Silversun Pickups – “Swoon” – I thought “Carnavas” was close to perfect. “Swoon” is close to mediocre. A tad heavy for my sensitive eardrums.

Indigo Girls – “Poseidon And The Bitter Bug” – Will win my Cover Art of the Year Award, as it features my all-time favorite painting…Hokusai’s “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa”. But, that’s all it will win. A few good tracks, but no “Galileo” or “Least Complicated” here.

Airborne Toxic Event – “The Airborne Toxic Event”. LOVING this. It’s like Arcade Fire and U2 all smooshed up. “Wishing Well” is the perfect track to start the disc and “Sometime Around Midnight” gets played at least 20 times a day while I’m stranded in my cube listening to the man with the very thick accent practically scream into the phone when he’s on a conference call.

1. Take It From Me 3:58
2. Gotta Have You 3:25
3. World Spins Madly On 2:51
4. Citywide Rodeo 4:19
5. Riga Girls 2:42
6. Suicide Blonde 1:42
7. Painting By Chagall 4:03
8. Nobody Knows Me At All 2:06
9. Not Your Year 3:41
10. Living In Twilight 3:05
11. Stars 3:08
12. Love Doesn’t Last Too Long 2:52
13. Slow Pony Home 4:12

Broke out this album after hearing “Gotta Have You” in an old episode of “How I Met Your Mother” and instantly remembered why I had packed it away. For such a light, simple, whimsy album it’s pretty freaking depressing.

The Weepies are Deb Talan and Steve Tannen, two singer-songwriters who met and fell in love at a gig.  Their music is the type of lightly plucked acoustic guitar and soft drums that goes well with a Sunday morning, cup of tea and a crossword puzzle…until it reminds you just how unhappy you are. These lovebirds only sing about love -being in it, losing it, finding it again, etc.

The masochist in me adores this album. The rational thinker in me wants to hear it once a year, tops. Regardless, “Gotta Have You” and “The World Spins Madly On” are the stars here. The latter has the ability to pick me up, or send me into a four-day funk (as it recently did.)

You can hear most of the album here on last.fm.

01. We Cry 03:45
02. Before The Worst 03:23
03. Talk You Down 03:51
04. The Man Who Can’t Be Moved 04:02
05. Breakeven 04:21
06. Rusty Halo 03:35
07. The End Where I Begin 03:35
08. Fall For Anything 04:33
09. If You See Kay 03:14
10. I’m Yours 04:15
11. Anybody There 03:00

After having “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved” in my head for almost a week straight, (seriously, it was even in my head in my dreams) I gave the whole album a listen.  If you took Jason Mraz and Maroon 5, mooshed them together, dropped them in Dublin and added a dash of David Gray, you’d have The Script.

The difference between Jason Mraz, Maroon 5 and The Script is the script put out an album I enjoyed. This is sticky-sweet radio pop through and through, as witnessed in the lyrics of “Breakeven” (“What am I supposed to do when the best part of me was always you.”) But, it’s a harmless, catchy, light listen. Sometimes that’s just what you need.

When I download an album and listen to it, I normally grab my favorite tracks and toss them in a separate folder. I will most likely keep this whole file on my computer. Sample some of The Script on their Myspace page.

01. Mix 4:16
02. Little Pieces 3:24
03. If I Ask You Nicely 3:07
04. Lost Track 4:01
05. Win Park Slope 4:20
06. Bone Tired 2:17
07. Airstream Driver 3:56
08. Natural Reaction 4:16
09. Very Strange 4:43
10. Other Plans 4:24
11. Sunset Gates 4:58

Back with a follow up to their awesome album “How We Operate”, Gomez picks up right where they left off – kicking ass!

This is just a fun, rich, sleek collection of tunes. Acoustic instruments combine with computerized effects that give a hint of jazz, blues and guitar rock. Arrangements are mid-tempo, but deep and smooth. I know right now that I’ll like this album more with each listen.

There are only two weak tracks here – “Mix and “If I Ask You Nicely”, but they may be growers. Favorites so far are “Little Pieces”, “Win Park Slope”, “Airstream Driver” and “Other Plans”.  “Natural Reaction” sounds very,very similar to their hit “See The World”.

Check out samples and pre-order the disc on Amazon.

1. Reintroduction
2. Take the Money and Run
3. New Guitar
4. Only Thing I Have (The Sign)
5. When I Hit the Ground
6. Reaction
7. Sweeter Light
8. SOS
9. Over This
10. Where Do We Go from Here
11. Emergency
12. Leader
13. Bring Back Love
14. Can’t Run Away

Finally I stumble upon one of those “alterna-emo” albums that I can listen to from beginning to end. I was a tad skeptical of this disc when I learned Ace was 24 years old, but the disc has a nice balance of  mature introspection and fresh-faced pop. Enders counters his brooding ballads with hopeful anthems.

