Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

To be completely honest, I jumped on the Arctic Monkeys bandwagon somewhat later than most. It was well after Favourite Worst Nightmare came out that I gave them a chance, and subsequently fell in love with them. That, however, was my downfall. I fell in love with Favourite Worst Nightmare and was content in writing off their previous material as less mature and probably not as good [as is the case with a great deal of bands, especially such critically acclaimed bands]. Big mistake. The band's major debut Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not is not only better than the subsequent album, but also easily one of the best and most original albums I've ever heard. I would easily place it on par with singer Alex Turner's side project The Last Shadow Puppets.

I'll not waste my time with trying to describe Arctic Monkeys sound or with trying to compare them to bands you may have heard of, because regardless of the effort I put into it, it will be fruitless; this band is far too individual and incredible. There is, in my mind, justification for they hype around this band, as well as to the statement that they are the best band to come out of the UK since the "Fab Four".

Tracklisting:
1. The View From The Afternoon
2. I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor
3. Fake Tales From San Francisco
4. Dancing Shoes
5. You Probably Couldn't See For The Lights But You Were Staring Straight At Me
6. Still Take You Home
7. Riot Van
8. Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured
9. Mardy Bum
10. When The Sun Goes Down
11. From The Ritz To The Rubble
12. A Certain Romance

Indie Mixtape

This is a mix that I made for my friend and former shift manager Tiffany. I always keep all of the mixes that I make, at least for a little while, and this one is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I hope you like it as well.

Tracklisting:
1. Glue Girls - Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin [from the album "Pershing"]
2. Cath... - Death Cab For Cutie [from the album "Narrow Stairs"]
3. The Underdog - Spoon [from the album "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga"]
4. American Names - Sebastien Grainger [from the album "American Names EP"]
5. Sunday - Bloc Party [from the album "A Weekend In The City"]
6. Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur - Sigur Rós [from the album "Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust"]
7. Get Better - Mates Of State [from the album Re-Arrange Us]
8. Is There A Ghost - Band Of Horses [from the album "Cease To Begin"]
9. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) - The Arcade Fire [from the album "Funeral"]
10. Dress Me Like A Clown - Margot & The Nuclear So and So's [from the album "The Dust Of Retreat"]
11. The Rabbit, The Bat, and The Reindeer - Dr. Dog [from the album "Fate"]
12. Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car - Iron & Wine [from the album "The Shepherd's Dog"]
13. Hospital Bed - Cold War Kids [from the album "Robbers & Cowards"]
14. Through The Nights These Days - Jason Collett [from the album "Here's To Being Here"]

Indie Mixtape

Stars - Set Yourself On Fire

Set Yourself On Fire is not only a great indie-pop album, but it is also further proof that the individual members and contributors of Broken Social Scene are great musicians in their own right, i.e. Jason Collett, Kevin Drew, Brendan Canning, Feist. Don't expect BSS here, though; Stars is slightly more straightforward and hard-hitting. This is one of my absolute favorite releases from Arts & Crafts Records. The songs are catchy and memorable and refuse to become mundane, regardless of the number of times played.

MYSPACE

Tracklisting:
1. Your Ex-Lover Is Dead
2. Set Yourself On Fire
3. Ageless Beauty
4. Reunion
5. The Big Fight
6. What I'm Trying To Say
7. One More Night (Your Ex-Lover Remains Dead)
8. Sleep Tonight
9. The First Five Times
10. He Lied About Death
11. Celebration Guns
12. Soft Revolution
13. Calendar Girl

Elvis Perkins - Elvis Perkins in Dearland

Nearly 2 years ago, my good friend Nathan Edwin told me about Elvis Perkins. I had never before heard of him, and while I was impressed with his sound, I thought that the actual songs could have been better. Ash Wednesday is a good album at best; Elvis Perkins in Dearland is the realization of the sound that Mr. Perkins was attempting to perfect.

Imagine if The Beatles played a very modern lo-fi, full of jazz and blues nuances. Elvis Perkins is a great deal more talented a songwriter than I had previously given him credit for being, and ...in Dearland is certainly proof of that fact.

MYSPACE

Tracklisting:
1. Shampoo
2. Hey
3. Hours Last Stand
4. Heard Your Voice In Dresden
5. Send My Fond Regards to Lonelyville
6. I'll Be Arriving
7. Chains Chains Chains
8. Doomsday
9. 1 2 3 Goodbye
10. How's Forever Been Baby

The Winetree - Kentucky

It's not likely that you've ever heard of The Winetree, unless of course you run around in the same circle of friends that I do. The Winetree consists of a couple of guys that went to college at Kentucky Christian University shortly before I arrived there and with whom I share many mutual friends.

Kentucky, at first listen, is undeniably good, with Ryan's vocals blending with guitars and Isaiah's incredible violin playing. The songs are fun and at times cute, but never anything shy of amazing. Personally, however, this album represents a specific period of time in my life. It was during the late summer/early fall of 2006, shortly after I had moved home from Indiana. I was working mornings at a gas station and everyday during my lunch break, I would eat a turkey sandwich in my car with an open newspaper and The Winetree to keep me company. I can't hardly sit in my volvo without wanting to hear this record.

I will forever love this album and it's about time that I shared it. Unfortunately, the band has since broken up, but have heart because Isaiah is still creating music [from what I hear] and you can also always enjoy Kentucky [it pairs well with a turkey sandwich and a local paper].

