The Ladybug Transistor: Kyle Forester, Jeff Baron, Ben Crum (acoustic guitar); Gary Olson (12-string guitar); Margaret White (violin); Amy Cimini (viola); Heather McIntosh (cello); Roy Nathanson (saxophone); Isobel Knowles (trumpet); Gus Franklin (trombone); Alicia Vanden Heuvel (organ); Julia Rydholm (bass guitar); San Fadyl (drums); Alasdair MacLean (unknown instrument); Frida Eklund, Kellie Sutherland, Alasdair Mclean, Annie Cunningham, Suzanne Nienaber, Cheryl Huber, Jens Lekman, Lindsay Gilmour (background vocals).
Six albums into their career, the Ladybug Transistor have matured from callow indie youths infatuated with the chamber pop style of the post-PET SOUNDS 1960s to a mature, well-rounded band creating music that belongs in the same tradition. Singer and primary songwriter Gary Olson's tunes have increased not only in complexity but in emotional impact: "I'm Not Mad Enough" and "This Old Chase" are among the band's finest songs. The expanded lineup, augmenting the original group with a new guitarist and keyboardist, also helps CAN'T WAIT ANOTHER DAY considerably, adding more depth to the arrangements. Alongside the Clientele and Lambchop, the Ladybug Transistor are updating and continuing the chamber pop style in fine form.

Released two years after 2005's well-received SET YOURSELF ON FIRE, the Canadian indie-pop band Stars unveiled DO YOU TRUST YOUR FRIENDS?, a reworking of the earlier album with each track either remixed or covered by another act (including fellow members of the loose Broken Social Scene collective). Highlights of the collection include Minotaur Shock's spare mix of "The Brightest Light," which calls more attention to Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan's hushed vocals, and the Stills' rendition of "Soft Revolution," a version that turns the expansive original into a dark mood piece.

Personnel: Ian Bjornstad, David Douglas, Scott Solter, David Broecker.
When indie purists decry the state of pop radio and the tastes of the record-buying public, John Vanderslice is just the type of artist they are defending. A one-man cyclone of talent, Vanderslice can write, sing, perform, and record pop music as well as anybody, but a variety of factors (his age and looks, and his sometimes challenging production choices, among other factors) keep him from the Billboard Top Ten, a spot in which he undoubtedly deserves to be. EMERALD CITY--his sixth solo full-length for Barsuk--is his best record to date and the culmination of his many talents.
Reportedly recorded when his longtime Parisian girlfriend was denied a visa into the United States, EMERALD CITY--despite its title--reacts to a world that is anything but a fairytale, with a song cycle about terrorism, paranoia, police tactics, isolation, and medication all slyly encrusted with crystals of hummable melody and studio trickery. "Kookaburra," the album's lead-off track, perfectly illustrates this sleight-of-hand: the song has light-on-its-feet harmonies and an AM-friendly chorus but is clearly about the destruction of a building via terrorism. This theme continues throughout the record culminating with the stand-out single "Time to Go" and the beautifully emotive ballad that closes the record, "Central Booking."

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.
Wilco: Pat Sansone (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Jeff Tweedy (vocals, guitar); John Stirratt (vocals, bass guitar); Nels Cline (guitar); MIke Jorgensen (keyboards); Glenn Kotche (drums).

Dan Snaith's project, Caribou, has always displayed a great reverence for the splashy opulence of '60s psychedelic-pop. If earlier albums, UP IN FLAMES and MILK OF HUMAN KINDNESS, borrowed liberally from his influences--sounding much like a panoply of carefully crafted snippets from the most blissed-out moments of pop music's past 30 years--ANDORRA polishes out the rough edges to reveal actual songs. Despite the newfound emphasis on songwriting cohesion, the album revels in deep layers of textural embellishment. Mixing in sound-collages, symphonic passages, and layered vocals, the music recalls the bold pop experimentation of George Martin and Brian Wilson. The opener, "Melody Day," combines a big-beat drum pattern with a dense but melodic wall-of-sound--rippling electronics and guitar cascade around Snaith's wispy falsetto, sounding like a throwback to both '60s garage pop and '90s shoegaze. On the album's closer, "Niobe," Snaith's perfectly constructed pop utopia unravels slightly, unveiling a fractured, inchoate wash of sound--almost as if he is trying to disclose the music's own underlying illusionism.

Personnel: Josh Ritter (vocals, guitar); Sam Kassirer (piano); Zack Hickman (bass guitar); Liam Hurley (drums).

