FIRES OF ROME
You Kingdom You (The Hours)
words_sasha hnatkovich

This New York trio is not the first to try to rejuvenate the ‘70s-era glam of Bowie, Bolan et al, but they certainly do it with charm, confidence, and composure. Wyatt’s songwriting is complex, but restrained. Haunting melodies, often played on organ, underlie the precise rhythm section, pierced by Geddy Leerange vocals and brilliant guitar hooks left to guest virtuosos. The classic nature of the songs is instantly recognizable—not only in their inspiration, but also their own staying power.

KRAACK & SMAAK
Plastic People (Ultra Records)
words_charlie adelman

From Tiesto to the Vengaboys, the Dutch have had a long time love affair with dance music. Now
Kraack & Smaak are ready to join the party with their sophomore album, Plastic People, and unlike their
homeland contemporaries, the band is equally about the soul as they are the dance floor. The lead single,
“Squeeze Me,” is a throwback that sounds like a house-infused Motown production while the title track
sees the band collaborate with Moloko’s Mark Brydon for an atmospheric yet club-ready anthem. The
band even name-checks everyone’s favorite train wrecks on the album opener, the funky “Bobby &
Whitney.” Fortunately, in this case, Kraack is definitely not whack.

WILD BEASTS
Limbo, Panto (Domino)
words_david c. obenour

Angular English rock has been somewhat glutted ever since Franz Ferdinand laid claim to US charts. It’s not that there aren’t bands from before and after that have had legitimate things to say, it just became harder for them to rise above the waves of shimmering guitar. Wild Beasts fit into the latter category, having only played together for a handful of years, but the quartet still expand the post-new wave sound by juxtaposing melodramatic heights with gritty lows to achieve somewhat mixed results.

THE EULOGIES
Tempted To Do Nothing (Dangerbird Records)
words_charlie adelman

Everyone goes through the occasional emo moment when it seems as if the world is against you.
Fortunately, The Eulogies’ latest EP, Tempted To Do Nothing, serves as the perfect soundtrack for
accompaniment while you wallow in your sorrows with a cigarette on your front stoop. Lead singer
Peter Walker’s delicate voice glides over organic compositions such as the ode to loneliness, “Is There
Anyone Here?” However, the band’s uplifting sound counteracts the lyrical doldrums, giving just enough
pep to shuffle you on with your life before falling victim to the record’s potentially dangerous title.

LOVE IS ALL
A Hundred Things Keep Me Up at Night (What’s Your Rapture)
words_sasha hnatkovich

The lo-fi indie-pop quintet from Gothenberg follow up their 2005 critically acclaimed Nine Times That
Same Song with an album that manages to be less chaotic and more accessible while remaining
energetic, up-tempo and infectious. Their car-crash pop impossibly piles up Brit Invasion, garage, ‘70s
punk, second-wave ska and new wave into a modern dance party mêlée. Though exhibiting maturity and
self-discipline in their sophomore release, Love Is All remains exuberantly schizoid and deliriously fun.

DEER TICK
War Elephant (Partisan)
words_sasha hnatkovich

Two years ago, I watched John McCauley open for the Kamikaze Hearts with his friend Jessica Nicole (also known as Basket Tree) at a warehouse space in his native Providence. The 19-year-old stunned the crowd with his broken hound dog vocals and simple country strumming. Later that year, he recorded a debut album that has finally been released nationwide, fleshing out his earnest acoustic apartment songs into a country-blues time machine to Depression-era Tennessee.