MYSPACE

Tracklisting:
1. Kentucky
2. Bottle Rockets
3. You Can Go
4. Cynthiana
5. I'm Sorry
6. Gun Shots
7. Civil War Song
8. Down On The Bars
9. You Never Let Me Call You That
10. The Sky Is Blue
11. Tracks Of Coal
12. Redberry
13. Banks Of The Ohio
14. Casino

Lisa Hannigan - Sea Sew

Most people have never and will never know whom the beautiful female vocals belong to while listening to Damien Rice. They'll hear her haunting harmonies, but always allow Rice's vocals to overshadow [which is fair, seeing as how they are his records]. Her name, for those of you who don't know, is Lisa Hannigan. Hannigan, the Irish-born singer-songwriter, finally decided to venture out on her own and step out from behind Rice. Career-wise, she couldn't have made a better decision. Don't expect her to sound like a female Damien Rice, though; her sound is far more comparable to Feist, My Brightest Diamond, or Joan As Police Woman.

Sea Sew is a beautiful and haunting, yet fun and breezy album. Personally, it takes a great deal for me to be impressed with female singer-songwriters, but rest assured that I am more than impressed with Lisa Hannigan's debut. Sea Sew will be a hard album to refuse when the weather is warmer and I'm driving with my windows down.

Tracklisting:
1. Ocean and a Rock
2. Venn Diagram
3. Sea Song
4. Splishy Splashy
5. I Don't Know
6. Keep It All
7. Counting Blues
8. Pistachio
9. Teeth
10. Lille

In Endeavors - You've Got Your Friends, I've Got Mine

For a month or so leading up to the release of You've Got Your Friends, I've Got Mine, I scoured the internet looking for a leaked version of the EP, but to no avail. Even once the album had dropped, it seemed like no one had taken the initiative. Suffice it to say, I took advantage of the fact that I was in their hometown of Lexington this weekend and purchased the album at CD Central.

The first time I had ever heard of In Endeavors was nearly 2 1/2 years ago, when I saw them open for The Devil Wears Prada and Gwen Stacy in Lexington. Back then they were still called In Endeavors Italya, and were certainly the "standout band" on that bill, being the only non-hardcore band. Musically, I remember thinking that they were reminiscent of bands like Bloc Party and all of those other indie/rock bands. Since then, however, In Endeavors has dropped the "Italya", added a second guitarist, and changed their sound to be all but an exact replica of The Strokes. With their uncanny ability to craft upbeat and fun songs, though, the band would be doing themselves a disservice if they tried any other sound but the New York bar-rock sound.

You'll likely not find this album anywhere else other than at a stop on the band's tour, or one of the local record shops in Lexington.

MYSPACE

Tracklisting:
1. The Move
2. Day One
3. Private Eye
4. You've Got Your Friends, I've Got Mine
5. I Can't Run

MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

MTV.com describes MGMT as "electroclash musical terrorists [that] transmogrified into an eclectic, brainy pop group with heavy psychedelic overtones", and where I agree, I would have to push that definition further by saying that all of the acclaim that they have been garnering has not only been deserved, but I would consider the band to be one of the rare examples of an "it" band has lived up to and exceeded its name. Hopefully their sophomore release [whenever that may be] will be able to do the same, rather than cause them to fizzle out like so many of their predecessors and contemporaries.

They have been likened to bands such as Suicide and The Flaming Lips, and have spent time sharing the road with Of Montreal, but what I find so interesting about their sound is how it divides their debut Oracular Spectacular nearly in half. The first several tracks are percussion and synthesizer driven and would do well to start a dance party; the second half, however, is where the album gets very interesting. Just when the album starts to feel consistant [not monotonous], the track "Pieces of What" comes along, with acoustic guitars and Beatles-esque melodies. From there on, the tracks are much more indie feeling and [at times] sound incredibly inspired by Broken Social Scene [especially the track "Of Moons, Birds, & Monsters"].

It would be a daunting task to categorize MGMT, and it would almost certainly do the band an injustice. Their debut, Oracular Spectacular is a great album full of dance and indie tracks that serves as the perfect launching pad for this phenomenal band.

Tracklisting:
1. Time To Pretend
2. Weekend Wars
3. The Youth
4. Electric Feel
5. Kids
6. 4th Dimensional Transition
7. Pieces Of What
8. Of Moons, Birds, & Monsters
9. The Handshake
10. Future Reflections

Mason Proper - Olly Oxen Free

Mason Proper lies in the same vein as bands like Manchester Orchestra, The Colour Revolt, and Dignan. Olly Oxen Free is a very solid release, full of driving indie songs.

Tracklisting:
1. Fog
2. Point A to Point B
3. Lock and Key
4. Only A Moment
5. Out Dragging The River
6. In The Mirror
7. Downpour
8. Shiny
9. Alone
10. Safe For The Time Being

MYSPACE

Vetiver - Tight Knit

[copied from Amazon.com]
"[Tight Knit] represents a summation of the different styles and directions heard on past Vetiver releases while introducing some unexpected twists. Their tunes have been described as "dreamy, gentle songs that George Harrison would have written in some sunny country garden." This is a layered and rich record, with subtleties and nuances that reveal themselves with repeated listening."

It is hard to believe that Vetiver is only now signing with a larger and more respectable label [Sub Pop]. It's not, however, hard to believe that this is the album to do it, as Tight Knit fits in easily with the rest of the "Best of 2009 [so far...]" list.

Sounding as though Devendra Banhart sang for a band comprised of memebers of Spoon and Okkervil River, Vetiver is a wonderful new find.

MYSPACE

Tracklisting:
1. Rolling Sea
2. Sister
3. Everyday
4. Through The Front Door
5. Down From Above
6. On The Other Side
7. More Of This
8. Another Reason To Go
9. Strictly Rule
10. At Forest Edge