Say Anything, 'Say Anything' (J)
Clever emo lad's self-conscious self-loathing.
By David Peisner 10.19.09 8:14 AM
"I can't define myself through irony and self-deprecation," Max Bemis sings on "Mara and Me," a wonderful spazz-pop waltz from his band's latest album. Oh, sure you can, dude.
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Spiral Stairs, 'The Real Feel' (Matador)
Ex-Pavement goofball prescribes playfulness.
By William Goodman 10.16.09 1:04 PM
For the first solo album under his nom de tune, Scott Kannberg eschews the catchy cacophony of his earlier bands -- Pavement and Preston School of Industry -- for breezily quirky '70s country-pop and late-'60s psychedelia that's two parts Lindsey Buckingham and one part Roky Erickson.
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Tegan and Sara, 'Sainthood' (Vapor/Sire)
Canada's most intense sister act grows up (but not apart) in public.
By Mikael Wood 10.15.09 9:51 AM
"I know it turns you off when I get talking like a teen," sings Sara Quin in "On Directing," a cut from the sixth studio album by Quin and her twin sister, Tegan.
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The Flaming Lips, 'Embryonic' (Warner Bros.)
With all the plushies gone, Wayne Coyne's fantasia takes an inscrutably dark turn.
By David Marchese 10.14.09 9:32 AM
The universe tends toward disarray. Stars explode. Planets collide. Singers in white suits douse themselves in fake blood.
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Flight of the Conchords, 'I Told You I Was Freaky' (Sub Pop)
Even quality jokes wilt when they're rehashed.
By David Peisner 10.13.09 10:59 AM
If you laughed when you heard these musical parodies on the New Zealand duo's HBO show, you'll probably laugh again the first time you hear them here. But like most comedy albums, this one loses its luster upon repeated hearings. Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement are uniquely talented mimics -- the title track's R.
