SOUND BITES

When pondering this year's best albums, I was faced with a fairly difficult decision, in which I basically had to rethink my entire outlook on what makes a good album?  When it came down to crunch time (read: 20 minutes ago), I had to stop flip-flopping on the top two and choose one that would, by merit of its position on the list, be hailed as "the better album". My conclusion (for the purposes of this list, anyway) is that a masterwork in craft, skill and substance from beginning to end should trump a collection of great songs.  I'm not saying writing a song is easy by any stretch, but writing a series of songs and building them into a sum that transcends its parts is much more difficult.  In the end, I like the top two equally, but for different reasons.  #2 is hands down the year's better collection of songs.  But my pick for top spot is a shining example of the fading art that is creating a true album.  Yes, it's a bloated, confusing mess at times....

Choosing this list wasn't easy.  Not only did I have to ask myself what songs I liked the most this year, but I also had to ask myself why.  For me, 2011 will be a year that defines my musical tastes going forward; it's a year when so many genres and styles gave us songs that truly are great, it's very difficult to pick a winner without categorizing and sub-categorizing, and sorting into five columns within each sub... you get the idea. In the end, I had to turn off my head, and let my heart and soul put these jigsaw pieces into order.  And, before we get into the assigning of numbers to songs, let me say I'm well aware that taste is subjective.  I don't expect this list to match anyone else's, and I don't expect that I'd ever want it to.  I present it to you as a means by which to give some of my favourites the old fist bump and a mechanism by which I hope you check them out, especially if you haven't already.  Alright, enough stallin...

Having already posted 50 songs that turned my crank in 2011, I realized just before writing this post that I need help.  My intention was to give honourable mention to five additional artists that, for various reasons, were omitted from the main list.  So, naturally, here are ten more.  I think this is the sign I'm a music addict.  If you ever see a guy walk into a hotel room on A&E's Intervention to find his family gathered to show concern over his growing music collection, that'll probably be me giving them the stink eye as I back into the corridor.

If you can count you'll have noticed that today's post was the 50th nominee for Year in Rock 2011, which means that's the end of the road as far as nominations go.  I think those who've followed along daily will agree that there are a lot of styles and flavours represented in this year's class, and I sincerely hope that I was able to shine a light on a new band or two that you may not have experienced before along the way. I know that's the case for The Silent Comedy, a band who I gave the web equivalent of a fist bump to on December 17.  To my shock and amazement, that post is the landslide winner for most page views of all nominees; as of this writing, it alone counts for 50 (!!!) of all visits to Sound Bites.  All in about three days, to boot.  The next closest entry is Radiohead with a paltry 13 views.  And, even if it's only on my blog, it's nice to see a critic's darling juggernaut like Radiohead trumped by a considerably lesser known, up-an...

KAREN O, TRENT REZNOR & ATTICUS ROSS Immigrant Song From: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (soundtrack) Released: December 27 Cover songs can be a dicey proposition at the best of times.  Artists who take them on are faced with the daunting task of paying tribute to not only a song, but also every piece of legend that comes along with that song and the people who originally brought it into the world.  The risks are usually high; for every song, for every band, there's someone who holds them at such esteem that to attempt a recreation of any kind is nothing short of blasphemy.  To cover a song is to accept the fact that you cannot hope to improve on the subject of your tribute, and certainly never make it your own; it's not your emotion to convey, not your words to speak.  Very few are those who have wrestled a song from all association to its creator, and the vast majority who try are destined to fail miserably.

CHEVELLE Face to the Floor From: Hats Off to the Bull Released: December 6 Chevelle is one of those bands that time seems to have forgotten.  Bursting onto the scene with their 2002 breakthrough Wonder What's Next , they rose above the throngs of like-minded, downtuned rock bands of the era because of their penchant for strong use of melody, bombastic choruses, and their non-reliance on chest pounding, I'll-fuck-your-shit-up bro-rock.  However, as indie rock ushered in a sea change and substance became more valuable than volume, Chevelle were an unfortunate casualty by association.  As our interest waned, so did theirs; fourth album Vena Sera was a tired copy/paste job of what had preceded it, with nary a true standout track to be heard. Hitting the wall, so to speak, and getting knocked down a few pegs seemed to lift a weight.  They responded to their new found underdog status with the surprisingly strong follow-up Sci-Fi Crimes in 2009.  By now, Ch...

