It's mostly an emo-pop affair, songs of hope and loss, but to say that is it would do it a great injustice. There are hints of the blues and rocky guitars in the instrumentation and Cameron's vocal tone is husky and mature. You wouldn't believe she was sixteen - she sounds more like a soul queen who has been smoking cigarillos for 30 years. There are moments of bad control and over-done energy that belie her age, but they will hopefully be smoothed out by some singing lessons and a little time.

"Words I Could Never Say" is bluesy and swaying and maybe slightly overcooked on soulful emotion but nonetheless it is the best constructed song on the EP. This isn't teeny-bop fare, but that shoots Cameron in the foot in some ways - songs of love and loss are best expressed by people who have experienced them first hand, simply because it makes for more interesting lyrics. But she's got talent and a good base on which to build onwards and upwards.

Genre-wise it flits from one thing to another - sometimes it's electronic and heavily synth-based, other times it's rocky and heavy. "Buffalo Jump" is listeners' first impressions of Stellar Vector and it begins with some classic metal power chords but somehow they aren't played in a metal-y way - it's lighter and feels more agile and it piques your interest immediately. The opener develops into a layered, melodic rock tune and is a very satisfying introduction.

"Lacking Self Control" is more experimental and quite proggy but equally enjoyable and even a little toe-tapping. The melodies are spot on and the vocals are even better, Charles Sadler veering between a heavy ominous drone and expansive, soaring lines that really get into your head. You couldn't sing it back afterwards mind you, but it's there nonetheless. "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" makes heavier use of some 80's synths which jst work. I have no idea HOW, because by all rights some of the combinations Stellar Vector use should sound God-awful. But they work.

"A Flock of Cowards" is a cascading musical pick 'n mix - and Stellar Vector seem the type who just grab handfuls and work with whatever random flavours they get. Which, let's face it, is precisely the enjoyment. Add into that recipe a little good judgement and folks, we have a winner. 

It is easy to really appreciate a band that can strut eclectic sounds, and Mystery Monster shows off a huge range of musical influences. Compare the opening track “More Than Me” to the subsequent “Comatose in DeLorean;” the former song has a friendly catchy beat that we may recognize in radio rock tunes, but the latter displays a strong ska influence on the bass, guitar, and drums. Then you've got “Sleep Better,” a pretty song accompanied by the lovely murmurs of a cello. Already, one can glean that this album is a complete surprise in sound one song after another.

What the album does lack every now and then is a lasting power that carries a listener forward with breeze. There are some attempts to maintain the momentum with which Spies starts its album. “Fist City Rockin” - a fitting title to embody the pounding instrumental piece on the album - picks up a pace that was somewhat lost after the slow and sleepy “On My Own.” Once again, the transition exemplifies the incredible range with which Spies approaches music, but my only wish is that that energy could be at its prime for every song from beginning to end.

The journey through Mystery Monster could have been a more dynamic one, but the musicality in Spies undoubtedly shines. This album is terrific because it clearly celebrates the camaraderie that is formed because of music and through music. Spies is a respectable indie-rock outfit that plays with unrestrained love for the expansive spectrum in music.  

I'm sure that anyone who listens to Death of The Sun, the fine new album from The Stan Laurels will think of the word “Beatle-esque” and perhaps speak it out loud. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Everyone from ELO and XTC to Jellyfish and Matthew Sweet have been hit with the B-word. And really since there's relatively nothing new under the sun, it's not hard to trace most bands back to the Beatles or Rolling Stones or both. To The Stan Laurels credit, they still manage some originality and Death of the Sun proves to be an enjoyable listen.

A big part of the success of this album is that it's more like a third-generation descendant of the Fab Four, influenced by diverse alternative-rock sounds like those made by the Flaming Lips and Apples In Stereo. Piano has a strong presence on most of the songs, and the band isn't afraid to pursue long instrumental interludes and short stretches of weirdness and noise that are never too weird or too noisy.

