Athlete
Vehicles & Animals
(Astralwerks)
Britishindie rockers who sing lovingly ironic songs about being British indierockers. Their debut album features a piano-ballad ode to embarking ona “New Project” and a song called “El Salvador,” whose melody evokesAvril’s “Complicated.” The rest is sweetly melodic blip-rock forRadiohead fans in need of tender chuckles.
The Ponys
Laced With Romance
(In the Red)
These Chicagoans must have gotten A’s in history class. Theysound like ’80s English post-punks trying to sound like ’60s Americangarage rockers–who were themselves mimicking ’60s English bandsimitating ’50s American R&B groups. But the Ponys turn thatspace-time vertigo into a Farfisa-fueled, fuzz-guitar fantasy camp.
Sluts of Trust
We Are All Sluts of Trust
(Chemikal Underground)
Still mad about that unlistenable Liars record? ThisGlaswegian two-piece adds ’70s guitar riffage and gonzoid hip-shake totheir violent Birthday Party bleat. They’ve even been called Scotland’sanswer to the Darkness, but only if you prefer wasted hookups andbarroom blood sport to a thing called love.
