Abigail Washburn – City of Refuge : delightful folk-pop; gorgeous Sunday-drive music
Aquabats, the – Hi-Five Soup! : wacky pop
Asobi Seksu – Fluorescence : I want to love it but can only muster a tepid ‘like’
Cave Singers, the – No Witch : fun roots rockers with a barroom flava
Decemberists, the – The King Is Dead : mostly great, a bit overly sedate at times
Deerhoof – Deerhoof -vs- Evil : infinitely more accessible; also still darn good
Destroyer – Kaputt : epic, super-well-constructed soft-rock tome
Dirty Karma – Four Elephants : a few good ones; also, from MEX
Drive-By Truckers – Go-Go Boots : nice enough, but totally unmemorable
Ducktails – Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics : lovin’ the chill-vibe (don’t kill it)
Edie Brickell – Edie Brickell : bland, beige, non-offensive
Go! Team, the – Rolling Blackouts : crazed, hyper-kinetic pop!!
Imaginary Cities – Temporary Resident : ho-hum pop
Lemuria – Pebble : very simple m/f-vox pop-punk(lite)
Minks – By the Hedge : interesting mash of 80’s styles and sounds; a few really high points
Modern Skirts – Gramahawk : kinda-arty new-wave-ish pop; not bad but fairly trite
Mogwai – Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will : deliciously concieved post-rock instrumentals; as good as it gets?
Notes, the – Wishing Well : reverb-heavy girl-group pop
Oh No Oh My – People Problems : cute indie pop
Robert Pollard – Space City Kicks : standard RP – a few gems a lot of the same
Shilpa Ray And Her Happy Hookers – Teenage And Torture : fun, high-energy indie rockers
Sic Alps – Napa Asylum : rambling, shambling, grunge-y lo-fi shufflers; fun!
Smith Westerns – Dye It Blonde : awesome, catchy rockers
Tapes ‘n Tapes – Outside : ho-hum indie shuflers
Tennis – Cape Dory : delightful sunshine pop; easily the worst album cover of ’11
Twilight Hotel – When the Wolves Go Blind : jazz-country-americana soundtrack to a boring conversation
White Lies – Ritual : horrible, arena-sized new-wave crap
Wire – Red Barked Tree : that classic, angular, post-punk sound
Yuck – Yuck : think “Superchunk” and you’re on the money
…And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead – Tao of the Dead : omg-level bloated
Apex Manor – The Year of Magical Drinking : straight power-pop, occasionally quite good
Black Pistol Fire – Black Pistol Fire : burning blues-rock
Boxer Rebellion, the – The Cold Still : big, sweeping, epic, piles of mush
Bright Eyes – The People’s Key : hard to listen to through all the yawning
Civil Wars, the – Barton Hollow : melodic folk-pop, simple and clear
Cloud Nothings – Cloud Nothings : amped-up power-pop
Cut Copy – Zonoscope : decent mid-80s dance-pop album
David Lowery – The Palace Guards : snarky, hazy-lazy, stoner-american: that’s all the cliches in one…
Demon Beat, the – 1956 : cranky fuzzed-out psychedelia in 5 movements
Devotchka – 100 Lovers : more wide-screen sound, still not quite ‘my thing’
Diane Birch (With The Phenomenal Handclap Band) – The Velveteen Age : very fun covers collection
Dinosaur Bones – My Divider : sits between ‘mmmeh’ and ‘bleck’
Disappears – Guider : drone-noise-kraut rockers; quite trance-inducing
Fujiya and Miyagi – Ventriloquizzing : mildly interesting; the “CAN” bits are fun
Get Up Kids, the – There Are Rules : emo lives, albeit in a punk-pop costume; also, sucks
Hannah Peel – The Broken Wave : gentle folk meanderings, ghostly, ethereal, m… zzzzzzz
Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit – Here We Rest : solid countrified pop-rock
Joan as Police Woman – The Deep Field : intriguing mix of soul-rock-r&b
Lower Heaven – Today Is All We Have : very monotonous drone-gaze
Matthew Friedberger – Napoleonette : weirdo piano-pop; interesting concept
MillionYoung – Replicants : spent ‘chillwave’
Mind Spiders, the – The Mind Spiders : brash punkers with plenty of melody
Monotonix – Not Yet : crazed garage rock, a bit mudhoney-esque
New York Dolls – Dancing Backward In High Heels : fun party rock
Nicole Atkins – Mondo Amore : “a pretty soundtrack to violent waters”; great voice, fun album
Phoenix Foundation, the – Buffalo : perfectly nice, breezy, pop
Sand Band, the – All Through The Night : highly atmospheric brit-folk-ishness
Say Hi – Um, Uh Oh : not bad, but 100% unmemorable
Skybombers – Black Carousel : fairly pedestrian indie-rock with some fun hooks
Sonic Youth – Simon Werner a Disparu : quite interesting soundtrack indie-rock
Telekinesis – 12 Desperate Straight Lines : fairly ho-hum power-pop
The Twilight Singers – Dynamite Steps : dark, gritty tales from the underworld
U.S. Royalty – MIRRORS : a few fun riffs and hooks; mostly bleck
Woodsman – Rare Forms : kooky, noisy, psyche-y oddness; sorta dark-AmCo-lite
Answering Machine, the – Lifeline : nice little indie pop album
Avril Lavigne – Goodbye Lullaby : less punk, more sweet pop is not the right formula
Banco De Gaia – Songs From The Silk Road : downtempo world travel
Beady Eye – Different Gear Still Speeding : sounds exactly like (most of) Oasis channeling Lennon
BOAT – Dress like Your Idols : seems like I should love it, but i don’t
Buffalo Tom – Skins : sounds EXACTLY like Buffalo Tom
Craft Spells – Idle Labor : new wave/80s pop/bedroom pop; moody and melancholy
Crystal Stilts – In Love With Oblivion : reverb-heavy psychedelic space-pop?; damn good!
Danielson – Best of Gloucester County : complicated, kooky, neo-psych folk-pop; better concept than reality
Das Pop – The Game : fun 70s-style pop/power-pop
Dirtbombs, the – Party Store : weird as hell, but some pure genius hiding deep
Dodos, the – No Color : all tribal drums and psych-pop guitar; fun!
El Columpio Asesino – Diamantes : atmospheric Spanish rock
Elbow – Build A Rocket Boys! : well written and executed alt-adult; good if you’re an adult?
Eric Fuentes – Eric Fuentes & el Mal : fun Spanish power-pop, a bit paint-by-number tho
Explosions In The Sky – Take Care, Take Care, Take Care : occasionally interesting post-rock instrumentals
Faust – Something Dirty : just dry krautrock, even if it is o.g.
