Iron and Wine’s new two-CD/three-LP set compiles B-sides, rarities, and outtakes from one of the best songwriters and most charismatically intimate performers of the decade. Sam Beam’s soft, highly distinctive voice and spare, mostly acoustic accompaniment make for such a great sound that even his lesser material is compelling. But everything he writes is superbly crafted, and there are some wonderfully transformed covers here as well: Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights,” of course, but also New Order’s “Love Vigilantes,” Flaming Lips’ “Waitin’ for a Superman,” and Stereolab’s “Peng! 33.” (Steve)

Oh man—big record here. The six Brooklynites (by way of old Mizzou) in White Rabbits follow their 2007 indie-smash debut, Fort Nightly, with the sharply kinetic It’s Frightening, a ten-song effort produced by Britt Daniel of Spoon. That’s no matter-of-fact, um . . . fact, either, because if you forget what you’re listening to at any point, you may think: Hey, which Spoon record is this? That said and to state the obvious, there are plenty of worse bands to emulate, and It’s Frightening is a reliably fun and engaging listen, each song a study in crisply arranged pop—guitars dart around in jagged figures and twin drummers team with the percussion-like piano, all backing Gregory Roberts and Stephen Patterson’s endearingly boyish vocals. Imitation is sincere, you know . . . (M.L. Thrope)

Imagine your semi-stereotypical Constellation band sound—the epic scale of Godspeed and Silver Mt. Zion, the dark yet redemptive emotionalism of Evangelista—and now expertly reframe it in three- and four-minute bursts of quasi-pop, albeit of a decidedly unique character. And you are ready to hear Clues, a new band featuring Alden Penner of Unicorns and Brendan Reed of Les Angles Morts (no, I haven’t heard of them either, but neither do I live in Montreal). As with many of their labelmates, Clues don’t seem to meet an instrument they can’t bend to their arty, urgent purposes, but the best of the 11 potent songs on this self-titled debut, for example “Perfect Fit” and the softly simmering closer, “Lets Get Strong,” draw energy from terse piano chords, resembling Azita in form and overall affectiveness. Accessible and unusual—we likes! (M.L. Thrope)

When someone is as to the pop manor born as John Vanderslice, the pure skill in the songcraft can sometimes obscure the lovely little details that really make each tune special. Romanian Names finds Vanderslice back to love, loss and longing thematically, and fans will find no lack of lyrical depth to spend time with and sink into. But it’s stuff like the extra electric guitar work on “Fetal Horses”—gracefully spare figures mixed high, almost like they’re standing on the song’s shoulder and the ghost chorus of angelic guitars or textured piano or what is that anyway? on “Too Much Time” that’ll keep you hooked. Oh, and the massed vocals throughout “Carina Constellation” give goosebumps only to cool poetic types who know they were born a little too late. Check and see if you’re one of them; if not, don’t worry, there’s hope yet. (M.L. Thrope)

Str8 outta the indie hotbed of . . . Cambridge, Mass? Whatever—plenty o’ kids have been jonesing for Passion Pit’s debut full-length after the quintet’s EP, Chunk of Change, came out of nowhere (sorry, Massachusetts!) last year and whetted the whole wide blog’s appetite for more. Manners finds the band upping its overall sound quality but retaining the hooks and buzzy 80s-synth sound that got you interested in the first place. It all comes back to frontman Michael Angelakos’s high, earnest vocals, which he tempers just slightly for the album’s catchiest (and Eightiesest) track, “Eyes as Candles,” a tune that could trigger lots of reckless young love this summer. (M.L. Thrope)

The first solo album from Jason Lytle of famed indie darlings Grandaddy sounds a lot like, well, a Grandaddy album. Of course, that’s a good thing, unless you don’t like Grandaddy, in which case you are likely not even reading this review. Back to the Grandaddy fans. Why do we love this misfit from Modesto? For his uncompromising fealty to a weird world, his rich imagination and vivid characters, and his impeccable penchant for perfectly crafted indie pop. You’ll find all of those things in spades on the winning Yours Truly, the Commuter, from the shimmering “Brand New Sun,” the sweetly sincere “Ghost of My Old Dog,” and the fuzzed-out rock of “It’s the Weekend.” What, you thought he’d change a good thing just because he broke up Grandaddy and moved to Montana? Not a chance. (James)

The Warlocks’ ten-year space-rock odyssey continues. Though I’m often a sucker for a band riffing on the Velvets’ blueprint, this group’s L.A. style didn’t mesh with it, and they became relevant only after they more fully embraced their druggy, syrupy side. On The Mirror Explodes, their fifth full-length, the Warlocks daywalk through stately spires of arcing guitars, never in a hurry, letting the vibe dictate the slow, steady pace, and vice versa. Bobby Hecksher’s vocals emerge from the guitar haze as if egged on by some distant breath of fire on the Spacemen-y mellow “There Is a Formula to Your Despair,” while “Frequency Meltdown” recalls the Telescopes a bit. Once in a while it’d be nice to hear this band try and take me to the other side, like those Spacemen 3, or head purposely in the other direction and go full-on psych-zombie like Religious Knives, but the Warlocks seem happy to meander through a dense guitar forest, destination unknown and likely uncared about. And that’s just fine too. (M.L. Thrope)

This is quite a set. The first disc is a DVD containing a fascinating and emotionally moving 2007 documentary of Dengue Fever’s tour of singer Chhom Nimol’s native Cambodia, where the Los Angeles-based band gets to experience first-hand the music that inspired their garage-psych sound. They get to interact with native musicians and perform their own shows, but hanging over it all is the shadow of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot, who killed many of the greats of ’60s Cambodian rock, and the country’s long, hard struggle to rebuild. Disc two is a CD mix of familiar Dengue Fever tracks, new material including collaborations with Tep Mary and Kong Nai and covers of Cambodian classics, plus vintage records by icons Meas Samoun, Ros Serey Sothea and Sinn Sisamouth. Dengue Fever is one of our favorite bands here at Sound Fix, and we have fond memories of their house-rocking performance in our lounge a few summers back. This package offers a thoughtful look at the cultural roots of their exuberant sound. (Steve)