Primal Scream, 'Beautiful Future' (WEA International)

Britrock bad boys reimagine their formative decade, maturely.

After 20 years of alternating between thrilling electronic experimentation and random Rolling Stones pastiches, Primal Scream take a pleasingly lightweight turn on their ninth album, embracing a breezy, effervescent '80s pop aesthetic (with production help from Bloc Party soundscaper Paul Epworth and Björn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John).

School of Seven Bells, 'Alpinisms' (Ghostly International)

America's shoegaze revival at its most meticulously refined.

Alpinisms' sweeping, ethereal pop owes a stylistic debt to My Bloody Valentine and the Cocteau Twins, but the debut album by former Secret Machines guitarist Ben Curtis' new project reveals a range of influences and a sophisticated approach to arrangement that sets the trio well apart from less imaginative latter-day shoegazers.

Electric Six, 'Flashy' (Metropolis)

Disco-panicking Detroit jokers give rave-ups surprising depth.

Electric Six’s fifth album may begin with "Gay Bar Part Two," but the sardonic sextet are only parodying casual fans’ desire for a sequel to their flukey 2003 debut hit, Fire. Flashy expands on the themes of the group’s more recent efforts, delving into the excesses and vacuous nihilism of a post-TMZ America.

Deerhunter, 'Microcastle' (Kranky)

Bradford Cox and Co. inspire a new generation to conquer despair.

Deerhunter's name implies aggression and brutality, but even at their loudest, the Atlanta band's music possesses a bewildered fragility that suggests they identify more closely with the innocent creature caught in the crosshairs. Lanky, waifish leader

Douglas Armour, 'The Light of a Golden Day, the Arms of the Night' (The Social Registry)

Hushed, winsome '80s-loving dance pop from dawn to dusk.

The debut album from this versatile Los Angeles singer/ songwriter is split into two distinct sides: The first half skews in favor of melancholic post–Postal Service synth pop, and the other focuses on a slightly more ambient version of the Shins' folk pop.

Adem, 'Takes' (Domino)

Well-intentioned acoustic whiff at '90s alt-rock nostalgia.

This Turkish-English folksinger's album of cover versions is an exceptionally well-curated disc with intriguing selections penned by Low, Yo La Tengo, and Tortoise. But despite his good taste, Adem's competent yet generally uninspired acoustic arrangements make him sound like a coolly ambitious street busker.

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