• 1. It’s good to hear when a band you kinda like starts getting attention. Shoegaze + NES band The Depreciation Guild is kinda like that – after a killer free album in 2007, “In Her Gentle Jaws,” one of the members made a name for himself with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and the rest is history. “Dream About Me” is a solid starting points.
  2. Much like The Flaming Lips or The Apples in Stereo, Wheat is a band that works best in full technicolor. The longstanding band’s just-out “White Ink, Black Ink,” especially “Changes Is,” shows that they haven’t lost their spark with time.
  3. Wye Oak’s first album was awesome because it didn’t try to fit into trends. It was just solid. The just-out second album tries a little too hard, but “I Want for Nothing” proves that that isn’t always a bad thing.
  4. This band changes its name more often than any band should – Memory Tapes? Weird Tapes? They’ve been called both, along with Memory Cassette – but either way, “Asleep At a Party,” a fractured, time-worn tune, lives up to both the song’s – and the band’s – name.
  5. Slow-buiding has always been the best way to describe indie icons Low, and “Sunflower” is one of those songs that nails their appeal. A high point for a lengthy career.source

Posted by Ernie Smith • Permalink