There’s really not much more to say about this one -it’s  a catchy, easy on the ears, nice little album. I love when my favorite track is in the middle of the run – “SOS” is a hidden gem.

Get a taste of Ace’s style on his MySpace page.

01. This Tornado Loves You
02. The Next Time You Say Forever
03. People Got A Lotta Nerve
04. Polar Nettles
05. Vengeance Is Sleeping
06. Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth
07. Middle Cyclone
08. Fever
09. Magpie To The Morning
10. I’m An Animal
11. Prison Girls
12. Don’t Forget Me
13. The Pharaohs
14. Red Tide
15. Marais La Nuit

Tough gal Neko Case reveals a softer, vulberable, lonely side on her latest offering.  It’s a pretty balanced disc, with its share of toe-tapping catchiness mixed in with a collection of what sounds like poetry set to music.  This is a perfect album for “one of those nights”

Case’s pipes are the stars here – alternating between the melancholy and the pop-oriented choruses of “This Tornado Loves You”, “People Got A Lotta Nerve” and “I’m An Animal”.  A nice highlight on the disc is found in the midst of  “Magpie To The Morning”, Case audibly says “and here I go” before belting out a pivitol note in the song.

The more I listen to this album, the more I enjoy it. The album closes with crickets. Yes, crickets. Case recorded ambiet noise from her pond in Vermont. An odd ending, but somehow fit the alt-country-folk vibe of this disc.

You can enjoy “People Got A Lotta Nerve” here. I’ve listened to it 7 times during the typing of this review.

1. Prelude
2. Hazards of Love 1 (The Prettiest Whistles Won’t Wrestle the Thistles Undone)
3. A Bower Scene
4. Won’t Want for Love (Margaret in the Taiga)
5. Hazards of Love 2 (Wager All)
6. The Queen’s Approach
7. Isn’t it a Lovely Night?
8. The Wanting Comes in Waves / Repaid
9. An Interlude
10. The Rake’s Song
11. The Abduction of Margaret
12. The Queen’s Rebuke / The Crossing
13. Annan Water
14. Margaret in Captivity
15. Hazards of Love 3 (Revenge!)
16. The Wanting Comes in Waves (Reprise)
17. Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned)

I’ve heard the latest Decemberists disc described as “polarizing”. I would tend to agree with this as I find myself in the “don’t like” camp.  A bit of research reveals this album started out as a musical..and that’s how it listens.  With their 2006 release “The Crane Wife” still in a pretty regular rotation, this work may appeal more to fans of their 2004 EP “The Tain” – with longer arrangements.  It’s heavier and more agressive than their previous works and just wasn’t as stimulating for me as “TCW”, “Picaresque” and “Castaways & Cutouts” were/are.

If you’re a fan of the band, give it a listen. If this would have been your first introduction to The Decemberists, start with one of the three albums I listed above.

1. “Lisztomania” (4:01)
2. “1901″ (3:13)
3. “Fences” (3:43)
4. “Love Like a Sunset” (7:30)
5. “Lasso” (2:47)
6. “Rome” (4:37)
7. “Countdown” (3:55)
8. “Girlfriend” (3:24)
9. “Armistice” (3:04)

French rockers Phoenix will release the soundtrack to my summer on May 25th.  I had the chance to listen to a leak of this disc and cannot wait to purchase the CD and hit up any Boston-area appearances. This is such a fun listen – the right balance of heavy-hitting-in-your-face-rock-and-roll and electronic dance pop. This album pairs well with anything involving bonfires, roadtrips, mojitos, open windows, loud speakers, etc…

Not a weak track on here. The first single “1901″ is available for a listen here. Do it – you’ve earned it. I give this disc 10 stars out of 5.

1. Oviedo
2. The Story I Heard
3. Paint Or Pollen
4. Poor Boy
5. One Red Thread
6. Go On, Say It
7. Two Towns From Me
8. I Buried A Bone
9. Things I Cannot Recall
10. The Bitter End
11. 3 Rounds And A Sound

There’s nothing I can say about this album to give it the props it deserves.  It’s minimalistic and layered at the same time.  It’s sweet and simple and I can’t stop listening to it.  “Oviedo”, “Paint or Pollen”, “One Red Thread”, “Go On, Say It” and “3 Rounds And A Sound” are excellent.  As far as track order, they saved the best for last.

You can hear the entire album for free on last.fm