“Love Birds” provides a nice intro and the drums bring a cool shift in the bridge, while “Klaatu” is a catchy mid-tempo groove that might sound at home on a Spoon album. “Samaanya” is a bouncy tune that gives way to a piano/strings interlude before coming back to the song with interesting results.

The title track is a flute-piano-harpsichord instrumental that goes into a foggy wind sound before segueing into “Never Mind,” one of the albums standouts. Two minutes in, it goes to a choppy beat that bounces nicely and provides a cool change up.

Toward the end of the album, the epic and steady “Birth of the Sun” features a strange-but-interesting outro. After a bit of silent space, the true album closer is “Lullabye of Awakening,” which proves to be the perfect after-thought instrumental to end an album, complete with vinyl static.

I found some of the vocals to be a tad droney after a while, and perhaps this album would be better if it was a little more concise, say 10 tracks instead of 13. But thanks to solid production Death of the Sun is still pretty good and manages the difficult task of not burning despite coming so close to the heat of the source that once warned “Here Comes the Sun.”

What began as a somewhat dour experimental solo project for Omaha-based Matthew Hutton in 2006 has become a quintet, and morphed into the pop sensation Thunder Power. This three song EP is bouncy and unself-conscious—well, maybe on the final track, but in all “Hearts Intersect” is just a fun set by a band clearly loving their sunny groove. All hipsters should rejoice in the hope that there IS life after Hip.

“Heartifact” kicks it off with propulsive nerd pop, complete with airy, goofy lyrics and a chewy sweet melody. The real meat comes quickly, with the second track.  “Home Office” is a gorgeous, inventive track,, genre bending, aching dream pop. Here lead singer Kacynna Tompsett truly soars, as does Alex Boardman’s sharply historic power pop guitar runs.

Sadly, “Take a Hike” feels like a Euro-pop quickie, slightly Gallic, slightly slight in comparison to “Home Office.”

“falling down the mountain” is the first new Tindersticks recording in five years, and it seems as if touring has helped them keep up their chops and desire. Recorded in France at vocalist/writer Stuart Staple’s own studio and in Belgium, ‘falling” is not a space that provides new moods, but deepens and refreshes some old tropes. Romance, sour and joyful, hope and sex, memory and despair, it is all here, along with the smoky soul that Staples apparently feels, rightly ,in his hands, is the lifeblood of dark nights and dim bedrooms.

The set kicks off with the title track, which has a Latin feel, but is also noirish, cinematic.” Keep You Beautiful” is classic Tindersticks: acoustic and drums are its signature, with a focus on Staples’ wavering, romantic croon; this has a Bacharach feel too, especially on the phrasing of the title at the end of each verse. Credit especially goes to bassist Dan McKinna.

Guest vocalist Margaret O’Hara appearsin duet with Staples on “Peanuts,” a disturbing, Velvets type ballad, the lyrics both absurd and creepy; I’ve known my lover was true for many reasons, but not for a continued shared affection for legumes.   The spaghetti Western pomp of “She Rode Me Down” is followed by horn player Terry Edwards’ “Hubbards Hills,” and eerie instrumental introduced by keyboards  (David Boulter), but taken over mid-track by Edwards’ trumpet, both forceful and poignant, leaving the keys to follow behind the melody, ghost-like. Probably the most rocking and/or aggressive track is “Black Smoke,” which segues into the slightly psych, groovy lament of “No Place So Alone.” 

On “falling down the mountain,” Staples and Co. do not venture out too far beyond mid-range brooding pop, but they mine every bit of lust, luster and poetry from that sonic space. Tindersticks OWN that space, as few other bands ever have, and will own it alaways, unless Nick Cave finally decides to stop fighting it and steal Leonard Cohen’s identity for real.

Brooklyn's indie-rock trio, Yeasayer, have garnered media attention ever since their critically lauded debut, All Hour Cymbals, caught ears in 2007.  Following their debut, the band almost immediately transcended small indie circles and reached worldwide audiences; even a clip of them practicing was aired on MTV-during the commercials, of course, when MTV pretends to still care about music.

