choonies

sigur ros - Takk: The album title translates to 'thanks'. Full of billowing crescendos mixed with unintelligible 'hopelandic' vox - an audio sunrise, sunset, or some other marvelous weather pattern. More immediate and a much more uplifting than (). Think Mogwai meets M83 in all sorts of ethereal grandiosity - brilliant.

american analog set - Set Free: More accessable than previous efforts, but treads the familiar path of woe-is-me-isms. If you can find the japanese version, it has 4 bonus remixes which are pretty nifty.

calla - Collisions: The album title must be referring to the impact of trying too hard with lackluster results.

death cab for cutie - Plans: Uh-oh, the switch to a major has been made, and we all know that this often leads to artistic bankruptcy. No new ground is being broken here, for better or worse. It seems that with each release that the meloncholy begins to engulf what little energy already existed in the songs. This was my initial problem with Transatlanticism, but then I warmed up to it after seeing the songs live. Maybe this will grow on me after hearing the songs on the new season of the OC.

-nerph-