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RYAN REED
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Casablanca (2012)
"Twist and shout/Boobies hangin' all out," sings Scissor Sister Ana Matronic on the futuristic sci-fi funk of "Keep Your Shoes On," her robo-tastic chirp swallowed in a maze of mind-numbing video-game synth runs and digital blips.
Secretly Canadian
On paper, at least, it's a match made in psychedelic alt-rock heaven.
Sub Pop (2012)
For most bands, being labeled "formulaic" is an insult.
Readymade (2012)
"Crank it up for me," mutters pop-rawk craftsman Brendan Benson on the intro to "Here in the Deadlights."
Third Man/Columbia (2012)
The White Stripes — the candy-coated, Delta blues-worshipping duo responsible for some of the 2000s' greatest rock albums — recently broke up.
ATO (2012)
In 2012, every other mainstream female pop singer is trying her hand at honest-to-God soul, shooting stylistically for Aretha Franklin (by way of Adele's 21) but usually winding up closer to early-Nelly Furtado.
Star-struck
For Matthew Caws, songwriting isn't exactly fun. In fact, it's more like agony.
Merge (2012)
"Jump inside this tidal wave with me," sings ash-voiced cherub Matt Ward on his stunning seventh album.
Nettwerk Records (2012)
On their fifth full-length, veteran Toronto quintet Great Lake Swimmers specialize in breezy, monochromatic Sunday-school folk.
Ghostly International (2012)
On their jaw-dropping debut, 2008's This Is for the White in Your Eyes, Denmark's Choir of Young Believers sounded like an actual choir, or maybe a musical militia — angelic voices ascending in ghostly rings of reverb, enveloped by orchestral flourishes and indie-rock thrust.
Psychedelic prescription
On their current trek, promoting their playful and raw seventh album, Be the Void (Anti-), Dr. Dog have reached headliner status, playing the biggest, most tightly packed rooms of their career.
True Panther Sounds (2012)
Mixed Emotions is a shiny bear-hug of an album — sometimes short on fresh ideas, but never lacking in heart.
Mom + Pop (2012)
Big freaking surprise: Break It Yourself, Andrew Bird's seventh collection of intimate chamber-pop, is . . . beautiful.
Totally Gross National Product (2012)
R&B, meet prog.
Vagrant
In the near-decade he's spent as frontman-lyricist of bar-rock saviors the Hold Steady, Craig Finn has hardly been labeled a happy camper.
Willing Participants
"It's about trying to let things come without judgment," says You Won't frontman Josh Arnoudse.
Fat Possum (2012)
Denver's Tennis, the husband/wife duo of Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley, are back with another slab of dreamy, feather-light pop.
Anti- (2012)
With Be the Void , their sonically raw sixth album, these Philly psych-pop oddballs have pulled a fussy, self-conscious about-face, indulging in their weirdest ideas in years.
Merge (2012)
On their homonymous debut, Hospitality sound like 800 different trendy bands at once (from Twin Sister to Tennis to TV on the Radio), so if it's pure originality you're after, you've come to the wrong department.
Columbia (2011)
"You lost your focus, but I got a plan for it," sings Caroline Polachek in a crystal-clear chirp on "Amanaemonesia," hovering over a dark, winding bassline and iceberg synths.
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