Low Stars

If you grew up in the '90s and are a bit nostalgic of the pop phenomenon of the past decade, you might wanna consider buying Low Stars' new album. It's not all good, but then again, neither was '90s music. If you're purchasing it on iTunes by song, get "Calling All Friends", "Tell The Teacher" and "Tracks in the Rain." The rest is painful to hear. The whole CD has an positive vibe, but, compared to the competition, this composition doesn't quite cut it.

¡Forward, Russia!-Eighteen

You can't really hate ¡Forward, Russia!, but it's rather hard to find the novelty in "Eighteen" when it almost sounds exactly like Bloc Party's "Banquet." But you're torn, because it sounds good.
And yet, there is novelty in the band. Call me biased, but when a band sports a chick with sticks, I'm likely to lend a tender ear. And Katie Nicholls, drums, handles her cymbals pretty well. Rob Canning, Bass, got me instantly hooked to "Nine." Then Whiskas and Nicholls blended in nicely to welcome Tom Woohead's vocals into the whole tune. If you're in England right now, and you're into the whole Post-Punk Scene, now is the time to check them out, because they have the caliber of bloc party, but they're still pretty underground.

The Shins-Wincing The Night Away

The Shins’ new album has been out for a while. I was waiting a while to review it, because it always takes me a while to really understand their music. But that’s really why they are one of the best indie rock bands out there today. The play on rhythm, which is even more highlighted in this album than in the previous one really draws you in the music. The complexity of the album and the voice James Mercer mixed with some nostalgic chords, really make me wish I were- but at the same time, am-somewhere else. “Phantom Limb” is a really good example of that correlation. It’s universal, it would have been a hit in the 70’s, it is one now, and I’m pretty sure it would still make it 30 years from now. “Turn Me On” is one of the songs that had to break me, but ended up really making me feel completely differently about the song and the whole album. And the most beautiful song on the album is “Black Wave” for many ineffable reasons that only concern my own personal path in music and life. I strongly recommend this album, and would probably sustain the New Musical Express’ review that this album is managed to top the previous one.