After a painstaking wait, Yeasayer's second album, Odd Blood, seems to cater more to such expansive audiences, honing the subtle pop influences heard on their previous album.  Their tremendously catchy single, "Ambling Alp," exemplifies this dramatic change of style; this does not sound like the same band that was booming portentous waves of sound on the Sabbath-esque "Waiting for the Wintertime."

The sunny polyrhythm of "Ambling Alp" suggests a departure from the wintry elements of their debut, embracing blipping keyboards, electronic fuzz, and aural idiosyncrasies, like the splashing of water at the track's inception.  The vocals compliment the track's sing-song quality, while the cheerfully reassuring lyrics, "Now the world can seem an unfair place at times / But your lows will have their compliment of highs," allow listeners to sing and dance along without feeling guilty.

"Madder Red" follows with a darker, introspective examination of self-failure, capturing a drearier atmosphere with ghastly chanting and drums à la Peter Gabriel.  "I Remember" follows and, almost as in recovery from the dejected narration of the previous song, begins slowly and airily, as twinkling keys and reverberating vocals speak wistfully of past memories, "I remember making out on the airplane / Still afraid of flying, but with you I'd die today."

The song builds gradually in ballad form, as keyboard notes spiral, the drumming quickens, and various electric glitches add both quirky and ruminative ambiance to a beautifully complex track.  The sunny synthesizers return on "O.N.E." with tin can drums batting away at jaunty sonic effects.  The song belongs on playlists following MGMT's "Kids" or "Time to Pretend," mixing enough technique and instrumental oddness in synth-rooted pop, creating the perfect balance of catchiness and quality.

"Love Me Girl" takes a trance-inducing techno beat to intoxicate listeners as computerized drums and random sound effects (from kid's shrills to jungle noises) bring the album's eclectic glory to fruition.  This is the type of song that could have any of its parts deconstructed into a club remix; actually, it could work in most clubs on its own merit, as its insistent beat implores its listeners to dance.

Like Vampire Weekend's recently successful album, "Contra," Odd Blood flaunts its modern rock influences, beginning the album with Thom Yorke-influenced vocals on "The Childern," using a vocoder to distill any humanity from singer Chris Keating's voice.  There is also a distinctive Animal Collective resemblance as well, which is an ideal model for a band that is making off-kilter pop music-successful bands generally don't get much stranger than Animal Collective do.

Aside from the dystopian atmosphere the opening song elicits, the album is a glossy, energetic amalgamation of a variety of sounds and ideas, which, in concept and execution, is also similar to Vampire Weekend's latest album. Both albums avoid convention: the nasally keyboard solo on "Rome" could have easily been replaced with a guitar solo, but its zany and unorthodox approach thrives in its oddness-a fitting microcosm for the entire band.

80's new wave and disco elements also emerge on the band's most infectious songs, which will strain indie-elitists looking for only the most complex and obscure music.  Yeasayer's first album may have appeased that audience, but now their music truly seems limitless.  It is hard to deny an album that is this immediate and enduring; let the naysayers become Yeasayers.

Some bands you expect to experiment and push boundaries from album to album. You are intrigued to hear what Radiohead, The Flaming Lips, or Animal Collective have come up with. Others, like Matthew Sweet, Fountains Of Wayne, and yes OK Go, you look forward to the comfort of familiarity. You know what you're getting when you go in, and that makes you feel good.

So when OK Go offers up an album like this that strays from the hook-filled pop rock you expected, you react vehemently. You shiver as you listen to the cluttered mess of "Needing/Getting" and other songs that sound like Flaming Lips gone horribly wrong.

You know how great and catchy OK Go's songwriting can be. So you bristle as you hear the stripped down dullness of "Last Leaf". The hair on the back of your neck stands up when you take in the nails-on-a-chalkboard that are the plodding "While You Were Asleep" and the seemingly interminable "In the Glass". You also find yourself wondering aloud whether they really needed to recycle the exact same shimmering guitar part in at least three songs.