THE BLACK KEYS Little Black Submarines From: El Camino Released: December 6 What can I say about the Black Keys that hasn't been said already?  After slumming it in clubs and putting out records on tiny labels for years, they finally saw their fan base grow to the point of a major label deal back in 2006.  It wasn't until last year, however, when they finally hit paydirt with Brothers and its massive smash single Tighten Up .  So with the release of El Camino they not only had the daunting task of following up a great record (one which I named first runner-up for Album of the Year last year), they had to follow up a very successful one. El Camino is a fine chaser to Brothers ' blues/soul punch in that it forgoes all the laid back grooves present on that record in favour of rocking out.  Foo Fighters' Wasting Light is perhaps the only other recent example of a band ditching their more emotional side, putting their foot to the floor and going for maximum ...

THE SILENT COMEDY Gasoline (Acoustic) From: Cruelty & Clemency (EP) Released: November 1 How do you know you've found buried treasure?  In rock, the telltale signs of new discovery have morphed over the decades.  It used to be you'd hear of a band you'd never seen on MuchMusic, heard on the radio, or read about in a magazine.  Of course, it's 2011 now, so none of those things really exist anymore.  So, after listening to a random stream of Cruelty & Clemency last month, I suspected I'd stumbled upon uncharted territory.  Intrigued, I went to Wikipedia to learn more.  They didn't have a listing.  Undeterred, I went to Amazon.  Cruelty & Clemency wasn't available.  I then Googled their website, where I learned that the EP was not only nonexistent on CD, but that it wasn't even mentioned on their own website .  At this point, I was bound and determined to get to the bottom of it.  Through a haphazard maze of tw...

TOM WAITS Hell Broke Luce From: Bad As Me Released: October 25 Often eccentric, sometimes bewildering and always entertaining, Tom Waits has been padding his formidable resumé for the better part of forty years.  In fact, he's been at it for so long that he's one of very few musicians on the face of the planet you're surprised to hear has released only seventeen studio albums. Okay, so the numbers are skewed just a pinch; his various appearances and contributions are pretty much too numerous to mention, plus Bad As Me is his first new album in seven years.  Nonetheless, it seems like his recorded output is much more staggering in volume than it actually is.  I suppose if there's a reason to be found for the long delays between albums it could be his age.  I prefer to operate under the assumption that he takes his time, making sure an album is worthy of presentation before it's released.  In any event, you can't name many (if any) other artists who hav...

PUSCIFER Telling Ghosts From: Conditions of My Parole Released: October 18 In case you couldn’t tell from the album artwork for Puscifer’s second album Conditions of My Parole , Maynard James Keenan doesn’t take his third band and oft electronica-tinged side project all that seriously.  Then, there’s the utterly silly, redneck-lampooning video for the album’s title track, crammed with enough mullets and whiskey bottles to convince you you’re watching a Jerry Springer production.  All of these stunts amount to crude slapstick that serves as a ludicrous distraction from the music.  And, in the case of Conditions of My Parole , I can’t understand why all the deflection. If Tool is the Maynard’s proud legacy in rock and A Perfect Circle its slightly lesser known but equally respected cousin, then Puscifer has been treated like his redheaded stepchild, designed to be pointed and laughed at like a common novelty act.  And debut album V is for Vagina suit...

