Not unlike Arcade Fire, this talented young bunch has an epic approach to indie rock. Driven by exuberant string and rhythm sections, band members play each note to they fullest as they bounce around stage (as if it was their last show ever).
Charm City continues its prodigious output of experimental rock with Thank You's "Terrible Two," engineered by the fellow (J. Robbins) behind local heroes Yeasayer. Deft rhythmic turns, pea-soup guitar fogs, and the town's trademark vocal mania all coalesce.
The infectious vocals of Italian expatriate Sabina Sciubba are at the forefront of the swooping harmonies, adding to the music's seductiveness. The melodies unfold in controlled cascades of breathy exhalations, from the opening bars to the final moments of electronic-pop languor.
The question is this: can Liam Gallagher ever be an elder statesman of anything? In an England swamped in punk and new wave variants, Oasis' Britpop now borders on adult--which isn't to say it's stodgy. The group's newest spins the psychedelic style as a textural wonderland.
If you think Brandi Carlile's unlucky in love, you haven't heard Meiko. Like Carlile, the L.A. songstress makes a husky-voiced post-coffeehouse pop--and makes art out of feeling forlorn. Along with Priscilla Ahn, expect her to vie for diarist of the year.
Inspired by beaches, ocean and sun, Pacific! seeks to remind us sonically about the stuff we love scenically. The pair that make up Pacific! are electronic music light bearers who sound more like Daft Punk-loving French producers than Swedes who dream about the sea.
Hailing from rural Massachusetts, teenager Sonya Kitchell is coming of age with her fresh approach to singing and songwriting. Much like Norah Jones, Kitchell hooks you in with her quiet-is-the-new-loud vocals and delicate arrangements.
Their sound may be full of energy and flair with strong influences of new wave and '80s electronics, but the music of the Faint is dark and brooding. Had the pop music of 1988 continued unabated and fallen into a vicious cycle of desperation and frustration, the Faint would be the false idols to which aspiring artists made their sacrifice.
For awhile there, the erstwhile indie savior was exiled in the mainstream. Now Phair is on Dave Matthews' ATO, and the label is doing a much-deserved reissue of her classic 1993 LP. If you never got all the fuss, you can read new essays that explain it--or just sample Phair's brassy cool.
On "Carried to Dust," indie rock's bards of the border continue their remarkable hybrid: old Southwest dirges cross-bred with a particularly dark and brooding folk-pop. Few bands in the scene pull off such a natural dignity--or intimacy.
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Christina Milian and the gadgets she loves
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