QUICK RIFFS: Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros - Up From Below

This man is like Jesus (aesthetically and tempermentally, at least), this woman is a godsend (that voice!). At their most joyous and corroborative, the result is undoubtedly splendid. You can't fault them for the fall off from the trio of hypnotic summertime singles that are found here.

Note to self: wait one year, release upbeat indie song with whistling intro.

Essential Tracks:

WORTH A LISTEN: Japandroids - Darkness on the Edge of Gastown

Japandroids apparently used to sound fuzzier and more angsty. Good to know.

WORTH A LISTEN: Janelle Monae - Sir Greendown

An amazing, sultry jam that combines the retro with the futuristic in a haunting and dreamy kind of way. A must-listen.

THE BREAKDOWN (FT. DJ SUB PAR): Gaslight Anthem - American Slang

DJ Responsible Says:

American Slang answers the eternal question: what if a slightly-more-eloquent Sam's Town-era Brandon Flowers made an album with the drummer from The Hold Steady and the lead guitarist from My Morning Jacket?


Sound exciting? Not really. It's more like a mere two notches above a waste of time.

The Hold Steady drumming: check out the uninspired 'thump-thump-thump' ad nauseum on the titular opening track. The My Morning Jacket guitaring: very talented, but often wanky and disconnected, like when Michael J. Fox solos to an unimpressed crowd in Back to the Future. The Brandon Flowers-esque vocals: throaty and serious and, my God, does he know how to rough up some ballad backing vocals.


Sometimes, when it all meshes together, American Slang can be quite palatable. "Orphans" and "Boxer" offer a spirited, concise one-two punch. But don't expect this album to find its way into my heart anytime soon.


DJ Sub Par Says:

I'm often a fan of backwards looking rock bands. (See Visqueen and Free Energy.) And Gaslight Anthem can turn out uptempo straight ahead rock. Their best weapon, as Kevin mentioned, are rock god vocal chords stolen from Bruce Springsteen. The band falters when they continue to rehash "Born to Run." They open the album with the profoundly mediocre title track, which casts a shadow over the tracks that makes everything sound the same. The second track "Stay Lucky" may be better, but still feels like a band coasting. It isn't until they slow down with "Bring it On," does it feel like the band is making music and not just playing songs. They follow it up the finger-snaps of "The Diamond Church Street Choir." Let's hope they continue to evolve their sound, maybe even making their own Nebraska.

Essential Tracks:

QUICK RIFFS: Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma

This album might be a little too cool for me. It's a wild, manic slice of California hip hop-infused electronica that wavers between ambient soundscapes and not-quite-danceable beats. I'm filing it away into the genre I call "painting music."

Essential Tracks:

QUICK RIFFS: Drive-By Truckers - The Big To-Do

My brother once asked, skeptically, why the Drive-By Truckers weren't just another Kings of Leon. I can see the misunderstanding: the twang of the guitars, the Southern-inflected vocals. But Drive-By Truckers are much better songwriters, have a much darker and diversified sound, and don't have a ubiquitous "Use Somebody" clogging the radio.

That said, The Big To-Do is there most lackluster album since I first got into 2004's impressive Decoration Day. "Birthday Boy" is a clever glimpse into the world of rural stripper-dom ("Pretty girls from the smallest towns/Get remembered like storms and droughts"), but "This Fucking Job" and "Drag the Lake Charlie" are pretty straightforward numbers from this normally more creative outfit.

SONG OF THE MONTH (June 2010): Broken Social Scene - "Texico Bitches"

Few songs are as catchy and mysteriously subversive as Broken Soc's latest greatest. It's like a middle finger amidst a sun-soaked carnival. Enjoy, bitches.