Five O’Clock Heroes – Different Times : 80s retread-rock; fairly lame
Frankie & The Heartstrings – Hunger : interestingly updated 50’s-style Brit rock/pop
Funeral Party – The Golden Age of Knowhere : starts off burning indie-punk-pop jet fuel; crashes into mountain of crap
Ghetto Ways, the – I Always Wanted You : awesomely grimy party-garage-rock
Gift, the – Explode : up-and-down Portugese psych-pop; arena-rock moments are not good…
Holy Ghost! – Holy Ghost! : catchy disco
J Mascis – Several Shades Of Why : quiet, acoustic, and loping – not why i turn to J
Jay-Jay Johanson – Spellbound : boring SWE indie-pop
Jessica Lea Mayfield – Tell Me : modernized take on simple Americana; overproduced in spots
Joy Formidable, the – The Big Roar : huge, giant, epic indie-rock burners
Keren Ann – 101 : lovely, restrained, sophisticated indie-pop – and a touch of lyrical darkness
Kills, the – Blood Pressures : another disc of angular, minimal rockers; losing steam…
Left Lane Cruiser – Junkyard Speed Ball : punk rock hillbillies fuzz up the blues
Limousine – The Ultimate Final Of The Mystic Heavyweights : Spanish psych-pop; uninspiring
Little Wings – Black Grass : somber acoustic melancholy
Lonely Forest, the – Arrows : clever little guitar-indie-rock-pop songs
Lovely Eggs, the – Cob Dominos : over-the-top kooky-pop with guitar noise bits; mostly junk sometimes fun
Loves, the – …Love You : fun, irreverent/goofy indie-pop
Low – C’mon : beautifully recorded & boring as hell
Low Anthem, the – Smart Flesh : restrained, melancholy, NPR-folk/rock
Mazes – A Thousand Heys : fuzz-guitar rockers, with just enough ‘pop’; quick and damn fun
Memphis – Here Comes A City : thoroughly uninteresting dream-pop
MEN – Talk About Body : mostly tepid club-disco as politics with a few gems
Micachu & The Shapes – Chopped & Screwed : insanity on disk; highly intriguing
Middle Brother – Middle Brother : classic old-school (folk-)rock
Morning Teleportation – Expanding Anyway : joyously chaotic borderline-schizophrenic psych-rock
North Mississippi Allstars – Keys To The Kingdom : less blues, more roots/country; good ol’ fun – if dark
O’Death – Outside : fantastically executed americana-folk with an indie edge
Obits – Moody, Standard, and Poor : fun guitar-rock; unfocused and uneven
Oh Mercy – Great Barrier Grief : easy acoustic-pop
Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Belong : mildly interesting indie-gaze-pop; extremely tame, bordering on tepid
Papercuts – Fading Parade : very sleepy, 60’s influenced, dream-pop; also – boring
Parenthetical Girls – Covers : icky
Pauses, the – A Cautionary Tale : mildly interesting indie-rock
PJ Harvey – Let England Shake : some artists take a detour and end in the weeds, PJ ended up in a gold mine
R.E.M – Collapse Into Now : interesting
Radiohead – The King Of Limbs : whatever dude
Ringo Deathstarr – Colour Trip : cool combo of MBV-era shoegaze, BHS-esque texas-acid-freakout, and modern-indie
Rural Alberta Advantage, the – Departing : anthemic folkish rock
Seedy Seeds, the – Verb Noun : peppy folk/electro-pop; quite good when no too-serious
Six Organs of Admittance – Asleep On The Floodplain : CA psych-folk; a very solid SOoA album
Slim Cessna’s Auto Club – Unentitled : gothic americana? hell-fire and brimstone alt-country?; damn great
Slow Runner – Damage Points : stunningly horrible
Sounds, the – Something To Die For : glossy dance-rock; largely grating
Stockholm Syndrome – Apollo : very long, very jammy, very 70’s ramble-rock
Streets, the – Computers And Blues : didn’t care for it when it was relevant, that has not changed
Strokes, the – Angles : well done, but sooo extremely mild
Those Dancing Days – Daydreams & Nightmares : upbeat pop-rock; indie dance
Those Darlins – Screws Get Loose : darn fun garage rock; deeply missing the swang
Tim Cohen’s Magic Trick – Tim Cohen’s Magic Trick : shambolic modern-psych-tinged pop/rock/folk lo-fi; so well done
Toro Y Moi – Underneath The Pine : easy, party-background, retro-funky chillwave tunz
Twin Brother – Best Frenzy : fairly interesting indie rock; glossy atmospherics
Two Koreas, the – Science Island : fun garage rock
View, the – Bread And Circuses : straightforward “whogivesashit”
Vivian Girls – Share the Joy : fun girl-group/beach-fuzz/60s-pop outing; others do it better…
Wanda Jackson – Party Aint Over : fun to hear a modern Wanda, but it sounds more like JW
Wye Oak – Civilian : awesomely atmospheric rockers; re-listens?
Yellowbirds – The Color : delightfully pleasing psychedelic folk/pop
Young Prisms – Friends For Now : kaleidoscopic, modernized shoegaze
Alps, the – Easy Action : lightly-psychedelic electro-folk
Amon Tobin – ISAM : the live show is highly intriguing
Amsterdams, the – Electromagnetica : anthemic indie-pop/rock; interesting
Architecture In Helsinki – Moment Bends : b-b-b-b-b-boring!
Art Brut – Brilliant! Tragic! : clever, engaging art rock
Baseball Project – Volume 2- High and Inside : fun pop novelties
Battles – Gloss Drop : cool-as-ice math rock
Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee Part Two : pale in the discog, but a fun BB album
Bill Callahan – Apocalypse : sparse and laconic, natch
Capsula – In The Land of Silver Souls : killer psych-punk-garage-noise rockers; via Argentina
Cass McCombs – Wit’s End : dour singer-songwriter bleck
Crystal Swells – Goethe Head Soup : a big ol’ noisy racket
David Bazan – Strange Negotiations : well-crafted, although dull, indie rock-pop
Erland and The Carnival – Nightingale : weird, sprawling indie rock; neat tinge of goth
Ezra Furman and The Harpoons – Mysterious Power : highly entertaining shambolic diy indie-folk-rock
Feelies, the – Here Before : fun throwback to “the days”
Felice Brothers, the – Celebration, Florida : expansive southern-gothic-americana; quirky, complex and engaging
Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues : i listen and i listen but i just don’t hear “it”
Foo Fighters – Wasting Light : fun, beefy, rock-and-roll
Generationals – Actor-Caster : harmless indie pop
Girls Names – Dead To Me : fun, simple, lo-fi indie pop/rock
Glasvegas – Euphoric-Heartbreak : overproduced attempt at “arena-gaze”?; totally unmemorable
Guillemots – Walk The River : dull, bland adult-indie-pop
Head and the Heart, the – The Head and the Heart : (could be) nice folk-pop; grabbing for stars and drowning in treacle
High Llamas, the – Talahomi Way : fun, complex, well-executed pop tunes
Holly Golightly and The Brokeoffs – No Help Coming : fun and gritty americana
I Was Totally Destroying It – Preludes : by-the-numbers ’00s indie-pop/rock
I’m from Barcelona – Forever Today : ebullient indie-pop; very fun
Kakkmaddafakka – Hest : lovely, catchy indie-pop
Laura Stevenson and the Cans – Sit Resist : diverse pop-rock
Les Jupes – Modern Myths : very engaging, complex, brooding rock; #suckerforbaritone
Hunx and His Punx – Too Young to Be in Love : retro, garagey, girl-group-pop songs
Middle East, the – I Want That You Are Always Happy : plaintive americana-folk; …boring…
Moriarty – The Missing Room : earthy folkies
Mucho – Mucho : excellent Spanish power-pop (formerly the Sunday Drivers)
Norton – Layers Of Love United : jaunty Portuguese power-pop
Okkervil River – I Am Very Far : attempt to make it BIG; boring as shit
Panda Bear – Tomboy : queasy marriage of drone/noise/chaos with pop structure/melody/invitingness
Paul Simon – So Beautiful or So What : nice
Prefuse 73 – The Only She Chapters
Raveonettes, the – Raven in the Grave : interesting, but uninspiring
