Amoeba Music

Hanni El Khatib makes garage rock worth getting excited about on his second album, Head in the Dirt. Thanks to economical songwriting and deft production from The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, Head in the Dirt doesn’t overreach nor does it fail to deliver the goods, 11 quick and dirty garage pop songs with only the necessary flourishes, like the surging electronics that deceptively open the album on the title track, which quickly moves into a blues romp. Single “Family” takes Sister Sledge’s lyrical concept and applies it to punk-fueled hard rock that should please any Black Keys or White Stripes fan. El Khatib’s songs possess a certain machismo, singing he’ll pray for a “Skinny Little Girl” or painting himself as an outlaw in reggae-rocker “Nobody Move,” but he also gets tender for a girl in “Penny,” an irresistible bubblegum ditty that nicely breaks up the broin’ down. The album ain’t exactly loaded with poetry, but El Khatib is often at his best being off-handed about the songs, as straight-ahead rockers like “Pay No Mind” and “Sinking in the Sand” will attest. Sometimes you just need to get your rocks off, and Head in the Dirt makes that remarkably easy. More

It’s tough to think of a Big Country record without late frontman Stuart Adamson, but with The Alarm’s Mike Peters at the helm, whose big voice doesn’t approximate Adamson’s warmer tones but still does the band justice, Big Country turn in a fine album that should appeal to fans who’ve stayed with the band over the years. Songs like “Hurt” feature loose, crisp production while Peters sings “no one can hurt you now,” both inspirationally and melancholically, and it’s hard not to think of Adamson, who hung himself after years of depression and alcoholism. Whether it’s a paean to their dearly departed frontman or otherwise inspirational ode, it works, given Peters’ spirited performance and the band’s delicate instrumentation, save for a blistering solo reminiscent of classic Big Country, in which the band made their instruments sound like bagpipes through heavy production. While Adamson is missed, The Journey gives hope and energy to the surviving lineup of Big Country, and new songs to pull from while touring beyond their 30-year discography. More

The Gentlemen of the Road Edition of Mumford & Sons’ hit album Babel offers fans a recorded version of how the band is best heard: live. The Road to Red Rocks collection on the second disc of the set (as well as on its included DVD) was recorded entirely at Red Rocks Amphitheatre near Morrison, Colo., allowing fans the experience of being at one of Mumford & Sons’ shows, and the feelings of community and exuberance that come along with it. The recording sounds great, buoyed by cheers and claps that sound as much a part of the music as the band’s soaring harmonies and rumbling folk-rock. Vocally, Marcus Mumford occasionally runs himself ragged, which is sort of the point with M&S — the weariness and desperation in his voice makes the songs feel as though they’re sung in character, and fans can feel as though he’s living the things he’s singing instead of merely describing them. A rousing version of Babel’s “Below My Feet” and a rollicking version of Sigh No More’s “Roll Away Your Stone” qualify as standouts, with the latter feeling like a gospel revival taking place in a saloon. Also not to be missed is how the spare first half of “Awake My Soul” leads into its Fleetwood Mac-style roaring second half. By the time they play closing hits “I Will Wait” and “The Cave,” you’ll be hard-pressed not to cheer and sing along with the audience to the band’s triumphant anthems.

Like the xx, this London trio achieves dark, emotional grandeur through meticulously minimal atmosphere and captivating lyrical poetry. But you'd never mistake one for the other -- where the xx are painfully cold and reserved, Daughter create swirling beauty and yearning soul fire, especially Elena Tonra's sweetly heartbroken vocals, which will resonate with fans of Kate Bush or Mazzy Star. Guitarist Igor Haefelli is a master of dark, painterly composition, setting each mood with skillfully placed drones and chimes, and percussionist Remi Aguillela keeps the fragile energy flowing. This full-length for 4AD follows up a couple of well-received EPs, and it's a knockout statement that will surely stand as one of the year's best. More

Lights is Toronto-based synthpop siren Valerie Poxleitner. Usually she croons captivating and futuristic pop creations that soar sweetly through gritty back alleys of distorted dubstep and blown-out chillwave. But for Siberia Acoustic she reinterpreted 10 songs from her previous release, Siberia, presenting them stripped down with only an acoustic guitar. She also invited a few special guests, including Owl City, Max Kerman of Arkells and Coeur de pirate.More