Not all of the exploration goes awry. Tracks like "Skyscraper" and "White Knuckles" boast a newfound funky groove, which when coupled with falsetto vocals as on "WTF?", bear a striking Prince-ish sound.

In the end though you hold onto a slim thread of hope. Knowing the band's sense of humour you say to yourself "Ok, nice joke guys. Now where's the real album?".

The answer we get from the new album Transference is firmly the latter.

Taking a page out of the Wilco playbook, Britt Daniel and company have produced an album that is both familiar yet experimental. The band uses their well-established sound as a jumping off point. Tethered by their metronome-like rhythms, the group is free to push the boundaries.

Nearly every one of the tracks has an element of experimentation to it. From the jazzy snare of album opener "Before the Destruction" to the multi-track echo vocals of "Is Love Forever?" to the Wild West saloon piano aura of "Written In Reverse" there is plenty to absorb.

There's a loose, laidback jam feel to much of the music as well. "Who Makes Your Money" settles into a hypnotic mellow groove. "I Saw the Light" begins its life as a blues-inspired track, but morphs itself into a free-flowing sonic journey of discovery.

There are a couple of songs that should hold mass appeal. "Trouble Comes Running" boasts a solid hook, punched up by great backing vocals. A Joy Division-esque guitar riff pumps life into the rocker "Got Nuffin'".

Transference may not propel Spoon to the top of any radio playlists, but it is a magnificent document of a band that is evolving and growing its sound.

In addition to the mesmerizing violins and swirling pianos that filled out the first album, it seems as though Pallett has suddenly discovered instruments that you plug in. Synthesizers and programming take a much more expanded role in the music. While violin parts on songs like "Keep the Dog Quiet" are still crisp, its the frenetic blips that propel most of the album ever onwards.

One conclusion I've come to after repeated listenings of Heartland is that Owen Pallett should not sing. On the surface that may seem like a harsh statement, but it's not intended to be. Pallett's songs tell a story through their ebb and flow, drifting and meandering. The vocals on the songs are largely superfluous, the story gets told effectively without them. Moreover they often disrupt the flow of the music more than they add to the equation (and once or twice they are just downright grating).

One a handful of occasions the singing does work. "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt" is glorious as Pallett ventures closer to pop than ever before, while they provide a subtle lift to "Oh Heartland, Up Yours!".

But it is the arrangements that are the stars here. Few artists can spark the imagination like Owen Pallett. One can almost see the fluttering of birds wings as you experience "Flare Gun", and with a title like "Tryst with Mephistopheles" how can images not pop into your head.

Heartland isn't perfect, but it is a solid follow-up for Pallett and a natural progression of his sound.

End Times features some of E's most engaging and reflective tunes in quite some time. The painful "In My Younger Days", emotionally wrenching "A Line In the Dirt", and "Nowadays" (featuring a Neil Young-esque harmonica intro) are all simply arranged, but ride the strength of great lyrics and intimate vocal performances to grab the listener.

More importantly, Everett has rediscovered his knack for writing peppy tunes. "Gone Man" boasts a delightful jive guitar while "Mansion of Loz Feliz" is an equally catchy strummer. "Paradise Blues" is a solid blues rocker. The up tempo "Unhinged" is propelled forward at a pace that makes you feel Everett is barely keeping control.

That's not to say that End Times doesn't have its share of seemingly interminable moments. "I Need a Mother" is a dull piano-backed track. The closer "On My Feet" is listless at best. The title track is downright coma-inducing.

There are still too many run-of-the-mill tracks that weigh down End Times, but it is overall a satisfying album and a much stronger one than we've heard from Eels in years.

The American musician's presence is felt mostly on the arrangements side of the ledger. Songs like "Master's Hand" with its quirky percussion, and "Trick Pony" which boasts a fuzzy bassline and lo-fi tweaks aplenty, are the most obvious examples. But with the exception of "Greenwich Mean Time", a track filled with funky electro snippets, it never feels like Gainsbourg is merely singing Beck songs.

