“Nothing ever ends up quite like what you planned,” rasps firebrand frontman Bradford Cox in the closing verse of “Pensacola.” This lyric could serve as an apt credo for Deerhunter’s modus operandi: a gradual process of distorting and mounting upon tightly coiled grooves until the listener’s endgame, by track’s conclusion, has been met with a seamless sort of subversion. On the other side of the coin, the line has thematic resonance also, as the idée fixe of this particular case of monomania—as near or far as one can see—seems to be Cox’s curious preoccupation with his own doom. “And in my dying days/I could never be sure.../They’ll never take me away,” he finally issues on “Monomania”...

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Perils from the Sea will give you chills the first time you hear it. By the fifth or sixth listen, you’ll want to have a box of Kleenex handy. “1936” is about a kid who steals a collectible coin from his mother, only to discover that its real value was the priceless memory it gave the woman of her dead dad. “Gustavo” is about a man who hires an illegal immigrant, then laments his decision not to lend him a hand in the worker’s time of need. “Baby In Death Can I Rest Next To Your Grave” speaks for itself. Kozelek’s prose is often placed atop acoustic guitar, but LaValle’s truly haunting electronic backdrop makes the storytelling even more devastating. Kozelek said one song here was...

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The name may appear like it was penned by a kindergartener’s crayon, but Canada’s Majical Cloudz create sparse bursts of emotive electronica that’s anything but whimsical. Lead singer Devon Welsh’s baritone grumble is the only emotive element of Majical Cloudz besides collaborator Matthew Otto’s bare-bones chords, a welcome relief from the maximalist stylings of many contemporary artists working with synth loops and samplers. Rather, the duo utilize minimalist instrumentation, focusing instead on casting a spell on the listener with quietly unsettled lyrics like, “I want to feel like somebody’s darling.” On their Matador debut, the two manage to plummet you into a melancholy somewhere...

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Does a band have to sacrifice its intellect for an infectious pop melody? Cayucas attempt to answer that question on this, their debut effort. The brainchild of Zach Yudin, the LA-based outfit show their range on an eight-song collection that features “Cayucos” and “High School Lover,” both tracks that have garnered some radio attention and with good reason: they’re catchy tunes blending electronica seamlessly with breezy pop and perhaps serve as the best reflections of the band’s MO. The non-electronic tracks have a retro, ’60s-era California pop vibe, like the groovy “Will ‘The Thrill’” and the pleasant “A Summer Thing,” both of which would soundtrack an evening beachside campfire...

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The double album Drifters/Love Is the Devil is Alex Zhang Hungtai’s cathartic response to 2011’s cinematic Badlands. The somber man behind the Dirty Beaches moniker, Hungtai has mastered the shadowed soundscape. You can almost see the cigarette smoke hanging in the air with the leather jacket bravado of “I Dream In Neon.” His growl is the centerpiece of the records, traveling to the very baritone depths paved by Jim Morrison with a gasping immediacy accentuated on tracks including “Casino Lisboa” and “Aurevoir mon visage” (translation: “Farewell, my face”). Both sides of the album act as mirror images of torment. Drifters rattles with verbalized unsettlement of transience, punctuated by...

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The opening and title track of the debut by LA-based DJ and production team Classixx is an elegant, spaced-out disco romp that swims and swirls around a melodic refrain lifted from the Sandy Stewart–penned 1987 Fleetwood Mac single “Seven Wonders.” It’s a perfect liftoff for Hanging Gardens because just like the Mac’s seminal Tango in the Night, the album is slated for release just in time for summer and you’d be hard-pressed to find a more shimmering or sunnier pool party soundtrack. Lead single “Holding On” is an irresistible keyboard-driven dance floor igniter that’ll most certainly be oozing out of iPods on beaches east to west. Featuring vocal cameos from Nancy Whang of LCD...

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In essence, core songwriting can rightly elevate a record, with an equal power to decimate. Pale Green Ghosts, the second solo album by John Grant (formerly of The Czars) is an interesting case study in that it’s the type of hit-or-miss record experiencing gentrification, with prime architecture neighboring decrepit lots-by-default. Ultimately, the filet of the block facilitates the ’hood’s population, but it’s a shame that Grant wasn’t more meticulous in his tracklist editing. The star here is clearly the creator’s voice, suitably palatable to represent a name like John Grant, but possessed of a healthy ego. The supporting cast pits synth-fueled backdrops against piano ballads. All is...

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Much like a passed-down string of pearls or dusted-off pair of Wayfarers, Kisses’ version of electro-pop is unabashedly vintage. The Los Angeles–based duo’s endearing 2010 debut, The Heart of the Nightlife, set the time warp in motion with its relaxed yet upbeat tempos. But Zinzi Edmundson and Jesse Kivel’s follow-up, Kids in L.A., really jump-starts the DeLorean ride. While dreamy opener “Up All Night” could’ve fit nicely into a John Hughes classic, distinct freestyle touches are also strewn about the record. Airy synths, drum machines and lyrical repetition on single “Huddle” conjure up late ’80s and early ’90s acts like Debbie Deb, instilling the album with a subtle sense of movement...

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It was just six years ago that a friend sent me a .ZIP file innocuously entitled Blue CD-R. It turned out to be the demos for the then-unknown Vampire Weekend. There was a freshness to the NYC four-piece, which irresistibly blended African rhythms, punctual guitar licks, memorable melodies and popped-collar pop. It was the kind of music that you felt compelled to share. I must have forwarded those songs on to at least a couple dozen friends; almost all of them admitted to becoming instant converts.

The ensuing 2008 eponymous debut—which included slightly slicked-up versions of the demo tracks as well as a couple extra tunes—didn’t disappoint. In fact, it turned these darlings of the...

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Wampire’s freshly minted sound doesn’t submit so easily to single genres as it does overarching sentiments. Their influences are held close, but they draw from so many seemingly distant places on their full-length debut that it’s a wonder it emerged as focused as it did. Produced by Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Jake Portrait, Curiosity is both retro-grabbing and forward-minded. It’s a crackling, macabre rocker indebted to both The Strokes and Joy Division while still synth-prone and undeniably poppy—contradictions that make for wide tonal and stylistic palettes. Playfully askew vocal melodies weave through phased-out guitar and electronic organ swells, and styles vary from the...

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