"I set out to make the most poppy album I could muster," Menomena drummer Danny Seim tells SPIN.com of his solo project Lackthereof's Barsuk Records debut, Your Anchor, set to arrive July 22. And with "Last November," the first leak from the forthcoming set -- his ninth as Lackthereof -- Seim's words are certainly validated.

For their latest album, Migration (out July 29 via Ernest Jenning), NYC's Takka Takka recruited some pals for assistance in the studio, and drummer Bryan Devendorf from the National lends a percussive hand on "Everybody Say," a track from the record that's available for download below, exclu

Stripping down five gems from their latest effort, 2007's acclaimed set Even If It Kills Me, Minneapolis-based pop-punkers Motion City Soundtrack will release an acoustic EP May 6 via iTunes, notably arriving with a downtrot, sincere rendition of catchy ballad "Fell In Love Without You."

What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger; if that means changing a few things up and taking some risks, then so be it. For What Made Milwaukee Famous' upcoming sophomore album, What Doesn't Kill Us, the Austin, Texas-based outfit entered the studio with producer and Sparklehorse guitarist Chris Michaels. New tune "Resistance St." --

Veteran art-rockers Xiu Xiu, hailed as one of the brightest stars amidst the Kill Rock Stars roster, retain their title with "F.T.W.," a harrowing mini-drama recited in a creative mix of strumming acoustics, plucking interludes, floating keys, and frontman Jamie Stewart's breathy, gloomy narratives. "There is no right / There is no wrong / In

Metaphors relating a band's sound to their name can come off as lazy and uninspired, but in the case of Glendale, California's Biirdie, it's impossible to resist the temptation to make such a connection. The shifting folk-tinged pop exhibited on the band's forthcoming second LP,