Robbie Robertson – How to Become Clairvoyant : dull and drab
Royal Bangs – Flux Outside : sprawling, spastic rockers; genre demolisher
Sonny and the Sunsets – Hit After Hit : catchy indie rockers
Submarines, the – Love Notes/Letter Bombs : highly enjoyable M/F indie-pop
Thao and Mirah – Thao and Mirah : impressively annoying = crushing headache
Times New Viking – Dancer Equired : scuzzy indie-pop/rock; some impressive hooks else drab
Title Tracks – In Blank : straightforward driving power-pop; very fun
TV On The Radio – Nine Types Of Light : a unique arty-rock-funk sound; arresting, tense and urgent rockers
Wave Pictures, the – Beer In The Breakers
Weeknd, the – House of Balloons : mostly crap try at new R&B style
Wombats, the – This Modern Glitch : alternately tolerable and horrid brit-pop
Young Knives – Ornaments From The Silver Arcade : dull indie pop/rock; move along…
Adele – 21 : sensational!! modern-soul-pop
Anna Calvi – Anna Calvi : sexy, sinuous slivers of sweltering sultriness
Babies, the – The Babies : very fun; lo-fi garage-pop
Ben Harper – Give Till It’s Gone : 90% boring
Big Pauper – Beyond My Means : intriguing cut/paste-style beat atmospherics
Black Lips – Arabia Mountain : awesome garage rock; cleaned up sound, just enough skuzz remains
Blondie – Panic Of Girls : hope they had fun making it – i didn’t have fun listening
Boris – Attention Please : electro-pop-gaze?; interesting
Cage the Elephant – Thank You, Happy Birthday : super-fun guitar rock owing Pixes/grunge-era
Calhoun – Heavy Sugar : epic-sappy pop
Cars, the – Move Like This : fun; that vintage Cars sound
Centro-matic – Candidate Waltz : fun, simple, rock&roll
Coathangers, the – Larceny & Old Lace : intense and raucous punk raawk
Comet Gain – Howl Of The Lonely Crowd : sounds nice but has no meat
Cults – Cults : great fun, haven’t I heard most of this before?…
Damon & Naomi – False Beats and True Hearts : dreamy atmospherics; exactly as expected
Dawes – Nothing Is Wrong : epic mellow-classic-rock songs about longing and yearning
Death Cab for Cutie – Codes and Keys : 100% alterna-dad approved; blindingly vanilla-drab
Elected, the – Bury Me In My Ring : silky smooth, well-constructed, indie-pop
Friendly Fires – Pala : clever indie-dance-pop
Fucked Up – David Comes to Life : epic, gnarly, sloppy punk-rock opus; this is the real shit
Fuel Fandango – Fuel Fandango : from funky to flagitious, sometimes in the same song
Gregg Allman – Low Country Blues : tasty, authentic-sounding blues classics
Handsome Furs – Sound Kapital : indebted to the 80’s without being hacky; bonus points for awesome album cover
Jeff The Brotherhood – We Are The Champions : very uneven grunge-pop
Jim White – Sounds of the Americans : odd, quirky, Southern Gothic Americana; based on a score for a play
Josele Santiago – Lecciones De Vértigo : Spanish rock; some fun power-poppers
Kaiser Chiefs – The Future Is Medieval : fun indie-pop/rock; interesting distro
Kate Bush – Director’s Cut : didn’t get it b4, don’t get it now
Keys, the – Bitten by Wolves : 60’s-style psych/garage; uneven but some gems
Kid Loco – Confession of a Belladonna Eater : very French, extremely uneven, some fun high spots
Lamb – 5 (Special Edition) : cool late-90’s electro-ambient moods
Little Comets – In Search Of Elusive Little Comets : energetic mmmeh-pop/rock
Lollipops, the – Hold! : fun Polish indie-rock; chix
M185 – Let The Light In : killer mix of riffs and drone
Man Man – Life Fantastic : kooky eccentricities abound, but solidly holds together
Manchester Orchestra – Simple Math : goddamn boring
Migs, the – Everybody’s Lurkin’ for the Weekend : very fun garage meanderings
Moby – Destroyed : continuing to make people wonder why he’s famous
Neil Young – A Treasure : fun live country turn
Old Calf – Borrow a Horse : fairly ho-hum indie-folk
Pete & The Pirates – One Thousand Pictures : at-times-fairly-fun Britpop 4 2dy
Pony Girl and The Outsiders – Rebel Rebel : by-the-numbers rockers
Psychedelic Horseshit – Laced : kooky, gritty psychedelic explorations; some win, some lose, all interesting
Robert Pollard – Lord of the Birdcage : another set of classic rockers; AGAIN!
Rosebuds, the – Loud Planes Fly Low : easy-breezy pop
Russian Red – Fuerteventura : sexy folk-pop chanteuse
Seapony – Go With Me : treacly indie/twee-pop
Secret Cities – Strange Hearts : mildly-interesting ‘oldies-style’ indie-rock
Shivers, the – More : electro-indie-R&B? weird but not good
Sloan – The Double Cross : fun vintage power-pop
Sondre Lerche – Sondre Lerche : thoroughly enjoyable, simple pop songs with a pleasant variety of textures
Spazzys – Dumb Is Forever : Fun punk-pop, girrrrrly-style
Teens – Teens : fun bomb-shelter 60’s garage psych
Thee Oh Sees – Castlemania : loose, noisy garage-rock; terrific fun if a bit thin
This Will Destroy You – Tunnel Blanket : post-rock for somnambulists
Thurston Moore – Demolished Thoughts : gorgeous psychedelic acoustic guitar; creepy-dreamy
Ty Segall – Goodbye Bread : great noisy garage-glam
Urge Overkill – Rock & Roll Submarine : what was the point of this again?
Vaccines, the – What Did You Expect From the Vaccines : fun indie guitar-rock
Vetiver – The Errant Charm : mellow/boring indie-folk
Vines, the – Future Primitive : hollow, watered-down indie-rock
White Denim – D : sonic exploration=fun!; noodling=BAD!
Wooden Birds, the – Two Matchsticks : charming and enjoyable rockers, the persistent walking guitar lines are fun
Young Galaxy – Shapeshifting : uninspiring electro-pop; nothing to see here…
…And So I Watch you from Afar – Gangs : spirited instrumental rock with some great rough edges
Adults. the – The Adults : b-b-b-b-b-boring
Africa Hitech – 93 Million Miles : crazily broken electro-ness; is this a ‘category; of some sort?
An Horse – Walls : solid guitar-focused female-fronted indie-rock/pop
Baxter Dury – Happy Soup : mildly-interesting pop-rock; oh-so-Brit
Bell Beat, the – Our Manderley : crisp, breathy, happy-go-lucky, indie-pop sounds
Black Eagle Child – Lobelia : mellow and meandering acoustic adventure
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears – Scandalous : awesome retro-sounding garage-R&B; giving the finger to “modern” r&b
Black Rabbits, the – Hypno Switch : snappy indie-rockers
Black Swans, the – Don’t Blame the Stars : country-folk; probably good if you’re into this sort of thing…
Blood Orange – Coastal Grooves : fun and fresh disco-pop-rock; shockingly enjoyable!
Brian Eno – Drums Between The Bells : the instrumental/ambient pieces are pure genius
Brilliant Colors – Again And Again : ho-hum dream-pop-gaze; some fun hooks here and there
Butter – Removable Beast : very nice (aka pedestrian) folkers; ala cowboy junkies
Caretaker, the – An Empty Bliss Beyond This World : crazy-cool “haunted audio” – wow; sampled 78s
Cashier No. 9 – To The Death Of Fun : fun jangly indie w/harmonies and a tinge of psych
Crystal Antlers – Two-Way Mirror : impassioned and with-effort, but a bore
Dangerous Summer, the – War Paint : widecast, arena indie; dull as dirt
Donkeys, the – Born With Stripes : sunshine-y cali-pop/rock
Eleanor Friedberger – Last Summer : now THIS is a modern-pop style I can get behind!
Fair Ohs – Everything is Dancing : nutty VpireWknd/island/lo-fi pop songs
Favourite Sons – The Great Deal Of Love : thoroughly enjoyable; #suckerforbaritone
Feeling, the – Together We Were Made : mostly crap indie-pop
Foster The People – Torches : wide tranches of hipsterdom; one good song
Fountains of Wayne – Sky Full of Holes : that classic FOW sweetened-power-pop sound!