MUTEMATH Quarantine From: Odd Soul Released: October 4 You may remember Mutemath from their 2007 video for Typical , a revolutionary clip that was shot with the music and action in reverse.  If you do, you probably also remember Mutemath as kind of a standard, run-of-the-mill mid-aughts rock band; angular guitars, electronic flourishes, anthemic choruses, etc.  Furthermore, if you answered "yes" to both A and B, after hitting "play" on the nicely embedded video and taking it in for the next seven minutes, you will probably need a moment to reflect on just what the hell you heard and then another moment to come to grips with the fact that this really is that same band you remembered. Odd Soul is only Mutemath's third album, but it bears the stylistic leaps befitting a band with at least twice as many albums under their belts.  After slightly tweaking their sound with 2009's Armistice , Mutemath set fire to the house before making Odd Soul , and it ...

WILCO Born Alone From: The Whole Love Released: September 27 Wilco fans can be a hard bunch to please.  Granted, when you grace the world with such a sublime and effortless classic as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot , expectations tend to be raised.  That album is the stuff of legend, partially due to its story.  The product of tension, exploration and drug consumption, it was the kind of album so strange you could see why a major label didn't want to touch it with a ten-foot pole (it actually cost them their record deal when Warner Bros. refused to release it), yet it was so thrilling you could also see why fans who heard it rallied for it feverishly (they eventually got it released on Nonesuch and elevated it to instant classic status).  It was the first album of its generation; buried by suits who didn't get it and resurrected by the internet not only as one of Wilco's better efforts, but also one of the greatest groundswell success stories rock has ever seen.

THE SHEEPDOGS I Don't Know From: Learn & Burn (Deluxe Reissue) Released: September 27 Okay sure, Learn & Burn was technically released in 2010, but only independently; so as to say, not many people outside of Saskatoon had the slightest inkling who these guys were.  That is until this past August, when the Sheepdogs became the first-ever unsigned artist to be featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Okay sure, they did so by winning a contest, but they had to work their asses off to win that contest.  And in doing so, they also got major label support, which saw their album reissued continent-wide in September.  That reissue saw their popularity rise thanks to the massive boost in radio play for the perfectly-suited-for-summer's-end vibed single I Don't Know . Okay sure, radio only jumped on board after the album shot to #1 on the Canadian iTunes chart after their Rolling Stone victory.  Look, can I stop rambling about technicalities and ...

MASTODON Curl of the Burl From: The Hunter Released: September 27 After taking their concepts just about as high as they would go, Mastodon decided to strip it down to the basics for The Hunter .  Naturally, a legion of haters cried foul, proclaiming the album to be a sellout rock record.  Sure, it has some elements of classic rock in a handful of its tracks, but it's still metal at its core.  If you need evidence, check the blistering Blasteroid , or the very much Mastodon-sounding Spectrelight .  In fact (and especially given the album's context), Spectrelight sounds like the kind of mind-blowing art-metal jam that Mastodon can write in their sleep.  That's why it's so refreshing to hear them unrestrained by concepts or expectations and just cut loose.  By doing away with the rigid guidelines that their concepts require, the band has gotten out of the corner they'd painted themselves into years ago, leaving them free to try new flavours and expend...

MACHINE HEAD Darkness Within From: Unto the Locust Released: September 27 Could anyone have predicted in 1994, when Machine Head released their debut Burn My Eyes , that seventeen years later they would be considered one of metal’s most important bands?  Even if you did, surely you’d reneged by the time they’d gotten around to the embarrassing nu-metal shtick of The Burning Red in 1999.  And yet, somehow, Machine Head survived that sketchy period and came out the other side with a renewed fury that brought them back from the bargain bin’s brink on 2003’s Through the Ashes of Empires and placed them at metal’s summit with 2007’s stunning masterwork The Blackening (which, for my money, is a serious contender for best metal album of the ‘00s).

THRICE Yellow Belly From: Major/Minor Released: September 20 When it comes to bands quietly going about their business, there aren't many like Thrice.  You never hear of infighting, scandals, backlashes and the like around this band.  It's because they aren't troublemakers; no bickering about money, no selling out, no drama of any kind.  They're just normal guys who started a band, got noticed, and have steadily grown as songwriters and musicians with each passing album.  They haven't undertaken any monumental sonic shifts from album to album since starting out as what may be considered an "emo" band (whatever that means anymore); they've simply added new colours to their palette over the years.  It all kind of came to a head on 2009's Beggars , which was as close to a pop album as we're ever likely to get from Thrice.  That album saw the band scale back the atmospheric nuances and conceptual tendencies that had abounded on their four E...

