Arcade Fire - The Suburbs (Merge)

Montreal's Arcade Fire, whose Grammy-nominated 2004 debut LP Funeral was the indie hit of the last decade, throws somewhat of a curveball on its new, sixteen-cut album, The Suburbs.

Thirty-year-old Win Butler earnestly -- and patiently -- comments on modern America and his band's rapid, meteoric stardom on the new album, whereas the Texas-bred singer-guitarist, in his early twenties when Arcade Fire exploded, rose to fame by commanding the sprawling band's dynamic, Clash-esque concerts and ecstatic/anthemic songs as if the world was on fire.

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It's inherent to the nature of risk that to take one involves the possibility of failure. On M.I.A.'s latest, /\/\ /\ Y /\ (which is the last time we'll be typing that, by the way), pronounced "Maya," the album's namesake definitely takes some risks. But then, M.I.A. is no stranger to that: There's no denying her music's always been, to varying degrees, pretty weird.

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Since Speakerboxxx/The Love Below showcased Outkast's individual talents, André 3000 has generally been regarded as the auteur of the duo. And while that might be true -- André 3000 does tend to be weirder than his colleague Big Boi -- there's something to be said for consistency, as the latter proves on his latest, Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty.

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Experimental noise-pop krautrock act Holy Fuck is not the easiest band in the world to love. Hell, it isn't the easiest band in the world to talk about -- you can't even say the name in polite company or on the radio. But if you love krautrock and wish the movement had never fizzled out -- and I do -- then the band is like a dream come true. And on its latest release Latin, coming tomorrow from XL Records, it's reached a new level of awesome.

Previous Holy Fuck albums were interesting, but displayed neither the level of songcraft needed to reward constant listening, nor the sheer bugfuck insanity of the act's live shows. Latin still doesn't match the mind-melt that is Holy Fuck live, but it succeeds in creating real, genuine songs that stand on their own.

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Photo by Larry Cragg

While there is no doubt that Neil Young is multifaceted, two distinct personas emerge when he performs live. During his acoustic ballads, there's a fragility and just a hint of crackle in his voice. And on the rockers, he is a performer of ferociousness and raw power.

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(Julian Gilbert)

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Welcome to another edition of Sound Bites, our economy-sized album reviews, wherein we give you the lowdown in 75 words or less. Today, Nick Hall weighs in on recent releases from Grooms (pictured above), Elvis Perkins in Dearland, Converge,  Spiral Stairs, Naam and Flight of the Conchords after the jump.

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Modeselektor
Body Language Vol. 8
Get Physical Music

On Modeselektor's Body Language mix, the duo show an inventive and exciting approach to track selection and mixing. It's not easy to pull together a set that includes everything from Missy Elliot and Busta Rhymes to Animal Collective, with lots of space in between for material such as Robert Hood's "Unix" and a couple of Modeselektor's own technolicious tracks. Despite the omnivorous, anything-good-goes approach, the disc has an excellent flow and it's easy to see how a similar set could actually work on a dance floor with some minor tweaks. Yes, some of the transitions are moderately stark, but none are less than musical and there's nothing that makes you stop and ask, "WTF just happened?" It's a fresh, exciting mix that gets better with repeat listens and by the time they wrap things up with the gorgeous pulse of Moderat's "A New Error," you'll be ready to start it over and dive back in.

Ancestors

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Welcome to another edition of Sound Bites, our economy-sized album reviews, wherein we give you the lowdown in 75 words or less. Today, Nick Hall weighs in on recent releases from Ancestors, AU, the Mountain Goats, Brian Setzer Orchestra and xx after the jump. More >>

Grand Archives (Hilary Harris)

​Welcome to another edition of Sound Bites, our economy-sized album reviews. This week, Nick Hall weighs in on recent releases from Grand Archives, Yo La Tengo, The Big Pink, Girls and Taken By Trees after the jump.

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Church of Misery
Houses of the Unholy
(Rise Above/Metal Blade)

The Japanese knack for musical mimicry reaches a new peak on the latest by Church of Misery, which sounds so much like the best hard-rock album from 1975 (or 1985) (or 1995) that listeners can be excused for checking their calendar while it's playing. The band's been around in one configuration or another for fourteen years, and in this case, experience counts. On tracks such as the crazed/brutal opener "Padrino," the scorched boogie blaster "Gray Man," and the Tyrannosaurus Rexcellent closer "Badlands," lead singer Yoshiaki Negishi growls and roars and spits like a shaggy maned hellhound against riff slabs tossed out by guitarist Tom Sutton, an Australian import who most assuredly brings the thunder from down under. Meanwhile, the rhythms created by bassist Tatsu Mikami and drummer Junji Narita crash and smash together with a merry lack of concern for life, limb or litigation. Sure, these elements have been around since long before Geezer Butler needed hair dye -- but the material doesn't give off the slightest whiff of moldy nostalgia. Rather, they erupt with a mad enthusiasm that will have inveterate metalheads lining up for a chance to worship at Church's altar.

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