The Thermals - More Parts Per Million (4)

I may never get as excited about another album like this one ever again.  Ever....FULL TEXT 

Support your local poets.  Idlewild is the impeccable author of volumes and volumes of beautiful, rockin’, delicate Scottish Fiction.  Imagine Jimmy Eat World with a little more grit or [insert mainstream pop punk band name here] without the guilt.  How’s ‘bout some strings and outstanding musicianship to boot?  That sounds good, doesn’t it?  Of course it does, now listen, listen to the “next big thing” without prejudice...www.hollywoodandvine.com

Pavement’s favorite son (I like to call him “Big Steve”) returns with his sophomore solo effort and builds on the singer/songwriter/rocker vibe without the cheesy ballads or artsy nonsense most leading men have (i.e. Billy Corgan). Stephen is still all about great hooks, catchy melodies and hot lyrics. This album could be a companion piece to Ted Leo’s Hearts of Oak, as they both show two amazing and original American authors who manage to be fun and poignant at the same time (Matthew Deapo)...www.matadorrecords.com

The Libertines - Up the Bracket (2.5)

It’s time to get those hype machines cranked up once again.  Produced by none other than ex-Clash guitarist Mick Jones, the Libertines take the melodic sound of the Strokes and mix it up with Joe Strummer vox to create a lukewarm lovechild of each group's sound.  This album was released about six months ago in the U.K. and swiftly moved “up the bracket,” expect similar results stateside even though a majority of the album sounds exactly the same, and not in a good way.  These guys are too much in-between the sound or artistry of the Strokes and Clash to improve upon either, and can be called nothing more than mediocre.  But, for fans of both bands, "Death on the Stairs" and "Good Old Days" redeem what would otherwise be an extremely boring LP...

This is the best hip-hop album of 2003 thus far. Talib Kweli keeps it interesting, intelligent, intense and instigating. Relating to current topics like terrorism, gun control and human rights, a true Brooklyn poet speaks clearly and proudly about what he thinks and believes. Ooh, yeah, the beats are f**kin’ hot too! Features Mos Def, Cocoa Brovaz, Bilal (Matthew Deapo)…

Chan Marshall’s fifth full length bristles with a feeling of freedom and new experience, fusing her usual style with a new blend of blues and rock.  Taking from Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon, Cat Power shows a level of talent and emotion little miss Ani Difranco could never ponder reaching (Matthew Deapo)...www.matadorrecords.com

Calla - Televise (3)

A blend of cooing guitar fuzz and sleepy melodies, Calla captures a sound that was invented by Slint and My Bloody Valentine, but brings a sense of hooky guitar that both of those bands disregarded. A dark and swirling work that reminds one of a Nevada highway or any David Lynch film (Matthew Deapo)...

Saturday Look Good to Me – All Your Summer Songs (nr)

The beautiful sounds of the ‘60’s flow through the streets as the powerful pop and soul spill from the mouths of Fred Thomas and Jessica Baliff. One would assume that a sound so classic and pure would be from an age our parents are more familiar with, but S.L.G.M. are of our generation and their soothing and loving sound wonderfully contrasts a time of corruption and fear (Matthew Deapo)...

Kaada – Thank You For Giving Me Your Valuable Time (nr)

An interesting amalgam of American musical history that touches everything from classic soul to folk to swing with a tongue-in-cheek attitude and a cut-and-paste style of beats that reminds one of Dan the Automator without the space influence and Kid 606 without the schizophrenic blips and beats (Matthew Deapo)...

Sorry About Dresden - Let It Rest (nr)

Equal parts The Replacements and Superchunk, Sorry About Dresden moves from emotional folk tracks to mid-80’s college radio style jams. It often reminds one of riding your bike home from seeing Caddyshack in theaters and going to Rick’s ‘cause his parents are away and that hot chick from Geometry is gonna be there and I think she totally likes me (Matthew Deapo)...

The Shipping News – Three-Four (nr)

A compilation of three rare ep’s, The Shipping News (ex members of Rodan and June of 44) have truly captured their diverse and broad sound, incorporating influences of math-rock, ambient atmospheres and building crescendos of a “Slint” like power. A rare gem of a band that deserves to be heard and better recognized in a genre of thought provoking and mature rock (Matthew Deapo)...

Joan of Arc – So Much Staying Alive and Lovelessness (nr)

Five albums into their career, Joan Of Arc run the gamut from musical genius to drunken experimentations to absolute nonsense. Their latest Midwestern indie rock opus breathes with energy, maintaining vocalist and virtuoso Tim Kinsella’s classic stream-of-consciousness vocals and swaggering melodies. This is a key release for those looking for beautiful instrumentals with a touch of existential pretension (Matthew Deapo)...www.jadetree.com

Q and Not U - Different Damage (nr)

Guitars ebb, flow, chisel and churn. Subconscious vocals meet funky, spazzy rhythms. Open your mind and your ass will follow. Fugazi’s younger brother that doesn’t just want you to think, they want you to do dance, party and make love (Matthew Deapo)...

Ted Leo/Pharmacists – Hearts of Oak (nr)

The king of indie pop is back!!!  The nicest guy in rock still has the nicest hooks and those melodies Elvis Costello would lose his s**t over. A beautiful and thoughtful album shaped around a dedication to the rock Teddy grew up with that is so catchy it’ll allow Interpol to take a break from their last six months in your CD player (Matthew Deapo)...www.lookoutrecords.com

Mooney Suzuki – Electric Sweat

The Mooney Suzuki is nothing but a super-charged rock ‘n roll drenched in sweat and sincerity.  Sammy James Jr. throws in some of the finest garage vocals that may surpass those of Julian Casablanca’s (The Strokes) and the unbridled precision and groove supply that AM radio stomp that gives all those mod kids somethin’ to get down to.  Critics have dubbed the Mooney Suz “the hardest working band in rock music” and it just might be true.  With incessant touring and a release as often as possible (this one to be reissued on Columbia in coming weeks), these guys are bound to take over.  You got to get up to get down (Matthew Deapo)...