Japandroids' "Post-Nothing" - Awesome!

Japandroids are two guys. One guitar, one drum set, two sets of vocals. Sounds small right? There is absolutely nothing "minimal" about these guys or this album. Loud, raucous, heavily distorted rock music that sounds like it's coming from a five piece band is what this is.

What really sells this album is that these two don't care that they are releasing what is seemingly self-indulgent guitar rock with a healthy dose of early-90's distortion. They just know you're going to turn up your stereos as loud as you can and just flat out rock out to the songs here. No one song sticks out over any other; but the album will leave you feeling very sated. Rock on!

The album was released on Poly-Vinyl Records on August 4, 2009. Pick it up.

Blitzen Trapper's "Black River Killer" - Unnecessarily overproduced countrified rock

This is really unfortunate. Blitzen Trapper has a nice head of steam going for them, and are likely getting ready to "break through" as a big band. Their countrified pop rock is somewhat formulaic, but i'm not going to lie and tell you its bad. I'm generally a fan of the more folksie rock that is being released nowadays, but this album is just too poppy and overproduced for what its trying to be. A more genre friendly approach would have seen the group stick to the more minimally produced style they showcased with "Furr". "Black River Killer" (which is technically a long seven song EP, not a full length CD) is a disappointment (with the exception of the title track, which fittingly enough was on the first album), but that likely doesn't matter, as I think this album might be meant "for the masses", not the indie geek.

The album will be released on Sub Pop Records on August 25, 2009. On a side note, apparently Sub Pop Records now releases all their CDs in the gatefold "LP-style" slipcases. Quite frankly, I like it. In my opinion this style actually helps to showcase album art better, which is a good thing.

Fruit Bats' "The Ruminant Band" - A nice retro listen!

Just got done reviewing The Fruit Bats' new album The Ruminant Band (Sub Pop Records). A well crafted album of alt-country rock. A very 70's-esque vibe to it with a mix of dark lyrics amidst a cheery background. The high-pitched, twangy vocals compliment the album well. I'm giving it a 7 out of 10.

Think Fleetwood Mac or acoustic Shins. Album release date - August 4th, 2009. Try it.