Track List:
1. Tell ‘Em
2. Kids
3. Riot Rhythm
4. Infinity Guitars
5. Run the Heart
6. Rachel
7. Rill Rill
8. Crown On the Ground
9. Straight A’s
10. A/B Machines
11. Treats

Wizard Staff: This is a sweet dance record with some nice, loud distortion. Some of the beats have a little hip-hop to them, and some are more rock-sounding. The distortion has a particular nastiness that ties the whole record together.

DL here.

PW: nodata.tv

200lb Chimp - Indie Music Blog

Track List:
1. Dance Yrself Clean
2.  Drunk Girls
3. One Touch
4. All I Want
5. Change
6. Hit
7. Pow Pow
8. Somebody’s Calling Me
9. What You Need


Wizard Staff: Just got this album. I am about to put it in the ipod, so I haven't had time to write a review. I know you want it badly so here ya go. Review to follow soon.

Woodshed:  Weak sauce.  Another album that had the platform and the pull to be huge.  Fail.  Most of the songs are like 6 - 7 minutes long and redundant as piss.  There are a few decent head nodders on here but for the most part I'm turning my nose up on this album.  Sorry LCD, you and MGMT can release your redeeming albums any time now, we're waiting.  Rating: 6/10

Mr. O: I hate to disagree with you Woodshed, but I'm digging this quite a bit. The first listen through was a little slow for me, but like Sound of Silver this is an album that is going to grow and grow on me. I'm two times through the album and I think its pretty great. I love long songs so that doesn't bother me, and the beats and vocals on this are kind of hypnotic, so before I knew it it was over. Oh yeah and "Dance Yrself Clean" is my new jam. Rating: 8/10

DL here.

200lb Chimp - Indie Music Blog

Track List:

1. "Go Do" – 4:41
2. "Animal Arithmetic" – 3:24
3. "Tornado" – 4:15
4. "Boy Lilikoi" – 4:30
5. "Sinking Friendships" – 4:42
6. "Kolniður" – 3:56
7. "Around Us" – 5:18
8. "Grow till Tall" – 5:21
9. "Hengilás" – 4:15

Wizard Staff: The Sigur Ros frontman just released this solo record. Jonsi's voice is always on the verge of taking off (insert lame metaphor about a bird in flight here). This whole album is just... so... uplifting. I am such a cynical bastard that it is hard for me to admit to liking an album that contains zero irony. Most of the time I hate "earnest" records, but "Go" puts a smile on my face every time I put it on. I especially like the song "Animal Arithmetic." The flurry of words and music take me to a happy place, far from woodsheds or destructive primates. On a recent interview, Jonsi said that he always writes the music before adding words. "Animal Arithmetic" really demonstrates that.
Rating: 8.3/10

DL here.

Track List:
1. "Cheer It On" – 1:59
2. "Nature of the Experiment" – 2:01
3. "Citizens of Tomorrow" – 2:44
4. "Shoulders & Arms" – 2:38
5. "If It Works" – 2:04
6. "Cut Cut Paste" (UK CD & Vinyl Bonus Track) – 1:44
7. "Be Good" – 2:04

Wizard Staff: this EP is 4 years old, but it's such a great driving album. The weather is changing for the better, and the last couple of weeks I have had Tokyo Police Club blasting out of my crappy factory speakers as I cruise down the road in my beat-up camry. I call "The Nature of the Experiment" the perfect 2 minute rock song. These songs go in, get the job done, and exit (can you tell I don't listen to prog rock?). I also like some of the lyrics:

"See the ruins of the old world below
That's what our ancestors left us.
Our robot masters will know
How to clean this mess up
And build a better world
For man and machine alike
For the boys and the girls
Who are slaves building spaceships at night
In the fluorescent light.
That's 2009."

And it all came true. At least we have universal health care. Rating: 9/10

 DL here.

200lb Chimp - Indie Music Blog

Track List:
1.) "The High Road" – 3:54
2.) "Vaporize" – 3:32
3.) "Your Head Is on Fire" – 3:06
4.) "The Ghost Inside" – 3:19
5.) "Sailing to Nowhere" – 3:46
6.) "Trap Doors" – 3:19
7.) "Citizen" – 4:29
8.) "October" – 3:37
9.) "Mongrel Heart" – 4:26
10.) "The Mall and Misery" – 4:06

Wizard Staff: I have loved almost everything DJ Danger Mouse has touched, from the only mash-up I own, the Grey Album, to his production of the Gorillaz Demon Days. Ok, the Mouse and the Mask was kind of fruity, but it was based on a cartoon. Now Danger has teamed with James Mercer of the Shins to make Broken Bells. When I first heard it on NPR I thought, "This could be good chill out music." The rhythm is definitely mid-tempo, and I usually want something that rocks a bit. Bands like Beach Party are nice, but they don't keep my interest for very long. Well, once I hooked up BB in my ipod and started really listening to this album, I realized the magnetic power of the Mouse was very much present. I'm not much of a dancer, but some of the beats on this record have caused me to do a slow backwards glide when I'm in the research lab (and no one is looking of course).

These are foot-tapping beats, not all-out dance songs. A fun experiment is to compare the intros of "The Ghost Inside" and Santogold's "L.E.S. Artiste." The melodies are very similar (I have to think DJ Danger Mouse lifted it), but it's slowed down quite a bit on Broken Bells.

James Mercer's vocals fit this record perfectly. I love it when he goes into his falsetto. A lot of times when these "supergroups" are formed, they lack cohesiveness, but I think these guys were meant to make beautiful music together. Right now "October" is my fav, but next week it could be "Mongrel Heart" or "The High Road." These tunes have serious staying power.  Rating: 8/10

Woodshed:  Someone please inform these gentlemen that the organ, as an instrument, is highly overrated and mainly misused.  "The Ghost Inside" is my jam though, to include the strings.  Wizard's on point, it's chillout music.  Rating: 7/10

DL here.

200lb Chimp - Indie Music Blog