Mando Diao, 'Ode to Ochrasy' (Mute)

Timeless guitar rave-ups straight from a Swedish beer blast.

As joyously empty-headed and spunk-fitted as an ode to rock-life hedonism and confusion ought to be, the Swedish garage rockers' third album makes up in undeniable choruses and fully lubricated production what it lacks in originality (though sometimes just barely).

You Say Party! We Say Die!, 'Lose All the Time' (Paper Bag)

These exclamation points harbor no dark secrets.

Don't be confused by this British Columbian band's strange name and the liberal use of punctuation: They are neither abstruse art rockers nor death-obsessed metalloids. The third choice?

Cornelius, 'Sensuous' (Everloving)

A thrilling kaleidoscope of relentless pop tinkering.

The fifth full-length from Cornelius -- a.k.a.

The Main Attractions: Tom Morello

Moonlighting as the Nightwatchman, the firebrand guitarist also takes his Rage back to the stage.

Tom Morello / Photo by Ben Watts

Elliott Smith, 'New Moon' (Kill Rock Stars)

Early recordings show a glimmer of hope.

If there is comfort in being sad, Elliott Smith knew it once. The late singer/songwriter's early four-track recordings were about the good kind of loneliness: wandering through the city just before morning, waiting for a train to come or a drug to kick in, hoping that something might happen.

Dntel, 'Dumb Luck' (Sub Pop)

Indietronica producer mails it in, despite guest stars.

You might expect producer Jimmy Tamborello, also half of the Postal Service, to push the boundaries of his woozy laptop-pop tomfoolery with the first record under his Dntel alias in six years.

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