Fredrik – Flora : icy electro-folk; too ‘machine’ for me
Fruit Bats – Tripper : charming, fun, folksy-pop
Gillian Welch – The Harrow & The Harvest : relaxed, easy-listening folk
Grates, the – Secret Rituals : sugary power-pop; ease up on the compression plz
Grouper – AIA : interestingly esoteric and smart atmospheric-pop
Guadalupe Plata – Guadalupe Plata : rolicking old-skool punked out blues
Halos – Living Like Kings In Confined Space : crappy over-serious indie pop
Heartsounds – Drifter : idiotic pop-punk
Houdini Dax – You Belong To Dax Darling : 60’s inspired, up-beat indie-pop; fun if a tad uninspired
Idaho – You Were A Dick : sincere, heart-felt sadcore; aka boring-as-fuck
Idiot Glee – Paddywhack : goofy bedroom doo-wop/pop
Joseph Arthur – The Graduation Ceremony : very, very well done indie-folk; just enough ‘weird’ to keep interest
Kids On A Crime Spree – We Love You So Bad : fun 00’s-style lo-fi indie surf tunez; starts pop ends gaze
King Louie’s Missing Monuments – Painted White : pure power-pop fun
King Post Kitsch – The Party’s Over : awesomely skuzzy 60’s-esque garage rock
Ladybug Transistor, the – Clutching Stems : solid, lush indie-pop; E6!
Las Kellies – Kellies : skittering new-wave/punk via ARG
Loose Salute, the – Getting Over Being Under : 70’s LA-style sunshine pop – with a bit of a dark undertone
Lowline – Lowline : bbbbboring bbbbrit-pop
Marissa Nadler – Marissa Nadler : sweet voice; i need more texture
Memory Tapes – Player Piano : borderline goofy electro-dance-pop; something great is buried in the nonsense
Mickey – Rock N’ Roll Dreamer : killer garage-ified glam-rock
Midway State, the – Paris Or India : booming, anthemic synth-drums-guitar-falsetto indie-pop; ho-hum
Milk Maid – Yucca : broken indie-pop, lo-fi flavor
Miracle Parade – Hark! …And Other Lost Transmissions : borderline horrible
Moon Duo – Mazes : cool drone-psych; slick AND scuzzy
My Pet Dragon – Mountains And Cities : sappy retro (90’s?) indie-pop
Nick Diamonds – I Am An Attic : interesting, quirky art-pop; unfinished and unpolished – still fun
Other Lives – Tamer Animals : tepid, over-done indie
Peaking Lights – 936 : dub-pop-gaze
People’s Temple, the – Sons of Stone : defiantly retro garage rock
Philosophonic – Flourish : well-done pop but dull; m sweet moments are sweet
Portugal, the Man – In the Mountain In the Clouds : 11 versions of the same catchy indie song
Psychic Paramount, the – II : bombastic, muscular, prog-influenced post-rock; 1 listen chump
Religious Knives – Smokescreen : stonertastic drone-psych
Selebrities – Delusions : mildly interesting icy-new-wave-gaze
She Keeps Bees – Dig On : killer slabs of broken-down blues
Skint And Demoralised – This Sporting Life : very fun mix of punk/pop/guitar-rock
Skull Defekts, the – Peer Amid : weapon-grade awesomeness; brutal, propulsive, dark rock
Snowman – Absence : percussion driven electro-spazz ;very arty
Springbok – INK : strange electro-drone almost-metal; oddly compelling…
They Might Be Giants – Join Us : fun, classic TMBG tunes; best in years
Cute Lepers, the – Adventure Time : cute power-pop/punk
Features, the – Wilderness : doggedly ho-hum
Knxwledge – Hexual Sealings : modern beat-dub; NotMyThing
Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring For My Halo : awesome fuzz-busted guitar infused drear/dream-rock
SSION – BENT : extremely funky queer-art-disco!
Stereo MC’s – Emperor’s Nightingale : interesting mix of breakbeat/dubstep/electro-pop
Thievery Corporation – Culture of Fear : atomspheric mood-busting chilled r&b-funk-reggae-electro-dance-pop+…
Uglysuit, the – Awwww, Schucks : exceptionally uninspiring
Umpire – Now We’re Active : very professionally executed, and deeply tepid, rock
UNKLE – Where Did The Night Fall/Another Night Out
Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Unknown Mortal Orchestra : gloriously-weird art-psych-funk-pop concoctions; drags on at points
War on Drugs, the – Slave Ambient : great heartland guitar-rock
Washed Out – Within and Without : dreamy chillwave-pop; love the pop, not so much the chillwave
Waters – Out In The Light : pleasantly shuffling indie-rock
We Are Augustines – Rise Ye Sunken Ships : loosely anthemic, brooding, indie-rock
White Wives – Happeners : decent mid-tempo chant-along punk-pop
William Elliott Whitmore – Field Songs : gritty, minimal folk rock
Wooden Shjips – West : awesome groove-filled psychedelic stoner-drone rock
Woods – Sun & Shade : cool psychedelic-campfire folk; uneven…
Yacht – Shangri-La : electro pop/funk; alternately awful and interesting
Young, the – Voyagers of Legend : fun-ish fuzzed out garage/indie/rock/pop
100 Monkeys – Liquid Zoo : scattershot pop
Army Navy – The Last Place : decently-executed indie-jangle-pop
Blitzen Trapper – American Goldwing : Brit-pop (Aussie-style)+FOW sound; decent
Boston Spaceships – Let It Beard : long-long-long, but filled with greatness (and very little filler)
Crookes, the – Chasing After Ghosts : smart romantic Brit-pop; propulsively jangly, also whiny
David Kilgour And The Heavy Eights – Left By Soft : extremely enjoyable guitar-driven pop-rock
Dog Day – Deformer : very fun lo-fi indie rockers packed with melody; cool vocal delivery
Driver Drive Faster – Open House : earnest indie-rock; that is all
Dum Dum Girls – Only in Dreams : sound all cleaned up, now sounds like Pretenders; missing the fuzz
Ettes, the – Wicked Will : solid indie-rock, hitting all the right buttons
Fennesz & Ryuichi Sakamoto – Flumina : incredibly interesting; is it listenable?
Fight, the – New Young Electric : fun, swinging, simple indie rock
Fungi Girls – Some Easy Magic : catchy, pop-influenced garage-psych-surf
Ganglians – Still Living : fun lo-fi/surf with a dollop of 80’s reverb-rock
Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost : retro-tinged broken-romance indie songs for lovers
Grooms – Prom : another for the “mmmeh” pile
Guy Clark – Songs & Stories
Ha Ha Tonka – Death Of A Decade : Midwestern rock married to country; greatly enjoyable
Human Eye – They Came From The Sky : raw sci-fi/punk/garage rockers
Ivy – All Hours : lush electro-dance-pop
Jacuzzi Boys – Glazin : super-fun indie/garage-surf-rock
Jay-Z & Kanye West – Watch the Throne
Jayhawks, the – Mockingbird Time : nice Byrds-ian alt-country
Juliana Hatfield – There’s Always Another Girl : occasionally interesting pop
Mates Of State – Mountaintops : they try sooooo hard…
Mister Heavenly – Out Of Love : fun indie doo-wop-pop
Omar Souleyman – High School Graffiti : f-f-f-f-f-funky party time
Panics, the – Rain On The Humming Wire : Brit-pop (Aussie-style)+FOW sound; decent
Pepper Rabbit – Red Velvet Snow Ball : mildly-interesting psych-pop;
Primus – Green Naugahyde : that freaky-funky-weirdy Primus sound
Raphael Saadiq – Stone Rollin’ : great R&B
Richard Buckner – Our Blood : RB really is great. And I NEVER listen to him for some reason…
Shlohmo – Bad Vibes : a woozy, anxious wolf in peaceful sheep clothing; feeling=stoned
Shonen Knife – Osaka Ramones : cute
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks – Mirror Traffic : tight and loose, rocking and laconic, virtuoso not noodling; great, tight, SM album
Tune-Yards – Whokill : crazy-inventive and unique sound; two listens max
Weeknd, the – Thursday : still just crap R&B to me…
Xray Eyeballs – Not Nothing : quite fun garage rock; needs Knox
Young Girls – Young Girls : derivative take on modern-rock; ala Drums, Surfer Blood, etc.; unsearchable
Youngteam – Daydreamer : smooth Scandi-gaze
Akira Sakata & Jim O’Rourke with Chikamorachi – And That’s The Story of Jazz : I don’t think I “get” this…
Arctic Monkeys – Suck It And See : decent, but awfully subdued
Austra – Feel It Break : oh-so-serious; please…
Ball Park Music – Happiness And Surrounding Suburbs : fun, light, indie-pop/rock; same-y
Bart And Friends – Stories With The Endings Changed : high-art pop songs; needs more jangle
Ben Lee – Deeper Into Dream : adventurous sounds exploring dreams…; at times quite good
Black Ghosts, the – When Animals Stare : indie/electro dance-pop; #notmything
Bombay Bicycle Club – A Different Kind Of Fix : professionally boring
Boy – Mutual Friends : pleasant, easy-to-listen adult-pop
Caseworker, [the] – Letters From The Coast : interesting shoegaze-pop
Chris Isaak – Beyond the Sun : damn boring; is this GILF-bait?
