Wolf Parade: Animal Collective of Montreal
Following up a revered debut album with a more, um, challenging one often inspires catty backlash. But the scruffy Canadian indie rockers of Wolf Parade are too busy playing in 17 other bands to worry. Is this the new careerism?
By Steve Kandell 06.23.08 8:11 PM
Montreal is only 47 minutes from New York in a plane no bigger than a school bus. But on this cloudy late April morning, each of those 47 minutes is teeth-gnashingly, stomach-churningly turbulent, making it impossible to forget that you are, in fact, not on a school bus, but rather inside a thin metal tube careening rapidly 35,000 feet above the ground in a manner antithetical to man's nature.
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The Wombats, 'The Wombats Proudly Present…A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation' (Roadrunner)
Forlorn Brit trio snap off one-liners, cry tears of a clown.
By Jon Young 06.23.08 6:05 PM
Despair rules on this Liverpool threesome's crackling debut, wrapping loneliness in spiffy power pop.
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The Watson Twins, 'Fire Songs' (Vanguard)
Former Jenny Lewis sidekicks gingerly edge into the spotlight.
By Shannon Zimmerman 06.23.08 6:01 PM
Leigh and Chandra Watson first pricked up indie-rock ears when they backed Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis on her 2006 solo debut, Rabbit Fur Coat. Their haunting harmonies are in full effect throughout the L.A.-based sister act's first full-length, on which they coo seductively over atmospheric folk-rock arrangements.
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Rose Hill Drive, 'Moon Is the New Earth' (Megaforce)
Have probably heard "Dude, can you play 'Slow Ride'?" a lot.
By Joe Gross 06.23.08 5:58 PM
A power trio as an experiment in Skinner-box songcraft: Tell two brothers and a pal that culture ended in 1973 and then record the results. So you've got meaty hard rock that can jam with Bonnaroo and thrash with Warped. They love their "Trans Am" sans irony (because who doesn't?), which means swing and torque are everything.
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Love as Laughter, 'Holy' (Glacial Pace)
Pacific Northwest expat makes bid for classic alt-rock status.
By Spencer Kornhaber 06.23.08 5:54 PM
After penning '70s-loving garage scorchers on Love as Laughter's first four albums and then morphing into a poignant slacker songwriter on Laughter's Fifth, Sam Jayne attempts to capture two disparate vibes on Holy: Pixies' loose-limbed chatter and Neil Young's big-sky heartache.
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Alejandro Escovedo, 'Real Animal' (Manhattan/Back Porch)
Soulful survivor ponders loss and redemption, keeps rockin'.
By Jon Young 06.23.08 5:51 PM
Alejandro Escovedo has tackled a bit of everything during the past three decades, and the enthralling Real Animal presents a concise overview of the man's art and life, encompassing the punk fury of the Nuns, the country-rock twang of Rank and File, the rootsy guitar assault of True Believers, and the late-era tortured, string-quintet balladry that showcases his unbearably sad voice.
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