Iran

Hints of TV on the Radio's atmospherics sneak into Iran's first disc in five years -- no surprise, since Kyp Malone is their guitarist and Dave Sitek coproduced -- but frontman Aaron Aites counters the otherworldly ambience with straightforward strains of classic indie rock (think Sebadoh and Pavement). That combination can be jarring, but mostly in pleasant ways: One minute it's ethereal doo-wop ("Buddy"), the next it's four minutes of random noise ("Digital Clock and Phone"), then it's on to a weird mix of the two ("Cape Canaveral/Buddy [Reprise]"). Such wrenching turns are rarely executed so skillfully.

Listen: Iran, "Buddy"

By Josh Modell