoy this more than I did Sung Tongs, I still couldn't get into it. There were parts that I thought were really good, but there were parts I thought really bad. Whether this may even out (like Frances the Mute), I can't say for certain.

Stream the majority of the album

Purchase for $11.19

Review: The Mountain Goats - Protein Source of the Future...Now!

The Mountain Goats - Protein Source of the Future...Now!: It's obviously been recorded in his basement with mediocre equipment, evoking comparisons to Daniel Johnston and The Noisies. That aside, if you liked any of his other work, you won't be disappointed.

Download Love Cuts the Strings

Purchase for $13.00

Review: The Exit - Home For An Island

The Exit - Home For An Island: This record's been out for a year now and has just been re-released. The reason no one cared the first time around is because it's not very good. It's like they're holding back. They want to be this awesome guitar-rock band, but they hold back the guitars, settling for mediocrity.

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $7.25

Review: Diamond Nights - Popsicle

Diamond Nights - Popsicle: After all the hype about their EP, I was suprised when I didn't even know that their full length had been released. And now that I've heard it, I know why.

Stream Destination Diamonds, The Girl's Attractive and Snakey Ruth

Purchase for $8.91

Review: The Clientele - Strange Geometry

The Clientele - Strange Geometry: Their name is The Clientele. The album title is Strange Geometry. The artwork on the album is of a train barelling accross the tracks in the distance on a dark moon-less night. So forgive me if I was expecting something a little, say, darker. What I got instead was an indie-pop that sounds like it was recorded at the end of a rainbow. A brutally honest rainbow.

Stream K Got Over Me and E.M.P.T.Y. (click on the album cover for Strange Geometry)

Purchase for $9.79

Review: Broken Social Scene - Bee Hives

Broken Social Scene - Bee Hives: Necessary only for those that must have every song BSS ever recorded. Otherwise, skip it, or listen to it once to say you've listened to it, but it's unlikely to get spins.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $8.70

Review: Arctic Monkeys - Demos/Beneath The Boardwalk

Arctic Monkeys - Demos/Beneath The Boardwalk: This much-buzzed about abound has only a single (that's gone number 1 in the UK) that's been officially released, but about 45 songs that are floating around on the internet. Musically danceable and lyrically unforgettable, they sound like a weird cross between the Stone Roses and the White Stripes. While it doesn't work all of the time, it works enough of the time that I'm very excited for an official LP.

Hodge-Podge of Tracks 1

Hodge-Podge of Tracks 2

Hodge-Podge of Tracks 3

Purchase the single I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor for $7.38

Review: Hudson Bell - When The Sun Is The Moon

Hudson Bell - When The Sun Is The Moon: It's a solid pop album with shoegaze elements, but there are better by both such corners out this year. Still, it deservers a few more spins before any real judgement can be passed.

Download Atlantis Night

Purchase for $10.49

Review: Field Notes - Color of Sunshine

Field Notes - Color of Sunshine: There's so much potential in this record that you want to walk away liking it. However, I felt like it need a kick in the pants as it's atmosphere or body was lacking in a lot of places.

Stream Sister Says and Who's Fooling Who

Purchase for $10.00

Review: The Orphan Project

The Orphan Project - The Orphan Project: Their One Sheet likens them to Jimmy Eat World, Thursday, Planes Mistaken for Stars and Boy Sets Fire. I can't disagree and fans of those bands will enjoy this band, but not as much as the others.

Stream a little bit of one of their songs

This release not currently available for purchase (that I could find)

Review: Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea

Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea: It's amazing when you're not current on bands, because NMH sounds like a rip-off of a bunch of bands around today. Until you realize that this album came out 7 years ago and those same bands you though they were ripping them off turn out to have ripped off NMH. If blogs were around 7 years ago, this would be 1998's Funeral or perhaps Blueberry Boat as the songs are quirky, yet poppy and all run together.

Stream Holland 1945

Purchase for $11.89

Review: Nada Surf - The Weight Is A Gift

Nada Surf - The Weight is a Gift: Instantly likable and accessible. This year's best indie-pop album.

Stream Do It Again

Purchase for $9.99

Review: Paul McCartney - Chaos and Creation in the Backyard

Paul McCartney - Chaos and Creation in the Backyard: If it wasn't Sir Paul, no one would care. If it wasn't Sir Paul, I'd like it better. Figure that one out.

