*From the Free MP3 archive* On new tracks like "Liar (It Takes One To Know One)," the punk/pop heroes continue to evolve their means of crossing alternative leanings with arena-ready hooks. Here, their slight--and welcome--subversions include moodier prod on guitars and genuinely achy vocals.
*From the Free MP3 archive* Hailing from the flats of Omaha, Neb., Conor Oberst delivers angst-filled songs with a quavering-yet-melodic lyrical style. He has the range to captivate a festival crowd with just his voice and an acoustic guitar as well as engage his dedicated following with a full-on band.
Everyone is always complaining about how nobody dances at shows anymore, and it's getting on New York's nerves. Fortunately, Brooklyn's Oxford Collapse takes on the dance-punk challenge, and now people are putting their drinks down and dancing around like uninhibited 10-year-olds. Imagine Spike Jonze directing a Gang of Four video.
FREE MP3 FROM THE ARCHIVE. Forget their influences--people now want to know what bands Fall Out Boy have inspired. Their latest efforts have scored them prime cover shots on all the top magazines (such as "Rolling Stone"), and although it's hard to remain punk after such praise, they still get props among the hardcore.
The Riders hail from San Francisco, but their tunes seem torn between the small pleasures of city living and the hardy lifestyle of the nearby hills. Using campfire harmonicas and winsome guitars, they sing about the Laundromat yet sound like they recorded on Neil Young's ranch.
While indie pop darlings like the Shins get all the fame, Matt Pond PA has been turning out albums of equal quality at double the quantity (counting since 2002). Their string-led alt-rock caters to West Coasters who get nostalgic about the East Coast seasons. Or at least that's what it does for us.
Loosely speaking, French Miami is a rock band. Using rock music as a starting point, French Miami use its structures as the glue holding together more abstract musical ideas: dizzying, jagged guitar riffs anchored around pulsing synths, harmo- nized finger-tapping accenting tightly wound grooves, precise stop-start timing.
The Brooklyn wunderkind's holiday record is a great window on his unique art. Who but the man behind "Come On, Feel the Illinoise" would rework a White Stripes song title into "Get Behind Me, Santa"? As usual, Stevens' banjo-driven indie-folk is darkly funny and spiritually deep.
This indie-rock bunch returns their genre to the scrappy days of, well, 1986. And we're not talking about precious, dance-rock '86; we're talking about the '86 of a severely soused Paul Westerberg. The group's storming guitars and sneering vocals practically supply their own flannel.
We have a diverse batch of goodies for you this year. New additions include a duet with Elvis Presley and Martina McBride; a New Kids on the Block reissue; Stephen Colbert's debut Christmas album; and a Hanukkah jam from Erran Baron Cohen. And the great thing about holiday tunes is that you can recycle them every year! So, get acquainted with the new stuff, and then dig into our archive to resurrect the classic favorites.
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