KASABIAN Man of Simple Pleasures From: Velociraptor! Released: September 20 Seemingly eternal poster boys for "adored in the UK but ignored in the US", Kasabian have built a really devoted following among British critics and fans in their short career.  In seven years, they've released four albums, each expanding their fan base and scoring higher success.  Their previous album, 2009's deliciously odd West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum , was even shortlisted for that year's Mercury Prize, the UK's most prestigious music award.  Released to rave reviews in September, Velociraptor! debuted at #1 in the UK, yet failed to even crack the top 200 in the US.  It's a bit of a headscratcher, although when you consider Kasabian's biggest American success, it starts to make a little more sense. Back in 2004 when Kasabian released their self titled debut, it was promoted in the States with lead single Club Foot , a song you've likely heard even if you ...

PRIMUS Jilly's On Smack From: Green Naugahyde Released: September 13 For years, Primus had been teasing us; after reuniting in 2003 and touring sporadically, eight excruciating years passed before a full album's worth of new material surfaced.  With only five new songs released as an EP alongside 2003's DVD collection Animals Should Not Try To Act Like People , longtime Primus fans were ravenous by the time Green Naugahyde finally saw the light of day in September.  Of course, the first question that begged asking in this situation was "is it worth the wait?"  Upon first reflection, the answer is "not quite"; it's not a very Primus-like album, despite that definitely being their name on the cover.  Frankly, it lacks much of the silliness that endeared the band to so many in their heyday.  Anyone looking for a sequel to Wynona's Big Brown Beaver is shit out of luck with Green Naugahyde .  It's a serious album, with serious subject ma...

ANTHRAX The Devil You Know From: Worship Music Released: September 13 If you follow metal at all, you're probably already familiar with the context surrounding Worship Music , Anthrax's first album with original singer Joey Belladonna on vocals since their 1990 breakthrough Persistence of Time , and first overall in eight years.  If you're not familiar with the situation or metal in general, there are really only three things you need to know:

THE HORRIBLE CROWES Mary Ann From: Elsie Released: September 6 Gaslight Anthem frontman Brian Fallon started exhibiting a soulful disposition on his band's 2010 album American Slang which, while still plenty in line with the aggro-Bruce Springsteen vibe they'd presented previously with breakout album The '59 Sound , displayed a much more versatile and Stax-loving band.  With new side project The Horrible Crowes (brainchild of Fallon and longtime friend and guitar tech Ian Perkins), Fallon expands his sonic palette a little more, revealing some stranger, darker influences.  Elsie was summed up by many reviewers as Gaslight Anthem Lite, and it's inarguable that some of the album does itself no favours in that department; however, the few tracks where Fallon really steps beyond the boundaries of comfort and lays into the unusual are quite pleasing in their own way.  Mary Ann , with its possessed preacher verses and stabs of accordion, sounds something like I'd...

BUTCH WALKER Summer of  '89 From: The Spade Released: August 30 It has to be a little frustrating being Butch Walker.  He's spent such a huge chunk of his career co-writing with and/or producing other artists' albums and watching them achieve massive success (see Avril Lavigne, Katy Perry, Pink, Simple Plan, Weezer, many others), while people have largely ignored his own artistic output.  Walker's former band Marvelous3 was a minor blip on the radar way back in 1999 with the song Freak of the Week , but since then he's had struggles holding the attention of listeners (myself included) through a string of increasingly adult contemporary-oriented solo albums.  That's why it was such a shock to hear Summer of '89 , a loud and raucous track that, while certainly sporting a pronounced pop sheen in its production, hearkens back to the wild and reckless arena-sized noise that Marvelous3 stopped making about ten years ago. As it turns out, the majority of ...

