Here’s a rundown of the essential albums available online and in record stores today:
Katy Perry, Teenage Dream
Corrupting our youth, melting our popsicles.
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!!!, Strange Weather, Isn’t It?
Brooklyn punk funkin’ gets somber makeover
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JP, Chrissie and the Fairground Boys, Fidelity
Legend, intrepid unknown, nod to Sonny and Cher
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Ra Ra Riot, The Orchard
Raucously literate brood obsess over minutiae
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The Sword, Warp Riders
Texas thrashers discover inner boogie…on Mars?
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James Blackshaw, All Is Falling
A breathtaking maelstrom of string-swept virtuosity
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Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan, Hawk
Scottish indie lass returns as rootsy, remote Svengali
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Chief, Modern Rituals
Twangy power poppers get too shiny too soon
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Cotton Jones, Tall Hours in the Glowstream
Folksy couple awash in past’s brooding echoes
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Fitz & the Tantrums, Pickin’ Up the Pieces
The ’60s shtick is thick, but the yacht rocks on
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Land of Talk, Cloak and Cipher
Canadian indie elite help hone lovely racket
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Maximum Balloon, Maximum Balloon
Alt-rock mixologist tries hand at shaking booties
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The Pack, Wolfpack Party
Skate-rap scamps kick off their sneaks, get raunchy
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The Vaselines, Sex With an X
Even in twee twilight, legendary naifs still spunky
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Wildbirds & Peacedrums, Rivers
Shifty art-pop bewitches with imaginative means
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Jenny Wilson, Hardships!
Sweden’s arty mama takes on the maternal dilemma
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