Personnel: Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros (vocals, guitar, harmonica, percussion); Nicolo Aglietti (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Christian Letts (vocals, guitar); Aaron Embry (vocals, keyboards).
Audio Mixers: Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros; Aaron Older; Nicolo Aglietti; Kevin Augunas.
Recording information: Fairfax Recordings; Woodrow Hideaway.
Photographers: Cory Marrero; Julie Ling; Peter Klein; Michael Becker.
"40 Day Dream," the Motown-infused, OutKast-inspired, heavily orchestrated "Beatlesque" soul jam that opens Up from Below, serves as a pretty good litmus test for what follows. Listeners who are put off by the robe-wearing Polyphonic Spree's cultish glazed-eye self-help anthems or cringe when they hear the Mamas & the Papas' "Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon" would be advised to get off the magic bus early, as Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros have crafted a love letter to Laurel Canyon and all of its quasi-mystic juju that is as infuriatingly contrived and retro as it is forward-thinking and majestic. Formed in 2007 by Ima Robot frontman Alex Ebert, the mammoth 11-piece outfit embraces "the Summer of Love" with enough period beards, fonts, and Eastern mysticism to launch a thousand "Magical Mystery Tours," but despite all of the analog equipment and peacenik grandstanding, standout tracks like "Home," "Desert Song," and the aforementioned "40 Day Dream" sweep you up in their grandeur like a patchouli tornado and dare you to take your clothes off and jump in the lake with them. ~ James Christopher Monger

On 2007's FAVOURITE WORST NIGHTMARE, Arctic Monkeys follow up their excessively hyped and undeniably catchy debut (WHATEVER PEOPLE SAY I AM, THAT'S WHAT I'M NOT) with another round of fiery post-punk-influenced tunes. Given the Sheffield, England quartet's newfound status as full-blown rock stars in their homeland, they wisely avoid the working-class-bloke-isms that rang true on their first album, and instead opt for a broader lyrical scope and a significantly weightier approach.
The Monkeys' Mark II aesthetic is best embodied by the lead single "Brianstorm," a pounding track (about a friend, hence the misspelling) that kicks off the outing with rapid-fire guitar riffs and pummeling percussion. NIGHTMARE also finds the band looking good on the dancefloor with songs such as "Teddy Picker" and "D Is for Dangerous," which combine inescapably funky rhythms with frontman Alex Turner's raspy howl. To his credit, Turner turns his Yorkshire-accented voice into a comforting croon on the surprisingly atmospheric "Only Ones Who Know," imbuing the record with the dynamism that was somewhat lacking on WHATEVER. A sure sign that the Monkeys aren't fading away after their big bang, FAVOURITE WORST NIGHTMARE is the sound of a tough young band playing for keeps.

The 10 songs on Spoon's 2007 release are as well-crafted and sonically scintillating as anything off their amazing 2005 entry GIMME FICTION, with perhaps more emphasis on emotionally evocative lyrics and a more direct and rocking musical approach. It was produced by long-time associate Mike McCarthy.

Modest Mouse: Eric Judy, Isaac Brock, Jeremiah Green, Johnny Marr , Joe Plummer, Tom Peloso.
Recording information: Sweet Tea, Oxford, MS.

LCD Soundsystem: Nancy Whang (vocals); Justin Chearno (guitar); Amy Kimball, Lorenza Ponce (violin); David Gold (viola); Jane Scarpantoni (cello); Morgan Wiley (piano); Tyler Pope (bass instrument); James Murphy (bass guitar); Patrick Mahoney (drums); Marcus Lambkin, Eric Broucek (hand claps).

Audio Mixer: Gareth Jones.
One of the most highly anticipated indie-rock releases of 2009, VECKATIMEST finds Grizzly Bear continuing its nearly exponential leaps in creativity and scope from album to album. While the Brooklyn act's second full-length outing, YELLOW HOUSE, garnered considerable acclaim and solidified the quartet's moody and experimental, yet always tuneful, sound, this remarkable record soars confidently to loftier heights, as best evinced on the urgent folk-tinged opener, "Southern Point," and the gorgeous "Two Weeks," which floats along on stunning vocal harmonies and shimmering electronic flourishes. Like its contemporaries Animal Collective and Deerhunter, Grizzly Bear impressively transcends hipster hype to produce songs that grow more intriguing with time, and, with VECKATIMEST, it may have just crafted its own PET SOUNDS.