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS Brendan's Death Song From: I'm With You Released: August 30 When you've been both as innovative and successful as Red Hot Chili Peppers have been in their close to 30-year career, making a new album can be a somewhat tricky proposition.  On one hand, there's a desire to continue to push the envelope; having been one of rock's most unique success stories, their inherent weirdness is one of the things that enamor them to so many people.  On the other hand, there's immense pressure not to go too far off the grid; the last time they did so (1995's oft-overlooked One Hot Minute ), it was considered by many to be a colossal failure simply because it was different.  Granted, much of the credit for that album's perceived sea change falls on the departure of guitar phenom John Frusciante; indeed, when he returned for the 1999 follow-up Californication , it was welcomed with open arms by fans and critics alike.  The criticism of the b...

I've been purposefully preventing myself to watch the original Swedish film trilogy that starts with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ever since I saw first mind-blowing trailer for David Fincher's upcoming remake.  That trailer, in addition to looking freaking awesome, was soundtracked by a most interesting snippet, that being the cover of Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song by Trent Reznor and Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs fame.  Now, that track is available in full for your listening pleasure below. The film's soundtrack is epic, to say the least.  Written and (mostly) performed by Reznor and Atticus Ross (whose score for The Social Network was pretty amazing in its own right and won a metric shit-tonne of awards), it clocks in at a double take-worthy three hours, and is in reputable record stores (as a 3-CD set) on December 27.  You can snag yourself a six-track sampler by submitting your email address (also below).  Also, if you're into the iTunes thing, pre-or...

STEPHEN MALKMUS AND THE JICKS Senator From: Mirror Traffic Released: August 23 When you're the former leader of a band as revered and scrutinized as Pavement was, it can be expected that your post-band solo career will be taken as a footnote, no matter what you may accomplish.  Indeed, while Pavement's run ended in 1999 at ten years and five albums, Malkmus has continued on since, and this year his recorded output with the Jicks matched that of Pavement.  And, whereas Pavement's final album was thick and layered with sound, Malkmus' fifth album with the Jicks is the closest thing he's come to recapturing the simple elegance that Pavement became known for nearly twenty years ago.  It's the product of relaxation; the bulk of Mirror Traffic is laid back and locked into its grooves, as opposed to much of Malkmus' other post-Pavement output, which often has the tendency to be too dense and weighed down in sonic architecture.  That approach made for some ...

MARIACHI EL BRONX 48 Roses From: Mariachi el Bronx II Released: August 2 When you hear that one of the world's fiercest hardcore groups has a side gig as a mariachi band, you can't help but think "novelty act".  And in 2009, when The Bronx released their first album as Mariachi el Bronx, a lot of folks scoffed at the idea, myself included.  However, upon hearing the album, that novelty didn't wear off.  In fact, there wasn't really any novelty there at all because the band is sincere in their love for mariachi.  So, having pleasantly surprised people who were expecting an awkward, piss-taking venture into the beloved Latino music, Mariachi el Bronx skipped out on making another hardcore record and instead looked to establish themselves with Mariachi el Bronx II .  In short, the novelty still hasn't worn off; this record is as enjoyable as the first, and the songwriting is incredibly sharp.  It's genuine mariachi, played with skill and heart.  A...

PORTUGAL. THE MAN Sleep Forever / Got it All (This Can't Be Living Now) From: In the Mountain In the Cloud Released: July 19 Portugal. The Man can be a pretty confusing band.  The grammatical challenges their name presents to writers like myself notwithstanding, their career has taken a rather bizarre trajectory in recent years.  Some of you may recall People Say for being included on their 2009 album The Satanic Satanist and that year's edition of Year in Rock.  Well, 2010 saw them release another new album (in fact, since their 2006 inception, they've released at least one new album every year) in March, followed by the announcement a month later that they'd signed a major label contract with Atlantic.  They promptly ran back into the studio and recorded a new album over the summer before releasing a video in October... for People Say.  Whaaaaa? The new album, In the Mountain In the Cloud (oh sure, they'll use periods where they don...

