No Need To Be Downhearted

Favourite Worst Nightmare Snarly and stone-sharpened, the Arctic Monkeys open their sophomore effort with "Brianstorm," a bracing blast of guitar fractures and rhythmic herky-jerks. Alex Turner's voice is the centerpiece, scoured the way the Streets' Mike Skinner's quick. Favourite Worst Nightmare moves f...	The Human Body EP This EP finds Brighton, England's band at a perfect mid-point between the guitar-pop rush of their first album (2002's "Holes In The Wall") and the studied, symphonic arrangements of their second (2003's "The American Adventure"). These seven tracks (plus a US bonus track) are ES...	An End Has a Start Editors were not the only band suckling on Joy Division's bleak teat in 2005 when they released their debut The Back Room, and they never initially seemed the ones most likely to succeed either. They were like a pencil sketch of gothic depression, too tidy, too clean, too neatly ...	Our Love to Admire Moving up to a major label has hardly lifted Interpol's spirits. This is a good thing. Even with the twisted Wild Kingdom album cover and bassist Carlos Dengler's unexpected Wild West makeover, on its third studio album the black-clad New York quartet still sounds inflexibly m...	The Heart Is the Place This is the follow-up to Goldrush's 2005 US debut "Ozona". Hailing from Oxford, England, these five musicians can best be described as Flaming Lips meets Grandaddy and Wilco. Combining the classic elements of indie rock folk with swirling, fuzzed-out guitars make Goldrush a ba...
The Reminder Feist is the solo project of Canada's Leslie Feist, a prolific artist who has also played in one capacity or another with Broken Social Scene, Kings of Convenience and half a dozen other bands. The Reminder, her third release, comes from the same well of quiet, appealing songwrit...	Sky Blue Sky After their wild experimental streak of the past decade, Wilco's sixth studio album might feel like a bit of a comedown. Sky Blue Sky is mellow, moody, and uncharacteristically monotone, opening with a pleasant jangle and Jeff Tweedy singing a simple song: "Maybe the sun will shi...	Cease to Begin Band of Horses now rest in the hands of South Carolina tenant Ben Bridwell following the departure of his right-hand man Mat Brooke, who bolted to form Grand Archives following the 2006 inauguration Everything All the Time, and the impassioned Bridwell validates out of the blocks...	Everything Last Winter	Challengers Pay no attention to the reviews that imply the New Pornographers have "grown up" or "matured" or "drifted away" from the perfect-pop promise of their first three records. For if you throw darts at the songs on Challengers, an ambitious soundscape that had members of the all-star ...

Outstanding Record
This album is 100% top notch. I was unfamiliar with the band, but heard "If That's The Case, Then I Don't Know" on Pandora and was intrigued. The best thing about this album is that the songs and style change TREMENDOUSLY, but the structure of the album holds it together wonderfully. Starting out on a low key piano tune, you move through low-fi, reasonably hard rock, acoustic indie, and later a song that sounds almost exactly like "Don't Stop" of Fleetwood Mac. Excellently varied, and ends on an Abbey Roadesque acapella introduced wisdom. Really fantastic work.

Focused.
Die hard fans, annoying little buggers, are going to whine that they've lost alot of their 'edge'. But Electric Soft Parade have finally decided to drop the whole "Hey...Try and enjoy this average music listener" and adopt a more listener friendly sound. They have crafted a lush and melody heavy pop record. Fantastically instrumented and played. It even takes a few turns into ambient noise pop. But really it's just another in a growing line of stubborn indie bands looking at pop music and saying "I can do better than that!" And then "GASP!" actually delivering. Get it, enjoy it. Your girlfriend will love it.

Wonderful, Upbeat, Unpredictable Brit-Pop
Having heard the band name, but having never heard their music I had no idea what to expect upon popping in the 3rd release [First one released in the US] from ESP. After a somber opener, this album explodes in one of the best, funnest tracks I've heard this year, if not the last 5 years. "Living In The Backseat" with its awesome chord progressions, fuzzy guitars and superb buildup, this track could absolutely own alternative radio and I have no idea why its not getting any exposure. Living In The Backseat sets the tone for the rest of album. This band really sets themselves apart from the pack because they have amazing songwriting ability. Only a couple of the tracks sound like processed manufactured pop, the rest of the album is a surprise, a burst of sunshine in a mostly dull music year. If I had to compare the band to anyone, it would be Electric Light Orchestra. I'd guess they're a pretty big influence for ESP, particularly tracks like "Mr. Blue Sky" but if you're a fan of dreamy, bouncy, psychadelic brit pop, you will LOVE this album. From the dreamy "Woken By A Kiss" to the spacey "If That's The Case, Then I Don't Know" this is maybe the album of the year thus far.