In the face of a musical heavyweight, Gainsbourg proves she can more than hold her own. A French cinema aura surrounds a track like "Le Chat Dy Cafe Des Artistes" and the laid back sunny stroll of "Dandelion".

When the duo venture into the realm of dream pop things do go a bit awry. Though Gainsbourg possesses the vocal abilities of a French Hope Sandoval, it rarely works in the context of the album. "In the End" is undeniably elegant both it and "Vanities" lack inspiration.

IRM is at it's best when Gainsbourg and Beck find a balance. Fortunately, on songs like "Me and Jane Doe" and the monumental finale "La Collectioneuse" they do that often enough to prove a formidable artistic pairing.

There are some respites from their heavily diluted My Bloody Valentine-meets-Mercury Rev impression. The piano part on "Used To Be" sets up a misty pop piece. By bringing up the tempo, Beach House turn "Lover of Mine" into a layered, textural gem.

However, it's quickly back to the mundane as "Real Love" is a number that goes nowhere, yet doesn't provide enough of an experience to engage the listener on its own. Lyrics are obviously an afterthought on Teen Dream, so they add precious little to the mix.

Teen Dream makes this not-quite-a-teen-anymore dream of a less stunted, more free-flowing, more inspired album. As it stands this one is wholly unsatisfying (hell even the cover art is unforgivably bland).

From an arrangement standpoint, Realism is a little too laid back for my liking. With the exception of the jaunty "Everything Is One Big Christmas Tree", the banjo minstrel song "Seduced and Abandoned", and the perfect storm of "The Dada Polka", the music fails to engage the listener. Tunes like "Painted Flower" and "Interlude" are almost completely uninteresting, making one question why they even exist. A slightly more intricate number, "The Doll's Tea Party", comes across as a recycled idea.

Clever lyrics have always been a hallmark of The Magnetic Fields' music. Unfortunately there are far fewer chuckle-inducing moments on Realism than one would like. Sure, you'll get a chuckle out of "You Must Be Out of Your Mind" and the aforementioned "Always Already Gone", but rather than having several of those moments on each song, we instead have one every couple of tracks.

It pains me to say it, but the lyrics are generally not as witty as we've come to expect from Stephin Merritt, and the delightful hooks, which we even present amongst the reverb of Distortion, are simply not here with any regularity. In the end Realism is an album that just doesn't have the legs. As a result it comes off as rather ordinary at best.

The Courage of Others will sound familiar to Midlake fans. The harmonic folk vocals and painstakingly arranged music hasn't really progressed far in the years since their last release.

The album has a cloud of been there, done that hanging over it. The vocals harmonies are decent, and in the instance of "Core of Nature", insidiously infectious. However it's nothing we haven't heard from the band before. Moreover, since their last album there have been countless bands, like Fleet Foxes, who do it far better than Midlake.

The music is laid out intricately. Layers upon layers of sound have been woven together to create a tapestry that is, well uninspiring and unmemorable at best. Even after repeated listens there are few, if any, of these songs that will remain in your subconscious. That includes "Children of the Grounds" which sounds like a "Roscoe" lite.

The pace of The Courage of Others has a nasty habit of becoming infuriating. To many of the songs fall in a no-man's land of tempo, not fast enough to engage a hook, but not slow enough to feel intimate. The result is a series of emotionally detached, plodding numbers.

I can't help but get the feeling that Midlake are trying to make a grand statement on The Courage of Others. In the end though, the album really doesn't come across as much more than vaguely pleasant background music.

The big change on the new album seems to be the increased use of feedback on some tracks. The title track and "Plan A" for example, employ a newfound guitar squeal to beef up the power. One wishes though, that the band would venture a little further afield a little more often to diversify their sound.

Despite a few minor tweaks, there's nothing on Romance Is Boring that we really haven't heard before from Los Campesinos! That's okay though. What we do get is still catchy, fun indie pop music.