Named for the sleepy surf town just north of Morro Bay, Zach Yudin's Cayucas has a similarly sunny, blissful, offhand charm. It's the perfect soundtrack for wasting away some days with an unlimited supply of Pacifico beer. Like the Allah-Las or Black Lips, Cayucas spin lo-fi, percussive, echoey jingles that boast suntanned pop hooks inspired by classic proto-rock innocence, a little bit Bo Diddley, Buddy Holly or early Beach Boys. Before devoting himself to the search for the perfect summer garage stomp, Yudin made Daft Punk-inspired electro that sampled garage twang riffs from the Animals and the Tornadoes, and that history is instructive: the Cayucas beat is primal and engaging, the licks are simple and timeless. This may just be the bigfoot of legend -- a shaggy, mysterious beast who loves to party in the woods, and leaves a notable impression. More

Bryan Ferry is always up there at the country house cooking up some new way of delivering you the lush life, and this time he literally blows the roof off! Here are thirteen songs from the breadth of his career, from Roxy Music to recent solo albums, arranged and interpreted by a hard-swingin' 1920s style jazz orchestra, and presented in gloriously crackly mono. At first hearing tunes like "Do the Strand" come at you as a vigorous Dixieland stomp practically makes you laugh out loud -- then you realize the guy is serious. From "Love Is the Drug" to "Avalon," these tunes get sent back in the way-back machine, only to return with plenty of trombone charts, clarinet solos, muted trumpets and even coconut percussion fills. Members of the Pasadena Roof Orchestra execute this vintage fantasia, with some arranging help from UK TV composer Colin Good. Each reinterpretation is imaginatively and slyly suited to the original, whether bringing out a latent samba shuffle or hinting at the original darkness of tone behind a zany rhythm. Of course, Bryan Ferry has always been besotted with the Jazz Age, going back to his first solo album, These Foolish Things, in which he crooned classic 1930s ballads in his proto-new wave style. Even then he had a true knack for classic sounds (a knack not shared by just anybody, as one notices whenever Rod Stewart barfs up "It Had to be You"). So jump on this magic carpet with the Bryan Ferry Orchestra and soar back in time to the Roaring Twenties!

Youth Lagoon aka Trevor Powers at only 22 was the precocious new kid on the indie block with 2011’s The Year of Hibernation. Though a strong debut, the album could get a bit precious as one would expect when listening to a 22-year-old’s debut indie pop album. But if The Year of Hibernation was sugary, Bughouse is coated with codeine syrup. It’s a woozy collection of psychedelic pop, as eccentric as it is rousing. “Mute” sprawls with epic grandeur in its first minute before breaking down into spiraling sounds of broken-down toys and keyboards. Powers’ vocals climb to the top of his manic creation, which gradually becomes a psych rocker with a gorgeous guitar solo. “Attic Door” is prime Syd Barrett in Wonderland weirdo psychedelia, while “Pelican Man” takes a similar notion to Sgt. Pepper’s-style pop heights. As Wondrous Bughouse progresses, it seems to grow more assured, as mid-album cut “Dropla” makes for the album’s catchiest moment — an eyes-wide-open pop song in the vein of Mercury Rev and Flaming Lips’ finest, built on the naïve, repeated couplet “you’ll never die.” True to its Strawberry Alarm Clock title, “Raspberry Cane” is a beautiful slice of acidic sunshine pop that moves from esoteric to a crowd-pleasing refrain that marks Powers’ most classic pop moment to date. It’s a wondrous thing to hear, indeed.

Ruby Suns’ sparkling indie pop, which in the past has built its base on tribal beats and washy synths, makes a remarkable jump to out-and-out pop on Christopher. “Desert of Pop” takes off on freestyle beats and Pet Shop Boys synthesizers while singer Ryan McPhun moves his vocals up slightly in the mix, singing that “he’s always falling in love” with a clubgoer’s glee. The shyness that made Ruby Suns’ previous releases charming is still intact, as McPhun sings “I’m not ready for the real life” on “In Real Life,” which is something like Ibiza twee. While no one will mistake McPhun’s loopy, gauzy songs for radio confection, his new pop aspirations take his wallflower psychedelia to new heights.

Retracing their steps back to their more familiar and hardcore-based beginnings, All We Love is nothing short of a masterpiece of an album.