As you're probably well aware by now, The Black Keys are getting set to release their seventh album El Camino a week from today.  Well, you can sample nearly half of the album right now by entering your email addy and postal code below.  Fully co-produced by Danger Mouse (who also co-helmed their massive breakthrough hit Tighten Up for last year's Album of the Year runner-up Brothers ), El Camino doesn't really expand on Brothers ' mix of rock, blues, soul and R&B, but it does trim off that album's fat in terms of ballads.  So as to say, there are none on El Camino ; it's a brisk, punchy, balls-to-the-wall thrill ride from cover to cover.  In fact, the opening half of Little Black Submarines (which will blow your mind and possibly make Jack White shit his drawers) is the only breather you get in the album's 38 minutes.  You can judge the whole thing for itself on December 6, but my Album of the Year race just found another horse.

INCUBUS Adolescents From: If Not Now, When? Released: July 12 Here's a free piece of advice, hard rock bands: if your fans are yelling out that you've gone soft (as many did when Incubus released Light Grenades in 2006), don't make them wait five years for a follow-up (as Incubus did) only to release an album so tepid and testosterone-challenged that it makes the previous "soft" album look like Reign in Blood .  Incubus' seventh album If Not Now, When? is just that laughably light, that unflinchingly soft, that it warrants a serious examination of the band's head space.  The album was preceded in April by first single Adolescents , which turned out to be the only logical choice since it's the only thing on this lukewarm platter that resembles the Incubus anyone ever liked (and is the only thing worth mentioning for Year in Rock; to be honest, the album is so bad that I almost refused Adolescents ' nomination).  This is seriously the heavi...

FAIR TO MIDLAND Whiskey & Ritalin From: Arrows & Anchors Released: July 12 Fair to Midland are one of those bands you rarely read about in magazines or online, but there's a groundswell of extremely vocal fans screaming out adulation at the top of their lungs, proclaiming the band as the best thing to ever happen anywhere while most of the world ignores them.  After giving in to curiosity and checking out their latest album Arrows & Anchors , I can see where both sides are coming from.  The band is filling the void left by System of a Down, whose fans have always been rabid supporters, so it makes sense that Fair to Midland would generate a certain level of fanaticism (although, to be fair, they were once signed to Serj Tankian's record label).  Which is not to compare the bands on a heaviness scale (because System leaves FtM's feet danging four feet off the ground on that seesaw), but rather they're creating world-minded, sonically diverse music tha...

VETIVER Wonder Why From: The Errant Charm Released: June 14 Some albums are released right on time; Vetiver's fifth album The Errant Charm rings bright and sunny, its rhythms and melodies evoking a relaxing afternoon drive along the coast with the windows down.  Guitars jangle with exuberance, the drums warm and welcoming, the songs floating along an easy breeze.  Sure, it's fun to listen to some angry and/or challenging music sometimes, but every once in a while you just need to chill and let the tunes take you to a happier place.  The Errant Charm has several tracks more than willing to do that job for you, none more satisfying than Wonder Why .  Andy Cabic's lyrics paint a sort of bleak picture, as the song's protagonist ponders whether or not his hard work will ever pay off.  It could be about his band, it could be about the struggling middle class.  Whatever the case, the calming waves of music that carry the song along bring with them hope....

AGAINST ME! Occult Enemies From: Russian Spies/Occult Enemies 7" Released: June 14 Dissatisfied with their mishandling by clueless major label dimwits (as I documented in full last year while praising White Crosses as 2010's Album of the Year), Against Me! parted ways with Sire Records and opted, like so many mishandled bands do, to go the independent route.  After starting up Total Treble, their own label, the band christened it with a new single, containing Russian Spies on the A-side and Occult Enemies as the B-side (which, by its inclusion on Year in Rock, pretty much locks it up as the year's best B-side).  It's also the first studio recording to be released with Jay Weinberg on drums.  If the last name sounds familiar, it should; Jay's dad is Max, famed drummer of the E Street Band and Conan O'Brien's O.G. house drummer from his Late Night days. As for the material, it's suitably raw yet surprisingly crisp.  It's the sound of a ba...