Couple Tracks serve as a tremendous survey of the band's output. The power is undeniable with blistering hardcore ("No Parason"), epic buzzsaw guitars ("Triumph of Life"), pulverizing rhythms ("David Christmas"), and all-out blitzkreig bombardments ("Looking Back").

But let's face it. Anyone can play hard and fast. The trick is being able to play a song like "Toronto FC" (which has way more energy than the crappy team does) and making it different enough from every other track you've got to keep it interesting. Fucked Up does this with some highly under-appreciated guitar work. Songs like "Neat Parts" and "No Epiphany" boast head-bopping riffs that come dangerously close to classic rock.

If you are a punk fan, or someone who has heard the mega-buzz about Fucked Up and are looking for a good entry point, then this compilation has your name written all over it.

Fast and melodic is right in The Soft Pack's wheelhouse. The catchy "C'Mon", the propulsive "Answer To Yourself" and the slick "More Or Less" all find the near-perfect balance point between power and musicality.

Lots of bands do the power pop thing, so it's important that The Soft Pack do something to differentiate themselves. It's not enough to have catchy tunes anymore. The boys have a few tricks up their sleeves. There's a surf guitar sound that runs through many of the tracks, most notably "Pull Out".

At first "Mexico", the lone down tempo track on the album, seems to prove that the band is better when they play fast. However, the more and more times you hear it, the more the psychedelic haze grows on you. That's not the case with the album closer "Parasites". I'm not exactly sure what they were trying for with the song, but what they ended up with sounds like a Black Rebel Motorcycle Club outtake.

Despite the song-by-song quality of the album, there is still something unsatisfying about it. Most likely it's an issue of expectations. With such a long wait I was craving a more dramatic and assertive document from the band. I wanted them to grab me by the lapels and shake the rock out of me. That just doesn't happen on The Soft Pack.

Maybe fresh ears hearing these songs for the first time will find them outstanding. I can't go more than pretty good.

It starts off very ambitious with "The Captain", a skyrocketing rock track but then they even put this one to shame with the almost perfect "The Golden Rule". It's the strings close to the end that drive this one home for me. "Bubbles" is an unassuming song title but it doesn't embrace what this song has to offer. Then Biffy Clyro slow it down for "God & Satan" a fun song that gets you thinking about both sides.

Songs like "Born On A Horse" and the soaring "Mountains" ("I am a mountain, I am the sea, you can't take that away from me") are literally screaming for radio play. In fact if songs like this were rampant on radio I might actually listen to radio!

My prediction, Only Revolutions will be a sleeper hit for Biffy Clyro. A lot of people will have heard of the band and will take a little exposure to this music to get them turned on again. And for people that have never heard of the Scottish act, they should be an easy sell

Tim Rutilli's Califone is Chicago based, long revered for it's indie rock roots. Then were does a band like Califone fit in? I'm sure their ethics and such fit in quite nicely into the home of Superchunk and other indie greats.

All My Friends opens with a somewhat raunchy track called "Give Away The Bride" and after hearing the song, you can't imagine a better opener. It's raw but deep in delivery. "Polish Girls" follows with more of a rock leaning. One of the best style of songs for Califone is the meandering one. It is a song that doesn't seem like it has a purpose, just sort of drifting between here and there and that's exactly what they pull off on "1928", just before they get into the brilliant title track. I hear a little Richmond Fontaine in the folky "Buñuel".

They get into an old blues-style stomp on "Ape-Like". If you are a fan of Bon Iver then check out "Alice Marble Gray", a gentle track that is very well arranged. The album leaves you on a very tasty note, a song called "Better Angels".

The whole album is premium material. Nothing that could have been trimmed or fleshed out is contained on the album. If you've never bared witness to the wonderful Califone, this is the perfect stepping stone. Work backwards to Roots and Crowns.

Tim has also put together a feature film that will be the same name. It's due at some film festivals later this year.