SOUND BITES

Stream The Bronx IV here , with big ups to the crew at Antiquiet. Since their inception about a decade ago, it's been an interesting career for the guys in The Bronx. Three albums of crunchy, abrasive rock were followed by a pair of faithful mariachi albums (released as Mariachi El Bronx); the mariachi albums garnered more attention than their rock albums, so some wondered whether or not they would bother making a fourth rock record. Thankfully, they did; The Bronx IV (arriving five years after their third album) may not be quite as unhinged as previous offerings, but their knack for big choruses and tasty riffs is on full display here. Opener The Unholy Hand sets the table right away; it's an all-you-can-eat rock buffet with a massive chorus, threatening "do you wanna die or just come real close?" Style Over Everything is a huge tune, hearkening back to Sex Pistols, Foo Fighters and about four other bands I can't quite put my finger on, not to mentio...

With their tenth studio album Wonderful, Glorious hitting shelves next week, Eels have offered up the stream below. Carrying over the positive attitude from previous album Tomorrow Morning and marrying it with louder, groovier music, Wonderful, Glorious is a more focused effort than the trilogy of albums released around a loose theme in 2009 and 2010. The album as a whole pays off as a result, not a scattershot affair but a well rounded, overall solid album that's probably their most satisfying in a decade. Wonderful, Glorious is out February 5 on E Works/Vagrant.

When At The Drive-In disbanded, I was pretty bummed out. They had just released the thrashing, cathartic Relationship Of Command , and had all the momentum on their side, and then it was over. Soon after, I heard that Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala had embraked on a new endeavor called The Mars Volta. Hearing one song from their Tremulant EP, I was taken aback, surprised and a little weirded out. By the time they released the overstuffed, unflinching experiment in terror De-Loused In The Comatorium , I had nearly forgotten ATDI existed.

Stream Tomahawk's fourth album Oddfellows here , courtesy Spin. That asterisk at the end of the word odd in the title of this post points to the fact that odd, by its very definition, is Mike Patton. So, to hear what basically amounts to Patton's first somewhat accessible album since his Peeping Tom project way back in 2006, you'd be forgiven for feeling like it's actually quite normal sounding. That's because, for Patton, it is. Now, let's not get it twisted; this is no stab at mainstream acceptance and gigantic sales figures. You won't hear anything from Oddfellows on Glee, and you surely won't be hearing these songs playing over commercials while you watch Glee. Instead, this is a fairly straightforward album with standard song structures and the most explicitly pleasing Patton rock statements since, say, Tomahawk's second album. There are no Mr. Bunglesque genre-tripping freakouts (though many tracks are sure to be construed as batshit insa...

Stream FIDLAR's debut album here , courtesy Pitchfork. Playing like the coked-up soundtrack to a B-movie, the debut album from scuzzed out party rockers FIDLAR (or Fuck It Dog Life's A Risk) has pretty much one gear, and that gear is high. Over 14 tracks of ragged garage punk and demonic surf rock, FIDLAR rarely deviates from its prime directive; make no mistake, this is not an album of hidden meanings, grand statements, or emotion of any kind. Excess abounds, from the opening bargain brew jam Cheap Beer to self explanatory album closer Cocaine . Channeling the raw power of (among others) The Hives, L7 and Bon Scott-era AC/DC, FIDLAR throws it all into a blender and chugs it down without hesitation. The album gets a little old a little quickly, but it never fails to deliver as advertised. It's disposable but fun, unrefined but pleasing; like Andrew WK if he really meant partying when he sang about partying, FIDLAR's debut is loud, raw and dangerously appealing....

Stream The Joy Formidable's Wolf's Law after the jump.   With The Big Roar , a debut album that rocked with the sonic bombast of a veteran group and propelled them into the global mindspace, it was understood that The Joy Formidable would have a hell of a time avoiding the dreaded sophomore slump with Wolf's Law .

With next week's release date approaching, Bad Religion are streaming True North (their sixteenth album and first in 2 1/2 years) in full. If you're looking for stylistic detours, you'll have to look elsewhere; Bad Religion rarely deviates from their original M.O., and True North is chock full of speedy tunes, vocal harmonies, and wordy musings and observations. In fact, True North may be guilty of playing a little too close to form; with the exception of two songs this album is wall-to-wall speed. Dharma And The Bomb plays like a more menacing brand of garage rock, followed by the sludgy Hello Cruel World , which I'm a little shocked hasn't been serviced to radio like slower Bad Religion tracks traditionally are. These two are surely sequenced back-to-back on purpose, a temporary breather from the opening five-song salvo and a chance to steel ourselves for the nine-song onslaught that closes it out. Not groundbreaking in any way, True North is noneth...

With early 2013 already filling in with potentially awesome new records, I got to thinking about the year as a whole. I mean, if January to March (typically a musical dead zone) is so stacked with exciting releases, what could spring and fall (typically teeming with exciting releases) hold? So, in an attempt to paint a picture of what 2013 could be, I've compiled a list of artists who have even the slightest chance of releasing material this year, and broken them down by probability of release. Without further ado, I attempt to answer the question "What are the chances (insert artist's name here) puts out an album this year?"

Stream Dropkick Murphys' eighth effort here, courtesy the good folks at purevolume.com When it comes to a rollicking good time, few bands are as dependable as Dropkick Murphys. While Signed And Sealed In Blood doesn't match some of their past efforts in terms of sheer volume, their punk-infused pub rock spirit is well intact. Check out opener The Boys Are Back , sure to be a frequent set opener on Dropkicks shows henceforth for the proof. Burn ups the tempo while Jimmy Collins' Wake and lead single Rose Tattoo bring a higher than normal level of maturity to the proceedings. End Of The Night is a nice closer, a roaring blast of a ballad that will inspire countless drunken singalongs.

One of the year's most anticipated releases has to be the upcoming third album from New Yorker art-rockers Vampire Weekend. Their light, unassuming style of indie rock has endeared them to bloggers and TV ad execs alike; their sophomore album, 2010's Contra, actually debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts upon release (not a smash hit as it was released on a quiet January Tuesday, but a #1 nonetheless). Now, as we near the third album's spring release, a few buzzwords are being thrown around in relation to it. Darker. Organic. Nocturnal. Whether this bodes well for the sound of the record is to be determined, but it got me thinking. Throughout modern history, bands have often made bold moves, twists in their artistic story arc that have polarized fans, critics and label heads. For many bands, this act of commercial defiance happens at a certain specific point in their careers. The "difficult" third album.