FRANK TURNER Peggy Sang the Blues From: England Keep My Bones Released: June 7 With a background in post-hardcore, it's no surprise that Frank Turner's albums found distribution on Epitaph, one of the planet's foremost punk labels.  The surprise lays in the grooves of his records; England Keep My Bones sees Turner once again proving his considerable chops as a songwriter while moving away from his earlier, more politically minded efforts and toward themes with broader appeal.  Instead of railing against injustices and issues of the day, his sights are set on big picture problems.  Religion is touched upon with Glory Hallelujah , a song Turner wrote as an atheist anthem.  It's scathing and hilarious, and isn't for the pure of faith.  Meanwhile, mortality pops up here and there, most notably on lead single Peggy Sang the Blues .  A full sounding, classic sounding track dedicated to Turner's late grandmother, it's the sound of a man and his band (sinc...

FUCKED UP The Other Shoe From: David Comes to Life Released: June 7 Coming three years after their Polaris Music Prize winning album The Chemistry of Common Life , Fucked Up knew they'd be placed under increased scrutiny for David Comes to Life .  You don't just win an award proclaiming your band's album as best in the country and have your next go unnoticed.  Luckily for us, Fucked Up cranked out another winner, upping the ante on their wall of guitars attack and keeping the quality of their songwriting sharp.  Oh, who am I kidding?  They obliterated expectations, creating a tour du force record filled with mammoth riffs, thesis-worthy narrative arc and more catchy tunes than most any other record released this year.  It's a complicated, often confusing, always exhilarating 78 minutes of theatrics and primal scream that's only as good as it is fun, and how much fun it is depends on how open your mind is. To the uninitiated, it can be hard work buying ...

ARCTIC MONKEYS Reckless Serenade From: Suck It and See Released: June 7 The phrase "suck it and see" is British, just like the Arctic Monkeys.  It refers to something you're unsure about, i.e. the flavour of a candy.  The gist being that if you don't know what it's like, try it and you will.  Of course, America isn't allowed to have nice things, and the gutterminds in charge of sheltering the public from anything that may possibly have the slightest hint of something that may be considered by somebody somewhere nay anybody anywhere the tiniest bit offensive decided that Arctic Monkeys were suggesting we suck their dicks and censored their album cover at some retailers.  Yes, that album cover.  The completely blank album cover with just the band's logo on a sticker and just the title.  It's so risqué, n'est pas?

EDDIE VEDDER Longing to Belong From: Ukulele Songs Released: May 31 Being a Pearl Jam lifer can sometimes be a little overwhelming.  Take this year, for instance: marking the 20th anniversary of their debut album Ten, 2011 was designated "PJ20", and saw a big year of special treats for fans of the band.  It culminated in the premiere of the Cameron Crowe-directed feature film, which just saw release on DVD and Bluray.  There was also that film's two-disc soundtrack, massive coffee table book, Live on Ten Legs concert collection, and deluxe (and super deluxe) reissues of their second and third albums Vs. and Vitalogy .  All told: four albums, a ginormous book and a feature film.  And that's not even mentioning their Labour Day Weekend concert, or the two releases Eddie Vedder released solo this year.

MY MORNING JACKET First Light From: Circuital Released: May 31 Making their name as Bonnaroo-ready jam rockers with 2003's epic guitar odyssey It Still Moves , My Morning Jacket took a slight left turn by adding splotches of pop and branching out into other art forms with Z two years later.  Rather than balk at the idea of an expanding sound, the fans took it all in.  So, when Jim James started singing in falsetto and throwing the kitchen sink in on 2008's Evil Urges , people started giving My Morning Jacket dirty looks.  This writer praised Evil Urges for being as freaky as it wanted to be; mass perception be damned, Evil Urges is a hell of a fun album to listen to.  Nonetheless, the band was considered by many to be at a crossroads leading up to the release of their sixth album.  Would they get back to basics?  Would they get even weirder?  Would Jim James keep using that damned falsetto? As Circuital reveals, the answer is yes to all th...

