Land of Talk, 'Applause Cheer Boo Hiss' (The Rebel Group)
Coming up through the same scene as other Québécois notables like the Stills, the Dears, and the Arcade Fire (some of whose members were onetime roommates of singer/guitarist Elizabeth Powell), Land of Talk offers more proof that Montreal endures as the epicenter of indie rock.
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Cornelius, 'Sensuous' (Everloving)
Amon Tobin, 'Foley Room' (Ninja Tune)
Did 1950s musique concréte composers ever imagine their rarified tape-art would become the next century's pop fodder?
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The Fall, 'Reformation Post T.L.C.' (Narnack)
When bands make albums on the road, the momentum often infuses the results with a special kind of energy and spontaneity. Or not. A pickup band came to the aid of Mark E. Smith and his keyboardist/wife, Eleni Poulou, for the Fall's 26th studio album, record in Los Angeles after the other members bailed four gigs into their summer '06 U.S. tour.
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RTX, 'Western Xterminator' (Drag City)
Jennifer Herrema formed the trio RTX in 2004 after her musical and matrimonial split from Royal Trux partner-in-grime Neil Michael Hagerty.
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Bobby Conn, 'King for a Day' (Thrill Jockey)
Chicago rock-onteur Bobby Conn has donned many masks: ex-con financial guru, glammed-out conspiracy theorist and "antichrist," anti-Bush soul crusader.