Country Mice – Twister : solid, rambling indie-rock with a Crazy Horse flava
Crooked Fingers – Breaks In The Armor : damn solid singer-songwriter rockers; one and done
Das Racist – Relax : amusing wisecracks mixed with groovy beats; mostly does-not-compute
Dead Trees, the – Whatwave : fun Strokes-ish rhythm-driven indie rock
Deer Tick – Divine Providence : drunken garage-pop; like a Southern-rock Black Lips
Demos, the – Lovely : groovy, straightforward power-pop
dEUS – Keep You Close : solid atmospheric rock
DJ Shadow – The Less You Know, The Better : sometimes fun; sounds dated?
Drums, the – Portamento : fun, propulsive modern pop-rock
Feist – Metals : well-executed and extremely dull
Florence + The Machine – Ceremonials : songs are painfully formulaic, but what a voice
Gauntlet Hair – Gauntlet Hair : very lo-fi rock/R&B/atmospheric oddities; infinitely more intriguing with every listen
Gold-Bears – Are You Falling In Love : upbeat, shambolic, lo-fi indie garage rockers
Greg MacPherson – Disintegration Blues : ok, sure…
Hella – Tripper : good place to turn if you’re looking for some math rock
I Got You On Tape – Church Of The Real : egad
Icebird – The Abandoned Lullaby : mostly throwaway neo-soul/hip-hop-funk
Jane’s Addiction – The Great Escape Artist : a bit surprisingly, it’s not ALL horrible
Jared Mees And The Grown Children – Only Good Thoughts Can Stay : Americana/pop confessionals
Jesse Sykes And The Sweet Hereafter – Marble Son : totally unmemorable
Jezabels, the – Prisoner : sonically-adventurous, bombastic, arena-flavored indie
John Zorn – The Dreamers Christmas : easily the best xmas record of the year
Josh Rouse And The Long Vacations – Josh Rouse And The Long Vacations : simple, nice, Euro-flavored indie pop
Kasabian – Velociraptor! : big quasi-experimental arena rock; much to dance-beat at times
Kelley Stoltz – To Dreamers : fun, retro-60s rockers ala Beatles/Kinks/Byrds/etc
Kevin Devine – Nevermind : loving rendition, but why not just listen to the original?
Kickdrums, the – Meet Your Ghosts : uneven, but fun takes on pop songs; diverse sounds and textures
Kooks, the – Junk Of The Heart : bland pop tunes; ‘B’ for effort
Le Fant – Last Chance To Dance : at-times-rousing indie; #notdance
Library Voices – Summer Of Lust : excellent indie pop; !
Locksley – Locksley
Loney Dear – Hall Music : pleasant chamber-folk
Low Cut Connie – Get Out the Lotion : riotously fun country(-ish) do-wop rock
Lê Almeida – Mono Maçã : great Brazilian indie/power-pop gem
M83 – Hurry Up We’re Dreaming : good French electronica; nothing much else to say
Magazine – No Thyself : SOLID art-punk-rock, relevant as hell
Mason Brothers – Ghost Season : nice acoustic-based indie-folk
Matthew Sweet – Modern Art : well-executed and concieved power-pop; nothing earthshaking
Meat Puppets – Lollipop : intricate, eccentric country/college-rock; thoroughly enjoyable
Metallica & Lou Reed – Lulu : wow
Motel Beds – Sunfried Dreams : fun Dayton garage rock
Mr. Gnome – Madness In Miniature : decent indie-gaze
Neon Indian – Era Extraña : mellow, interesting chill-pop
New Ruins – This Life Is Not Ours To Keep : great softly-sung guitar-based rock/jangle; better listen-by-listen
Nick Lowe – The Old Magic : glorious sophisticated pop, with some swang
Nicolai Dunger – Ballad Of This Land : couldn’t stay awake long enough to really judge …
Nocturnes, the – Aokigahara : dense folk-gaze(?)
Noel Gallagher – Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds : some absolute brilliance here; mixed with some crap
Of Monsters And Men – My Head Is An Animal : jaunty he-she folk-pop
OK Sweetheart – Home : sweetheart voice, 60’s pop tunes; cute
Owen – Ghost Town : impressively boring
Pack A.D. – Unpersons : rowdy blues/punk
Paley & Francis – Paley & Francis
Patti Smith – Outside Society
Peter Gabriel – New Blood
Prince Rama – Trust Now : cringe-worthy
Psychic Babble – My Brothers Ears/My Sisters Eyes : awesome psychedelic indie-pop
Radio Moscow – The Great Escape Of Leslie Magnafuzz : awesome old-skool riff-heavy psychedelic-blues-rock
Rangers – Pan Am Stories : easy-easy lo-fi psychedelic ambient; nice high spots
Razika – Program 91 : very sweet indie-pop
Real Estate – Days : sunny and accessible; no meat
Red Hot Chili Peppers – I’m With You : mildly interesting; wholly irrelevant
Ry Cooder – Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down
Ryan Adams – Ashes and Fire : occasionally good alt-country, largely boring; at least it’s not ‘rap’ or ‘metal’
Shapes Have Fangs – Dinner in the Dark : very (very!) lo-fi garage-pop gems; fun as heck
Sleeping Bag – Sleeping Bag : middle-of-the-road
Spectrals – Bad Penny : swinging fun; lightweight, indie-retro-pleasant
St. Vincent – Strange Mercy : clever, sophisticated, loose, virtuostic pop; awesome!