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $12.52

Review: Gang Of Four - Return The Gift

Gang Of Four - Return The Gift: I think I need to listen to Entertainment! again, because I certainly did not enjoy this.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.89

Review: Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better

Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better: ...than I, if you never listen to this album.

Stream a couple of tracks

Purchase for $10.12

Review: Calexico | Iron And Wine - In The Reins

Calexico | Iron And Wine - In The Reins: It's so good, but it's just not long enough.

Download Sixteen Maybe Less

Purchase for $6.84

Review: The Editors - The Back Room

The Editors - The Back Room: There's no denying they've been listening to Interpol, Joy Division and Echo and the Bunnymen more than casual fans. While this isn't a bad thing and they certainly aren't as good as those bands, they hold their ground. Still, later on, you'll find yourself putting Interpol into your CD player more often.

Stream Bullets and Munich

Purchase for $15.95

Review: Calla - Collisions

Calla - Collisions: Pretty cool for a track or two, then it gets lame as the tracks start to sound the same.

Stream It Dawned On Me and Initiate

Purchase for $10.75

Review: Devendra Banhart - Cripple Crow

Devendra Banhart - Cripple Crow: Rather underwhelming and forced.

Stream seven (of the 22) tracks

Purchase for $10.75

Review: Xiu Xiu - La Foret

Xiu Xiu - La Foret: Another follow-up, another disappointment. Le sigh.

Download Bog People

Purchase for $11.25

Review: Burning Star Core - The Very Heart of the World

Burning Star Core - The Very Heart of the World: Not only is this the worst album to come out this year, it's the worst album I've listened to this year.

Purchase for $12.00

Review: Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene

Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene: It's less instantly accessible than You Forgot It In People, but it's far more rewarding, with it's slightly-buried vocals and nearly-flawless production.

Download 7/4 Shoreline via Cloak and Dagger

Purchase for $10.19 (it used to be called that)

Review: Kanye West - Late Registration

Kanye West - Late Registration: Didn't wait for the hype to die down on this one and it suffers for it. The message is better and more thought out, but the production lacks more than Dropout and the delivery is under, well, delivered.

Stream Diamonds From Sierra Leone and Gold Digger

Purchase for $10.49

Review: Kanye West - The College Dropout

Kanye West - The College Dropout: Sometimes, it's good to let the hype of an album to die down before you end up listening to it. In spite of this, Kanye West delivers on most of the hype. There are obviously some tracks that fail in all regards and the skits are lame, as most rap skits are, but it still manages to deliver.

Stream about half the album

Purchase for $10.99

Review: Elbow - Leaders of the Free World

Elbow - Leaders of the Free World: Falling somewhere between the excellent Asleep in the Back and the decent Cast of Thousands. The problem with the this and the previous album is it's monotonous delivery. All the songs run together. Not to say it's bad, but it makes better background music than anything else.

Stream an acoustic version of the title track

Purchase for $11.85

Review: Various - Listen To Bob Dylan (Because He's Cool)

Various - Listen to Bob Dylan (Because He's Cool): You should in fact listen to Bob Dylan, because he is cool. But you should not listen to this tribute, because it is not. Bob Dylan is a very tough man to cover and few of these artists do an adequate job.

Stream the majority of the album

Purchase for $11.69

Review: Super Furry Animals - Love Kraft

Super Furry Animals - Love Kraft: Solid, if unspectacular, indie-pop that's a bit pyschadelic and a bit forgettable.

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $9.99

Review: The Spill Canvas - One Fell Swoop

The Spill Canvas - One Fell Swoop: Despite their sometimes-sophmoric lyrics, this is not only one of the best comtemporarily 'emo' albums released in a long time, but also one of the best albums released this year.

Stream the vast majority of the entire album
Purchase for $10.89

Review: Skeletons and the Girl-Faced Boys - Git

Skeletons and the Girl-Faced Boys - Git: Uncompelling, electronic music with emotionally distant vocals.

Stream See The Way, Git and These Are Seagulls Who Live In Parking Lots
Download Git
Purchase for $13.00

Review: Shook Ones - Sixteen

Shook Ones - Sixteen: Ever wonder what Kid Dynamite would have sounded like had they been harder and less melodic? Neither had I. Until now.

Download Please Read

Purchase for $11.00