FLOGGING MOLLY The Power's Out From: Speed of Darkness Released: May 31 Over their last few albums, Flogging Molly has started to drift away from their raucous Celtic punk roots and into the rough waters of what could be considered a mainstream-aspiring compromise of less ragged, more easily digestible folk rock.  They've caught a fair amount of criticism from the closed minded set that just want every album to be twelve variations on Devil's Dance Floor , but on Speed of Darkness it's beginning to feel like a natural progression.  This is not to say that their signature style isn't still present; the title track rocks with confidence, and Oliver Boy (All of Our Boys) is a pub punk masterwork.  There's just a little less bite to the overall sound.  It doesn't necessarily mean they're going soft; it seems just as likely the fault of the album's production, which definitely softens the blow of their more rowdy material.  The difference is, wh...

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE You Are a Tourist From: Codes and Keys Released: May 31 Much was made of the fact that Codes and Keys was the first Death Cab for Cutie album to be released after mainman Ben Gibbard's marriage to indie darling and eternal hottie Zooey Deschanel; it was hypothesized that married life would bring out Gibbard's sunnier side.  Indeed, Codes and Keys finds Gibbard in a much more pleasant, stabilized mood compared to previous releases.  Sadness replaced with content, despair with hope.  And the music follows suit; not that DCFC were ever really considered a guitar rock band proper, but on Codes and Keys they're becoming extinct, the melodies more often painted with keyboards while guitars laze about unnoticed in the background. On You Are a Tourist , however, they're front and center; there are no power chords in sight, but the strings do spit sparks of positive energy that propel the track from just your standard indie rock tune to your indi...

SEASICK STEVE You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks From: You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks Released: May 30 (UK) It's hard to use the phrase "up and coming" when describing a 70 year old man.  And yet there it is in praise of Seasick Steve, a man who's had such an interesting life that I can't even begin to describe it here; suffice to say, his Wikipedia entry is a great primer that will earn this man your admiration and respect.  Indeed, his life has been turbulent and triumphant from the start; he's been a hobo, carnie and cowboy.  He's also sold out Royal Albert Hall  and earned a spot at several massive European festivals.  His breakthrough started with a New Years Eve 2006 performance on Jools Holland's BBC program, and has yielded four albums since.  His latest, You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks , stays true to what Seasick Steve has always done; play he blues.  It's been his life, and on the title track he briefl...

SLOAN I've Gotta Know From: The Double Cross Released: May 10 Given the tumultuous history of the band, it's sort of amazing to consider that Sloan has survived for twenty years with the entire original lineup intact.  Being hailed as the next big thing from the get-go, then having your record label fail to promote your second album and drop you like a bad habit only two years later is strenuous enough to push a band to call it quits, and they very nearly did.  Now we know that not only did Sloan not break up, but they founded their own record label and self-released One Chord to Another , their brilliant third album, in 1996 (I still consider that album to be their best).  After a string of three lukewarm-to-poorly received albums (from 1999's Between the Bridges to 2003's failed U.S. comeback Action Pact ), there was plenty of talk about Sloan hanging it up for good.

SAM ROBERTS BAND I Feel You From: Collider Released: May 10 Having already endured the breakout success ( Brother Down was Canada's it rock song of 2002), the tentative dabbling in the U.S. market, as is the rite of passage for all moderately successful Canuck artists (2003's debut We Were Born in a Flame was the best time to try; one of the best albums of the year, it made a small dent in the American mindset upon its release there a year later), the difficult, druggy third album (the aptly named 2005 disc Chemical City ), and the subdued creative step backward (2008's Love at the End of the World , aside from hit single Them Kids , was really kinda bland), it seems according to script that Sam Roberts would start settling in on his fourth album (and first with the band credited as equal contributors), Collider (you know, I think it was a bad idea to give me brackets). Well, as far as settling in goes, Roberts does and doesn't on Collider .  W...