SuperHeavy – SuperHeavy : solidly interesting; also wtf
Tom Waits – Bad As Me : crackling, sputtering, growling and loving life
Stevie Jackson – (I Can’t Get No) Stevie Jackson : cute twee-pop; points for a great album name
Tweeds, the – Goliath : self-billed as ‘indie psychedelic shoegaze’, but the best parts are pure power-pop
Veronica Falls – Veronica Falls : it swings, but doesn’t quite connect
Viva Brother – Famous First Words
Atlas Sound – Parallax : more quality goodness; cranking up the “pop”
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Hysterical : ho-hum indie rock
Fog Joggers, the – Let’s Call It A Day : the best parts are pedestrian indie rock; we won’t talk about the worst parts
Kimya Dawson – Thunder Thighs
Miles Kane – Colour Of The Trap : decent, interesting, amusing – plus other middling praise
Muscovy – Long Division : very nice acoustic-guitar-based pop
Russian Circles – Empros : gloriously heavy instrumental post-rock/metal
She & Him – A Very She & Him Christmas : 100% pedestrian
Strange Boys, the – Live Music : they keep aiming for something different and end up just missing
Summer Camp – Welcome To Condale : thoroughly whatevs
Tokyo Police Club – 10x10x10 : fun cover set; 10 covers x 10 days x 10 years
Total Slacker – Trashin’ : fun, albeit throwaway, nod to 90s indie rock
Twerps – Twerps : easy-strummed lo-fi indie; decent but all the same
Walkabouts – Travels In The Dustland
Wheeler Brothers – Portraits : fun indie rockers; nothing earthshaking, but damn solid fun
Widowspeak – Widowspeak : nice fem-vox 90’s style indie; gauzey and sensuous (very ‘Mazzy Star’)
Wilco – The Whole Love [Deluxe Edition]
Wild Flag – Wild Flag : punchy, tight power-pop right on the edge of chaos
Work Drugs – Summer Blood : hypnagogic pop; the sound of ‘hip’ in 2010-2011
Wrong Words, the – The Wrong Words
Yawn – Open Season : Harmonic experimental pop; ramshackle fun
Zola Jesus – Conatus : very popular, people love it; I am not those people and find it fucking boring
Zombies, the – Breathe Out, Breathe In
13ghosts – Garland Of Bottle Flies : indie-Americana/Southern Gothic/soft-strummed s-s; zzzzzzzzz
Awkward I – Everything On Wheels : gentle Dutch folk-pop; over-orchestrated
Black Box Revelation, the – My Perception : 1st half: Stones blues-rock = great; 2nd half: psych-rock = hapless
Black Keys – El Camino : damn, they did it again!
Black Tusk – Set The Dial : stoner metal!!; ‘swamp metal’ is about right
Black Whales – Shangri-La Indeed : awesomely great American rock; some power-pop, a touch of psych, tight instrumentation, good tunes. Winning!
Blackout Beach – Fuck Death : weird electro/synth/goth oddities
Blouse – Blouse : blurry, 80s-based, synth-rock jamz; good
Buffalo Moon – Selva Surreal : interesting electro-bossa-nova thing…
Cass McCombs – Humor Risk : fun ‘driving record’; upbeat, but still ‘interesting’
Charles Bradley – No Time For Dreaming : excellent retro-soul funk workouts
David Lynch – Crazy Clown Time : mostly blues based; all weird stories and strange textures
Dirty Beaches – Practical ESP OST : strange ambient-ish soundtrack to an odd film
DJ Cam – Seven : trying-to but not accomplishing, the old DJ Cam sound/style; mostly just dull
Eef Barzelay – Fan Chosen Covers (Best of) : mostly dull set of covers
EMA – Past Life Martyred Saints : excitingly intriguing gaze/drone-pop; perhaps more promise than fact
Girl in a Coma – Exits & All the Rest : occasionally fun rockers
Goodnight Circus – Sweet Lime Scribbles : fun ‘old-timey’ gypsy-jazz
Horse Thieves, the – Outlaw Ballads : tight country ballads; “like eating a dirt sandwich”
Hotel Lights – Girl Graffiti : softly-sung singer-songwriter nothingness
Icarus Himself – Career Culture : decent but totally nondescript indie
Japanther – Beets, Limes and Rice : quick, fun, smart – PUNK!
JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound – Want More : hoppin’-fun r&b workouts
Johnny Foreigner – Johnny Foreigner vs Everything
Jonny Corndawg – Down On the Bikini Line : very fun, catchy country spunk!
Koria Kitten Riot – The Lows And The Highs : intriguing Finnish indie pop
Los Campesinos! – Hello Sadness : spastic emo; played out
Marissa Nadler – Covers Volume II : horrible. boring as fuck. i rather listen to Lulu.
Mr. Oizo – Stade 2 : ‘Calculatedly batshit’
Purling Hiss – Dizzy Polizzy CS : wonderfully broken no-fi folk-rock gems; almost unlisteneable
Radical Dads – Mega Rama
Roots, the – undun : air-tight, lazer-focused concept hip-hop
Scott H. Biram – Bad Ingredients : no-frill dirt blues punk
Scott Weiland – The Most Wonderful Time of the Year : oh dear god
Black Belles, the – The Black Belles : fun ‘goth-garage’; more smoke than fire
Fall, the – Ersatz G.B : ornery, cantankerous, minimalist punk
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings – Soul Time! : great contempo r&b, with a pro-revolution bent
Sigur Ros – Inni
Sisters Of Your Sunshine Vapor – Spectra Spirit : excellent heavy-psychedelic-rock
Spotlight Kid – Disaster Tourist : reverb-laden shoegaze ala MBV, Lush, Ride, et al; largely numbing
Thee Oh Sees – Carrion Crawler/The Dream : crazy/wild garage mayhem
U.S. Girls – U.S. Girls on KRAAK : genre-neutral lo-fi pop; drone, do-wop, noise, …
Violens – Nine Songs
Woodsman – Mystic Places
Work Drugs – Aurora Lies
WU LYF – Go Tell Fire to the Mountain
Laura Veirs – Tumble Bee
Calexico – The Guard OST
Andrew Bird – Norman OST
-live-
War On Drugs – Bowery Ballroom, NYC 01-08
Dean Wareham – Maxwells, Hoboken NJ 01-13
Vaccines, the – Spaceland, LA CA, 01-25
Decemberists – Beacon Theatre, NYC 01-26
Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise – Whirlyball Atlanta, Roswell GA 02-24
Asylum Street Spankers – White Rabbit Cabaret, Indianapolis IN 02-26
Middle Brother – Paradise, Boston MA 03-03
Baseball Project – 40 Watt, Athens GA 03-12
Dawes – Majestic Theatre, Madison WI 03-13
Yuck – Stubb’s, Austin TX – SXSW 03-16
Antlers, the – Burst Apart (Live at SXSW) 03-17
Deer Tick (playing as Deervana) – Lustre Pearl, Austin TX – SXSW 03-19
J. Roddy Walston & the Business – 40 Watt, Athens GA 03-26
LCD Soundsystem – Live At Madison Square Garden, 04-02
War on Drugs – Webster Hall, NYC 04-03
Kurt Vile & The Violators – Melting Point, Athens, GA 04-08
Real Estate – Bell House, Brooklyn NY 05-20
Fleet Foxes – BBC Radio 2 in Concert 06-03
Calexico – Mesa Amphitheatre, Mesa AZ, 06-10
Purling Hiss – Bowery Ballroom, NYC 06-11
Blitzen Trapper – Bluebird Theater, Denver CO 07-20
Kurt Vile & The Violators – 40 Watt Club, Athens GA 08-06
War On Drugs, the – Cameo Gallery, Brooklyn NY 08-19
Twilight Singers – World Cafe, Philadelphia PA WXPN-FM 08-25
Casper and the Cookies – 40 Watt Club, Athens GA 10-14
Dead Confederate – Georgia Theatre, Atlanta GA 10-22-11
Sebadoh – 40 Watt Club, Athens GA 11-07-11
Wooden Shjips – Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY 11-10-11
Drive-By Truckers – Live At Third Man
Flaming Lips, the – The Soft Bulletin Live La Fantastique De Institution
Josh Ritter – Iveagh Gardens
Mercury Rev – Beyond The Swirling Clouds
Twilight Singers – Live In Europe
Vast – Live In New York City
White Stripes, the – Live In Mississippi 2007
Melvins – Sugar Daddy Live
Damien Jurado – Live at Landlocked : good songs; delivery sooooo mellow & dour tho
Vaccines, the – Live From London, England : fun live ver of new album
Feedbacks, the – El Loco Club (live)
Mayer Hawthorne & The County – Direct to Disc 1 LP
Pearl Jam – Vault Series: Moore Theater, 01-17-1992
Dead Weather, the – Sea of Cowards: Live at Third Man
Jacuzzi Boys – Live at Third Man LP
Jeff The Brotherhood – Live At Third Man LP
Mumford And Sons – Live from Shepherd’s Bush Empire
Tyvek – Live at Third Man LP
White Denim – Live At the Ghost Room
White Denim – The Warm Up at Ardent Studios, Memphis TN 06-16-11
Angus And Julia Stone – Triple J Live
Matthew Sweet – Acoustic & Live Sampler
TV on the Radio – World Cafe Live EP
-re-release/comps/mixes-
Jayhawks, the – Tomorrow The Green Grass
Angus And Julia Stone – Memories Of An Old Friend : nice collection of tender ballads
Alice In Chains – Dirt (remaster)
Green Day – Awesome As Fuck : Awesome! As Fuck!
