The Accidental, 'There Were Wolves' (Thrill Jockey)
Moody ditties tenderly mesh the digital and the acoustic.
By Julia Simon 06.15.08 10:43 AM
The debut from this London quartet, founded by laptop folkies Sam Genders (Tunng) and Stephen Cracknell (the Memory Band), lulls you along with its sparsely melodic tinkering and blippy slow burn. The muted "Knock Knock" exhales ethereal boy-girl chorales, and the strings-swept "Wolves" purrs with electro pitter-patters.
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We Are Scientists, 'Brain Thrust Mastery' (Astralwerks)
Heedless party-crashers get the inevitable pop hangover.
By Julia Simon 05.15.08 2:25 PM
The title of the second LP by this Brooklyn synth-rock duo (formerly a trio) loosely alludes to singer Keith Murray’s newly discreet, mind-over- body m.o. On 2006’s flashy major-label debut With Love and Squalor -- a surprise gold-seller in England -- Murray boozed until he blacked out and invited ladies to use and abuse his body.
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Radar Bros., 'Auditorium' (Merge)
Dolorous L.A. troubadour now a peaceful, easy nature boy.
By Julia Simon 02.29.08 9:29 PM
The Rumble Strips, 'Alarm Clock EP' (Kanine)
The Dexys Midnight Runners revival starts (and ends?) here.
By Julia Simon 01.18.08 4:17 AM
The Dimes, 'The Silent Generation' (Pet Marmoset)
Portland band gives earnest stories a meticulous spin.
By Julia Simon 01.18.08 4:17 AM
The hooky debut from this tuneful quartet is a moving meditation on hard times, delivered with a Death Cab for Cutie light touch.
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Small Sins, 'Mood Swings' (Astralwerks)
Imagine what would happen if Ben Gibbard really went postal.
By Julia Simon 11.21.07 4:00 AM
On his 2006 debut as Small Sins, Thomas D'Arcy set his lovelorn laments to Moog-filled, Postal Service pop. Here, the Toronto native employs the same mid-tempo drum-machine beats and steady synths, but behind the warm electro purrs, he's gone from bummed to bellicose.
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