The sixth album from Pole is a stunning electronic journey, light as a feather, transportive and powerful all at once. Simple and undeniable beats are at the core of this album – sparse, bold and tactful, filled with addictive grooves and pulses without being overbearing or intrusive. The rainbow flavors of Steingarten are provided by gentle and subtle melodies, constantly arriving and departing, fragments of a colorful picture that constantly shift focus in a three-dimensional way. The real icing on the cake is the palate of embellishments served up by the Berlin-based Stefan Betke, an array of swelling icy tones, poking frequencies and curious noises endlessly smirking from the speakers, whether it’s the soft guitar riff of “Warum,” the Talking Heads-like new wave beats behind on “Achterbahn” or the claps and crying synthesizer in the haunting closer, “Pferd.” This is one of those records that works in the club, in your home, in your car – a warm, fun, glorious electronic record. (Adam)

This two-CD set has a slight split personality between the two discs. On disc one, the influence of Brian Eno’s ambient music is especially strong; for instance, “Don’t Bother They’re Here” and “Dopamine Clouds over Craven Cottage” sound like outtakes from Music for Airports in their construction. Disc two, though certainly similar in mood, is more original, practically a sonic essay on the acoustic properties of attack and decay as sounds appear, swell, and diminish, with less minimalist repetition in favor of a slow parade of serenely caressed timbres. The duo of Brian McBride and Adam Wiltzie is augmented by a whopping eight additional instrumentalists (four string players, four horns) plus a children’s choir, along with four “contributors” presumably helping with the electronic manipulations. The result is mellow voluptuousness if you use these instrumentals as background music, but utterly engrossing if you pay attention. (Steve)

While Glasgow, Scotland’s Twilight Sad cite everyone from Daniel Johnston to Phil Spector as influences, their sprawling, noisy anthems share most obviously with the epic, sonically detailed work of shoegaze grandaddies My Bloody Valentine, the soaring, impassioned vocals of early U2 and the dark melodicism most recently represented by Interpol. The Twilight Sad’s songs arc into their own self-destruction: thrilling, layered guitar lines melt into crashing waves of feedback and drum-thunder, while James Graham’s vocals barely hold the melodies together, embracing and embodying the music’s internal tension. Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters is a thrilling, engaging listen full of forward-looking sonic ideas laced together with gorgeous songcraft, and a staggeringly accomplished debut. Highly recommended. (Jackie)

A wonderfully odd and offbeat record, the debut from Philadelphia’s A Sunny Day in Glasgow (you didn’t think they were from Glasgow, did you?) throws all the conventions of a pop album out the window, beginning in a wash of synths and sounds, almost passing for ambient drone at times, before launching into a shoegaze-cum-Cocteau-Twins mix of pop, electronica and experimentalism. The album always keeps you guessing; just when you think the band has settled into a certain sound, they switch gears and head into new sonic territory, but always segueing seamlessly and artfully. There are songs of startling beauty here, particularly “5:15 Train” and “No. 6 Karman Street.” Check out Scribble Mural Comic Journal. It’s one of the best debuts of 2007. (James)

Pulp’s quick-witted frontman Jarvis Cocker’s debut record, Jarvis, has solidified his presence in a post-90s musical landscape. The album represents both a decisive departure from anything remotely Jarvis in the past, tossing psychedelic Britpop for ballads, but here the details are in the fine print. Lyrically, Jarvis represents some of the debonair musician’s finest work. At times hilarious and others plainly heart-wrenching, Cocker explores everything from makin’ babies on “Disney Time” to his own midnight adult boredom in “I Will Kill Again,” commenting on the seemingly mundane tasks of purchasing records online and looking “at naked girls from time to time.” “Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time” rocks with driving bombast and off-the-cuff vocal delivery, while the next tune, “Black Magic” reconstructs Tommy James and the Shondells’ “Crimson and Clover,” replete with the backing na-na-na-na-nah-nahs, but with a fresh syncopated verse sung in an urgent Costello-esque tone. Another great cut, “Fat Children,” rocks with a straightforward punk brash, large shimmering lyric-less chorus, and a comical hook: “Fat Children Took My Life.” “Big Julie” places Cocker behind the piano for a dramatic popper with an in-and-out rhythm section, melodious chimes, and string sections. (Billy)

With Because of the Times, the term “southern rock” can no longer sum up the music of Kings of Leon. Sonically, followers of the Followills – surname of the three brothers and one cousin comprising the Tennessee-bred band – are offered an assorted palette of material, some reminiscent of their breakout sophomore album, Aha Shake Heartbreak, and most dishing up a more sleek retro-cum-indie sound. But lyrically the album is still colored by southern images of Camaros, whiskey and women. Album tunes range from speedy choppers like “Charmer” to folksy-rooted jams like “The Runner,” dishing tinny slide guitar work and a building chorus replete with shimmering vocal crescendos and a concluding backwater hymn. “Ragoo,” another standout, kicks off with a sputtering guitar riff, and throughout the song catchy riffs chime in, dishing off a demanding yet groovy and sunny feel. “Arizona” concludes the record, serving up glossy and mountainous catchy-as-sin guitar riffage and Nathan Followill’s characteristic yelp. (Billy)