Primal Scream – Screamadelica (remaster)
Queens Of The Stone Age – Queens Of The Stone Age (remaster)
Pantha Du Prince – XI Versions Of Black Noise
Black Francis – Abbabubba (B-sides. Etc.)
Wolf + Lamb -vs Soul Clap – DJ-Kicks
Yuck – (Instrumentals)
VA – Sing For Your Meat A Tribute To Guided By Voices
Foo Fighters – Medium Rare : fun covers collection
Midlake – Late Night Tales : cool folk-rock *chilldown* mix
Giant Sand – Black Out (reissue)
Sonny Smith – 100 Records Volume II I Miss The Jams
Thee Oh Sees – Singles Vol. 1 + 2 : pockets of awesomeness
VA – Beatlesque Again
VA – MOJO: Brotherhood
Black Angels, the – Another Nice Pair
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears – Livin’ in the Jungle mixtape
Ennio Morricone – A Tribute To Ennio Morricone
Josh Rouse – Summertime
Lovedrug – Best Of I Am Lovedrug
Mercury Rev – Deserter’s Songs (Remastered Deluxe Edition)
VA – Back To The Summer Of
VA – Newermind: A Tribute Album
VA – Rave On Buddy Holly
VA – STROKED: A Tribute To Is This It
VA – Warp Records Label Sampler
Wild Moccasins – Skin Collision Past (reissue-deluxe ed)
Lambchop – Turd Goes Back
Arcade Fire – The Suburbs (deluxe ed)
Archers Of Loaf – Icky Mettle (deluxe ed)
Elvis Presley – The Real Elvis
Screaming Trees – Last Words The Final Recordings : vintage Lanegan
Sebadoh – Bakesale (deluxe ed)
va – The Book Of Mormon OST
Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On (40th Anniversary Ed) (3cd)
Steve Mason and Dennis Bovell – Ghosts Outside : fun dub remixes of _Boys Outside_
Brian Jonestown Massacre, the – The Singles Collection 1992-2011
Cowboy Junkies – Sing In My Meadow: The Nomad Series , Vol 3 : some raw gems in here
Fatboy Slim – Best Of The Bootlegs
Jesus & Mary Chain, the – Honey’s Dead [deluxe 2cd]
Metric – Fantasies Flashbacks (bonus)
Nirvana – Nevermind (super deluxe ed)
Pearl Jam – Pearl Jam Twenty
Sloan – Select Singles 1992-2011
Stephin Merritt – Obscurities
va – Late Night Tales: MGMT
va – O Brother, Where Art Thou {Deluxe Edition}
va – Those Byrds Have Flown (A Byrdsian Tribute)
va – Tributes Or Not Tributes Vol. 6
va – Uncut: Still Smiling A Tribute to the Genius of Brian Wilson
Giant Sand – Chore Of Enchantement [25th Anniversary Ed]
va – Kidz Bop 20 (Deluxe Edition)
Pink Martini – A Retrospective
va – Listen To Me Buddy Holly
va – The Lost Notebooks Of Hank Williams
Yuck – B-Sides
Sebastien Tellier – Love Songs
Amy Winehouse – Lioness: Hidden Treasures : Damn good, but sad.
Calexico – Selections From Road Atlas 1998-2011
Giant Sand – Cover Magazine (reissue)
R.E.M. – Part Lies Part Heart Part Truth Part Garbage [1982-2011]
Beach Boys – The Smile Sessions
Phil Spector – The Philles Album Collection box set
Smashing Pumpkins – Gish [Deluxe reissue]
Ty Segall – Singles 2007-2010
va – Come As You Are: A 20th Anniversary Tribute To Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’
va – DJ Kicks: Gold Panda
va – I Kill SY – A Sonic Youth’s Tribute
va – Late Night Sessions
va – Sleigh Bells In The Snow
va – This Warm December_ A Brushfire Holiday Vol. II
Calexico – Road Atlas 1998-2011
Tim Hecker – Ravedeath
They Might Be Giants – Album Raises New and Troubling Questions
-singles/EPs-
Best Coast & Wavves & No Joy – Summer Is Forever EP
Beth Ditto – Beth Ditto EP
Catwalk – One By Words b.w. Home : fun indie psych-pop
Cowboy Junkies – Demons EP (digi bonus) : half standard CJ, half rambling nonsense
El Columpio Asesino – Toro single
Lovedrug – EP Part III : gently strummed pussy rock
Rival Tribes – Tiger Print EP : kooky rhythms, beats and synth textures
Tape Deck Mountain – Secret Serf EP : gurgling, spacey, shoegazey; or just poorly recorded pop
The Vacant Lots – Confusion b.w. Cadillac : great garage-psych-drone-pop
Vox And The Hound – Hermosa EP
Yuck – Rubber EP
A Taut Line & Hong Kong In The 60’s – Unwoken EP : ouch
Beach Fossils – What a Pleasure EP : nice fuzzy-buzzy beach-feel pop
Broken Bells – Meyrin Fields EP : it’s not ALL boring
Charlatans, the – Warm Sounds EP : reworking of their old tunes; semi-interesting
Dum Dum Girls – He Gets Me High EP : fun, clean pop sounds
First Aid Kit – Universal Soldier single : excellent folk-pop reworkings; also cute
Gruff Rhys – Sensations In The Dark cds : great pop single
Mantles, the – Raspberry Thighs 7” : fun lo-fi psych
Vaccines, the – If You Wanna EP : damn solid fun
Slowwave – Drag Lake Sin EP : ho-hum radiohead rips
Dreams – Forgotten Thoughts EP : dreamy, hazy chillwave; from portugal…
Animal Collective – Keep EP
Antony and the Johnsons – Swanlights EP
Beach Fossils & Wild Nothing – Gruesome Flowers: A Tribute to The Wake single
Bomba Estereo – Ponte Bomb EP
Decemberists, the – Live At Bull Moose EP : some great country versions
Deerhunter – Memory Boy single : more DH gems
Flaming Lips with Neon Indian single : freakish and fun
Flaming Lips, the – Gummy Song Skull EP
Franz Ferdinand – Covers EP
Fresh & Onlys, the – Secret Walls EP
Grinderman – Evil 12”
Here We Go Magic – The January EP
Honeycomb Bones – Evil Age EP : noisy, gritty, feral modern garage; think “the kills”
Los Campesinos! – Heat Rash 1 single
Love Inks – Blackeye single
Luminary Youth – Weekend Dreams EP
Metronomy – The Look EP
Moby – The Day EP
Morning Benders, the – Japan Echo EP
New Pornographers, the – Moves 7”
Of Montreal & Casiokids – Split 12”
Radiohead – Supercollider-The Butcher (single)
Superchunk & Coliseum – Split 7”
They Might Be Giants – Join Us EP
Toro Y Moi/Cloud Nothings – I Will Talk To You For No Reason split
Ty Segall – Ty Rex EP : fun, noisy T Rex covers
Tyvek – Time Change 7” : quick blasts of punk chaos
Uh Huh Her – Black And Blue EP : fucking horrible
VA – The Bee Sides 7”
Velvet Underground, the – Foggy Notion/I Can’t Stand It 12” : behold – brilliance!
