Benjy Ferree-Come Back to the Five and Dime, Bobby Dee Bobby Dee

Benjy Ferree Come Back to the Five and Dime, Bobby Dee Bobby Dee:

Cool doo-wop vocal harmonies and instrumental arrangements on some tracks. The album jumps around a lot stylistically, but largely sticks to extensions of popular 50's styles of music and garage rock. Most styles are pulled off well. Just ignore the abysmal lyrics and the TLDR concept of the album.

Rating: 11/15 Why couldn't you be singing about something else? points.

Thurston Moore- Trees Outside The Academy

Thurston Moore Trees Outside The Academy:

More interesting and adventurous than recent Sonic Youth releases. Lots of strings and a few bad ass guitar solos provided by J Mascis. A solid Indie Rock album.

Rating: 13/15 Sonic dads

Weird Owls-Ever the Silver Cord Be Loosed

Weird Owls Ever the Silver Cord Be Loosed:

Brings some post-rock weirdness combined with Neil Young-esque country rock. Cool riffs, cool lyrics, cool production. These guys have peaked my interest more so than any other new releases in the last few months.

Rating: 14/15 peaked interests

Jesus Lizard-Goat

Jesus Lizard Goat:

A solid rock album which borrows from post-punk. David Yow and crew manage to write innovative riffs while not giving up any attitude. One of the most tasteful trios in rock music, the backing band never overplays usually sticking to fairly simple riffs, allowing Yow space to do his trademark meth-addict style of vocals. Despite the delivery Yow's lyrics tend toward the intelligent and funny. A solid fucking band.

Rating: 15/15 Nineties bands which are better than Pearl Jam

Abe Vigoda-Reviver

Abe Vigoda Reviver:

Danceable post-punk with some cool guitar lines. The vocals are delivered well, but often have a weird bubbly sound added to them. The production leaves a little to be desired, but overall a good listen.

Rating: 12/15 Things with the words dance and punk in their description that don't suck

Dan Auerbach-Keep it hidden

Dan Auerbach Keep it Hidden:

More laid back than his work with The Black Keys, Auerbach stretches out a little and records a decent disk. No big suprises.

Rating 12/15 Legit beards

Bottomless Pit-Hammer of The Gods

Bottomless Pit Hammer of The Gods: The remnants of Silkworm join with two new dudes and make one kick ass, albeit a little short, record. The interplay between guitar, bass, baritone guitar almost steals the light from the exemplary lyrics in some spots. I doubt T Midgett and Andy Cohen will ever stop making great records.

Rating: 15/15 Real music fans that miss Mike.

Mclusky-The Difference Between Me & You Is That I'm Not on Fire

Mclusky The Difference Between Me & You Is That I'm Not on Fire:

Loud and obnoxious music with a smart ass squawker for a singer. Done in the same spirit as Flipper, this is a really fun album, particularly tracks where they take the piss out of other indie bands.

Rating: 12/15 Smart ass jerks you can't help but like

Arcwelder-Everest

Arcwelder Everest:

A poppier version of Shellac with better vocal work. Scott MacDonald lays down sick beats while doing much of the vocal work simultaneously. After a long break Arcwelder has been sporadically playing shows recently, catch them if you can.

Rating: 13/15 Aluminum neck guitars

Silkworm-Firewater

Silkworm Firewater:

Confessional rock about relationships and drinking. The instrumentation is unique. Sometimes one will only hear vocals bass and the occasional snare shot for two minutes, which will then be followed by a guitar solo twice as loud as the other instruments. Most of the songs toy with typical rock and roll dynamics in an effective fashion, making the more conventional songs, like Wet Firecracker, stand out. All the songs are strong, but at sixteen tracks I can't listen to the whole album at once. Worth the money.

Rating: 14/15 Fake Italians