Los Campesinos!, 'Hold On Now, Youngster...' (Arts & Crafts)
"Knee Deep at ATP" perfectly distills the Los Campesinos!
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Sun Kil Moon, 'April' (Caldo Verde)
Powered by mordant but melodic vocals, authoritatively finger-picked guitar, and what sounds like a lifetime supply of sleeping pills and booze, Sun Kil Moon may be the most convincingly bummed-out '70s-era Neil Young tribute band ever assembled.
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Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, 'Real Emotional Trash' (Matador)
Time to finally face the music, Malkmus mavens: Your hero may not make a great post-Pavement disc.
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Sons and Daughters, 'This Gift' (Domino)
With propulsive pogo-worthy rhythms and singer Adele Bethel's insistent vocals, these rough-edged folk punks go for a quick knockout on their poppier second album (produced by Suede's Bernard Butler).
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Xiu Xiu, 'Women as Lovers' (Kill Rock Stars)
Careening between luxuriant melodies and irritating noise, Xiu Xiu albums are iffy by design. On Women as Lovers, closely miked vocals vie for attention with arpeggiated guitar ("F.T.W."), aggressive whistling ("Child at Arms"), random percussion ("The Leash"), and what sounds like air escaping from an overblown balloon ("F.T.W." again).
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Beach House, 'Devotion' (Carpark)
Complaining that Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand lack songwriting chops misses the point: Beach House, the duo's musical moniker, is a sonic connoisseur's workshop, and the pair have impeccable taste. On Devotion, slow-motion organ washes over precisely twanged guitar while Legrand slides sensuously accented phonemes through