Vivian Girls – I Heard You Say 7”
We Are Trees – Girlfriend EP
Wolf Gang – Dancing With The Devil CDS
Wombats, the – Anti-D EP
Jimi Hendrix Experience, the – Fire
Cough Cool – Cough Cool EP : swampy, hazy chillwave
Tim Cohen – Bad Blood EP : well crafted psych-pop songs
Sea and Cake, the – The Moonlight Butterfly EP
Black Angels, the – Phosgene Nightmare 10″
Chad VanGaalen – Your Tan Looks Supernatural EP
Arcade Fire – Culture War/Speaking In Tongues CDS : feat. D Byrne
Asobi Seksu – Perfectly Crystal EP
Automatic Toys – Not Enough Glue EP
Bare Wires – Don’t Ever Change 7” : awesome ‘soft’ punk
Brave Irene – Brave Irene EP : buzzing 60’s-flavor girl-group pop
Dead City – Volt Sessions EP : fucking crunchy rock
Dirty Lungs, the – Deregulate Your Heart EP
DJ Shadow – I Gotta Rokk EP
Hex Dispensers/King Tuff – Scion AV Garage split
Hunters – Hunters EP
jj – No One Can Touch Us Tonight single
Johnny Foreigner – There When You Need It EP
Microwaves Killed Johnnie Cochran – Feed Ye Heavies II EP
Mock Duck – Altars Of Radness EP : fun, punchy rockers
UNKLE – Only The Lonely EP
Peter Bjorn and John – Dig A Little Deeper 7”
Telekinesis – Dirty Thing EP
Thieves Like Us – Your Love Runs Still EP
Veils, the – Troubles of the Brain EP
Avi Buffalo – How Come? single
Beach Boys, the – Cabin Essence 7”
Bumblebeez – I’m A Cowboi EP : wacky electro-bangers
Deerhunter – Rhapsody Originals (live at sxsw11) EP
Diagrams – Diagrams EP : serene indie-pop
Flaming Lips – Gummy Song Fetus
Funki Porcini – At the Edge of the World EP : organic downtempo ambience
Hoop Dreams – XCPR EP : 80’s style neo-goth indie-pop/rock
How to Dress Well – Just Once EP : over-orchestrated pop
Krang – Speed of Tent 7” : stoner psych
Leagues – Leagues EP : fun little indie-pop tunes
MV & EE – Country Stash EP : loping, mostly-instrumental snippets
Nightmare and The Cat – Nightmare and The Cat EP : fun, swinging indie rock/pop
Nighty Nite, the – Dimples EP : dark and doom-y indie-rock
Purling Hiss – Lounge Lizards EP : brutally lo-fi, but oddly compelling
Royal Talons – Royal Talons EP : sludgy doom-metal
Sun Airway – Wild Palms 7” : mildly interesting symphonic pop
Sun Glitters – Think Twice 7” : cut-paste electro-gaze oddities with groovy embedded melody
Teen Daze – Tour EP : chill-ie electro-pop
Moonface – Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I’d Hoped EP : chopped and broken pop; dude’s weird
Motor City Drum Ensemble – L.O.V.E. (DJ-KiCKS) EP : fun-ky
Throwing Muses – The Season Sessions: Summer EP : love the sound
Top Girls – RISE 7” : tasty bits of lo-fi indie-r&b/pop
Widowspeak – Gun Shy EP : sultry, sexy indie-dream-pop
Wilco – I Might bw I Love My Label – 7”
Wolf Gang – Wolf Gang EP : crazily catchy indie pop
Woodkid – Iron EP : ART
Young Buffalo – Young Von Prettylips EP : eclectic indie rock; highly derivative…
Bjork – Cosmogony EP
Collider – Vaede EP : very engaging electro-pop-gaze
Decemberists, the – iTunes Session EP : come high-quality rarities and covers here
Dirty Gold – Roar EP : easy-flowing beachy pop, a bit vampire weekend-y
DJ Shadow – I’m Excited EP
Dom – Family Of Love EP : bright joyful pop jangles, just enough aural mist
Frightened Rabbit – A Frightened Rabbit EP
Gross Magic – Teen Jamz EP : great retro jamzzz; hit all the right references
Moogwai – Viola EP
Nicolas Jaar – Nico’s Bluewave Edits EP
Oupa – Oupa EP
Psychic Babble – My Own Stupid Mouth EP : highly-enjoyable-gaze
Thievery Corporation – Vampires Remixed EP
TV Girl – Benny and the Jetts EP : sample-tastic pop bliss
War on Drugs, the – Mile Marker Sessions EP
We Are The City – High School EP
Ryan Trott – Spirit Home EP : “8 songs of lo-res hi-fi bedroom dream psych garage folk”
Armistice – Armistice EP : uber-promising he-she pop
Belle & Sebastian – Come On Sister 12”
Britannicas, the – The 3 sided single
Flaming Lips – Strobo Trip EP : 6 hours… those boys will try anything…
Florence + The Machine – Shake It Out EP
Free School – Ranting And Raving EP
Gaslight Anthem, the – iTunes Session EP : Springsteen fans will love it, everyone else…
Knxwledge – Hud Dreems EP : chilled out, stoned, instrumentals
Lotte Kestner – Extra Covers EP : Extra Bleck
Lower Cut – Lower Cut EP
Magic Trick – The Glad Birth Of Love EP : long-form psych-pop(-prog)
Melvins_The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Black Betty split 7”
Miles Kane – Come Closer EP : great, rolicking rockers
Minks – Araby 7”
Mogwai – Earth Division EP
Moon Duo – Horror Tour EP
Noel Gallagher – The Death Of You And Me single
Queens Of The Stone Age – How Tho Handle A Rope single
Real Estate – It’s Real 7”
Stripmall Architecture – Albino Peacock EP
Kurt Vile – So Outta Reach EP : getting better and better; epic breakout coming soon
Marina & the Diamonds – Radioactive iTunes EP
Public Dims – Vent Somewhere Else EP
Surfer Blood – Tarot Classics EP
tUnE-yArDs – Gangsta EP
Wavves – Life Sux EP : luvv Wavves
Wild Beasts – Bed of Nails single
Woods & Kurt Vile – Summer 2011 Tour Split 7”
A Great Big Pile Of Leaves – Boom EP : jaunty indie rock
Crush – Crush EP : nice little 80s misty-eyed pop
Crystal Stilts – Radiant Door EP : upbeat gloom-and-doom?
DannielRadall – Cocaine Love EP : nope
Decemberists, the – Long Live the King EP
Delta Spirit – The Waits Room EP
Gonjasufi – The Ninth Inning EP
Guided by Voices – Doughnut for a Snowman 7”
Jay Reatard – You Get No Love/I Am Growing 7”
Kills, the – Future Starts Slow single
King Khan Experience – King Khan Experience EP : free is the right value here
Lissie – Covered Up With Flowers EP
Mazzy Star – Common Burn: Lay Myself Down single
Ringo Deathstarr – Shadow Tour EP
Rolling Stones, the – No Spare Parts single
Jeff the Brotherhood – Whatever I Want single
Thee Oh Sees/Total Control – Split 12” : a hot-mess #inagoodway
They Might Be Giants – TMBG’s Other Thing Brass Band 12”
Trampled by Turtles/Motion City Sountrack – split EP
Ty Segall – Spiders 7” : life is a riff, my friend…
White Denim – Takes Place In Your Work Space EP : WD at their meandering best
Wild Beasts – Reach A Bit Further EP : I’d rather die than listen to this crap
Wooden Sky, the – City of Light EP : homey alt-country
Flaming Lips – 7 Skies H3 (The 24 Hour Song Skull)
Jenny O – Home EP : what a song….
22-20s – Latest Outtakes EP
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