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Frightened Rabbit – “The Winter of Mixed Drinks”Fat Cat-out now4 / 5 Selkirk, Scotland-based Frightened Rabbit has been faring well on their tours, and no wonder: their fourth studio album brings a selection of upbeat and driven originals to their stage repertoire. Their mixture of straightforward rock and Scottish vocals may not capture the imagination in the age of Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys, but the tracks on “Winter of Mixed Drinks” are certainly satisfying: “Skip the Youth” sticks out on these 11 with an extra juicy build, and helps to support the more streamlined tracks, including the energetic break-up “Nothing Like You” and theRead More →

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Besnard Lakes – “The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night”Jagjaguwar-out tomorrow2.5 / 5 The Montreal-based Besnard Lakes are on their third dream/rock album with “The Besnard Lakes are the Roaring Night.” While we admit this to be an utterly awesome title (and the cover’s pretty cool, too), the Lakes seem too entrenched in the languid flow of their genre to fill out an entire album. Every track is a slow-build, with a classic rock feel in the vocal harmonies and guitar work, and while this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, consider “Chicago Train,” which doesn’t hit its first chorus until about 2:30, halfway through theRead More →

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Portugal. The Man – “American Ghetto”Equal Vision Records-out now3 / 5 The Portland, OR based alt rock band Portugal. The Man has been up to a lot lately; about an album a year, to be precise. Such a strain of creative flow would bend or break most bands, but P.TM seems to thrive in it, with the underground “Censored Colors” and the poppy, upbeat “The Satanic Satanist” as their last two releases. “American Ghetto” returns to darker, more sophisticated colors, utilizing more distortion and processed sounds. Right from the get-go is “Dead Dog,” a declaration of the band’s darker approach. Throughout “Ghetto” are good chorusesRead More →

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The Ruby Suns – “Fight Softly”Sub Pop-out tomorrow!4 / 5 Open this new pop/ psychedelia release and just feel it fizz with freshness and glimmer. With a sound as chromatic and vibrant as their latest cover, New Zealand’s Ruby Suns exude a fondness for Animal Collective electronica and layering, while keeping clean, crisp, focused melody and vocals. “Mingus and Pike” sway with 80s-era synth and percussion, creating a soft, full sound that entrances, melodically darts to and fro like a minnow; “Why Kids Fail” is a highlight of a different color, one more earthy and weightier, combining a video-game style hook with driving drums. ThereRead More →