WORTH A LISTEN: Walkmen - Woe Is Me

A low-key oddball indie strummer off the much-hyped Lisbon.

THE BREAKDOWN: The Books - The Way Out

Similar to Flying Lotus' Cosmogramma, I'm not sure when I would ever listen to The Way Out. But Cosmogramma is at least a compelling piece of craft. The Way Out feels like a slapdash idea-mash.

The Books do a lot of sampling work, like a poor man's Avalanches or even Lemon Jelly. "Group Autogenics" provide the two-part album bookend, some whispered wisdom over mechanical twinkle-scapes, which is unoffensive enough. But "A Cold Freezin' Night" is a child talking about murder, and it's some uncomfortable balance between edgy and non-musical. This is more typical.

The odd part is that there are some nice acoustic ballads on the tail end of The Way Out. "All You Need is a Wall" and "Free Translator" are both lovely. Check them out, and ditch the album.

Essential Tracks:

WORTH A LISTEN: Liars - No Barrier Fun

The kings of weird throw a three-note piano loop over a bubbling cauldron backbeat for a song that is (somehow) surprisingly fun.

THE BREAKDOWN (FT. DJ SUB PAR): Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

DJ Sub Par Says:
For many fans, will Arcade Fire ever make an album better than "Funeral"? Probably not. The alchemy of new but approachable sound, emotional but not sentimental is rare. So lets move on. "The Suburbs" is thematically and aesthetically as you'd expect it - filled with mid-tempo strummers about growing up and raising families. My favorite tracks get lost in the mix - "Rococo," where Win Butler seems to be joshing us, and the clap-along "City with no Children." But perhaps these were just the first to perk my ears with their hooky choruses. People may say this album is a little overlong and same-y, but on an album where there are two songs called "Sprawl" I suppose ambling might be the intention.

DJ Responsible Says:
I got a little nervous thirty seconds into The Suburbs. I was listening to a song called "The Suburbs," looking over song titles like "Wasted Hours," "Suburban War" and "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)," and thinking that this acoustic guitar sounds a little too polished. I mean, do we really need another meddling reflection on middle class ennui?

The Suburbs, despite its thematic familiarity, is so expertly crafted and finely written that it pushes this band's already fascinating musical arc. There's a reason Arcade Fire are the perpetual punching bag for indie-haters (well, two): they're popular, but more importantly, they make epic, envy-inducing albums that leave outsiders looking in. For example, The Suburbs manages to mesh the Breakfast Club sentiment of "Suburban War" ("And now the music divides us into tribes/You grew your hair so I grew mine") with the pummeling faux-angst of "Ready to Start" and the glimmering "Sprawl II" (note to Arcade Fire: release an entire EP of this new sound, please!). If you're too cool for The Suburbs, I can see why you might be envious.

Essential Tracks:

WORTH A LISTEN: Arcade Fire - Ready to Start

Canadian softies The Arcade Fire kicking a little ass.

SONG OF THE MONTH (July 2010): Janelle Monae - Sir Greendown

I'm not sure how to describe this song outside of its calm-within-storm context betwixt two stellar upbeat song series (including the excellent "Cold War" and "Tightrope"). I think David Lynch-ian works best.

It's positively fantasmical and non-sequitous ("Here the dolphins walk like men/Here the cyborgs have a plan"), yet also sung so earnestly and full of calm urgency ("The dragon wants a bite of our love...Let's leave in an hour/Meet me at the tower"). Who knew a fairy tale could be so compelling in 2010?