Here’s the second full-length from the Texas singer songwriter Robert Gomez, and it’s an absolute winner, a sweet, lush, thoroughly melodic record from start to finish. The opener has a punchy, driving bass line that fills out with orchestration and horns to end up as a rich, textured epic. Bolstered by a delightfully electic array of instruments, Brand New Town is full of sweetly layered, melodic songs that draw together elements of folk and rock, grounded by a strong pop sensibility. Vocally you sense the mood of Elliott Smith and Joe Pernice yet with the style of an ambitious Britpop record from the early 80s. Brand New Towns is quite an achievement for a sophomore album and comes highly recommended. Go, Gomez, go! (Steven)

The Field, a.k.a. Axel Willner, has produced a softer-edged yet universally catchy microhouse record with From Here We Go Sublime, the latest release from renowned Cologne-based electro label Kompakt. Chock full of the expected pounding dancefloor beats and blips, Willner achieves something more with Sublime, weaving in various pitched catchy melodies, creating a soundscape digestible by more than your run of the mill candy raver. At times reaching borderline Kid A on speed status, the album’s golden standouts, including “Silent” and “Everyday,” create a minimalist architecture with glitzy and containable beats. But others are a bit more dancefloor charged. “The Little Heart Beats So Fast” dishes more memorable high-hat samples but brings a layered artistic effect that is preserved throughout, illustrating a new dimension to an album that may seem close to its peers when viewed through a wide lens yet when dissected contains minute details contemporaries lack. (Billy)

A superb record from electronica whiz Matthew Herbert, who here reveals a whole new side to his musical persona. Score is a compilation of Herbert’s soundtrack work over the years, and it’s a rich and delightful mix, from lush orchestration to horn-laden jazz suites to more somber, stripped-down electronic pieces. Made for a series of obscure French and Italian films (well, perhaps obscure to most Americans like me), the music often has a decidely European flavor, truly Morricone-like in its breadth and achievement. Among the highlights are the terrific opener, “Funeral”; a big-band version of “Singin’ in the Rain” with plenty of zip-zap electronic touches; and the 10-minute opus “Rendezvous,” which opens with more traditional Herbert electronic sounds before giving way to a glorious chorus of heavenly voices. Not a bad cut on the record. Score is an obvious must for Herbert fans and anyone who enjoys good soundtrack music. (James)

Yet another outstanding release from the fledgling Bedroom Community label, Ben Frost’s Theory of Machines is an electronic record with a difference, combining the ebb-and-flow structure of post-rock bombast with the more subtle sounds of ambient electronica. The formula itself isn’t exactly new but the execution is, particuarly when Frost adds percussion and guitars to the mix. You’d almost think Fennesz joined forces with Exlosions in the Sky on a few tracks, especially on “We Love You Michael Gira” (and who doesn’t love the Angels of Light frontman?) and “Theory of Machines,” two of the album’s highlights. The Bedroom Community, a collective of artists from Iceland’s Greenhouse Studios (it’s run by Bjork producer Valgeir Sigurosson), gave us Nico Muhly’s brilliant Speak Volumes earlier in the year, an album that redefined chamber music for the 21st century; now Ben Frost has similarly turned electronica on its head. We can’t wait to see what this label serves up next. (James)

Reed Roberts of the Mighty Dog Catchers is quoted as saying, “I wasn’t listening to no local bands, the only band I was influenced by was James Brown’s. Straight up.” Based on this compilation, he wasn’t the only Floridian who felt that way. The focus is on obscure artists (the only “name” is Blowfly) and tiny labels, with most of the material coming out on 45s, but the sounds are familiar and the talents are big. The Universals get the 22-track set off to a great start with the anthemic 1970 joint “New Generation,” which is so great that it’s a shame their distribution was so bad – but we’ve got it now! (Steve)

Soul purists disdain this album because of two repertoire choices and the presence of guitarist Duane Allman, but those are good things. Lots of soul singers were trying to capture the rock audience with covers of rock hits, but few hit with the power of Pickett’s version of the Beatles’ “Hey Jude” because few (very few!) sang with his power and had Allman’s wailing guitar backing. Pickett’s cover of Steppenwolf’s “Born to be Wild” may be less well known, but if anything it’s even better – the most macho of the Southern soul singers makes it seem like it was written for him alone. There are plenty of tracks that will make the purists happy, though, including the classic brag “A Man and a Half” and songs penned by Isaac Hayes, Don Covay, Bobby Womack, George Jackson and more. (Steve)

1. Panda Bear: Person Pitch (Paw Tracks)
2. Arcade Fire: Neon Bible (Merge)
3. LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver (DFA / Astralwerks)
4. Modest Mouse: We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (Epic)
5. Ted Leo & The Pharmacists: Living with the Living (Touch & Go)
6. Peter Bjorn and John: Writer's Block (Almost Gold)
7. Andrew Bird: Armchair Apocrypha (Fat Possum)
8. El-P: I'll Sleep When You're Dead (Def Jux)
9. Amy Winehouse: Back to Black (UMG)
10. Welcome: Sirs (Fat Cat)

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