Wavves
“King Of The Beach”
5 out of 5 stars

Some may have expected this album to be a misstep. The frontman, Nathan Williams, had problems with drugs and alcohol that caused him to attack the now former drummer Ryan Ulsh on stage in Barcelona, which led to the tour’s cancellation. However, this album is the furthest thing from a misstep. “King of the Beach” is, ironically, full of self-deprecating lyrics, as found on songs such as “Idiot,” “Green Eyes” and “Super Soaker.” They may be a form of apology from Williams.

The songs, from the opener, “King of the Beach” to the single “Post Acid” to the last song, “Baby Say Goodbye” are still really, really catchy. Even the cutesy “Convertible Balloon” is very good. If you like surf rock or lo-fi you’ll enjoy this amazing album.

Key Tracks: “King of the Beach,” “Post Acid” and “Super Soaker”
-Matt Jannetti
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Arcade Fire
“The Suburbs”
4.5 out of 5 stars

It seems Arcade Fire is aiming to take over the world with the release of their third album. Not only did “The Suburbs” debut at No. 1 on the charts in the U.S., UK, Canada, Ireland, Belgium and Portugal, but its second night at the legendary Madison Square Garden on Aug. 5 was streamed live on YouTube.

“The Suburbs” is a return to form for the seven-piece band, after the often negatively critiqued “Neon Bible” in 2007. Inspired by living in the suburbs of Houston in their youth, it may seem that the album would drudge on forever at 16 songs, but it plays quite the opposite. Despite the depressing subject of the songs, the album seems less serious than their sophomore effort. As much of a pleasure it is to listen to vocalist Win Butler, the highlight of the album is “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains),” a synth-heavy song sung instead by Butler’s wife and fellow bandmate Regine Chassagne.

Key Tracks: “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains),” “Ready To Start” and “The Suburbs”
-Caitlyn Preciado

Last Wednesday, May 12th, Music Directors Matt and Caitlyn got the chance to see current WTSR favorite Two Door Cinema Club perform at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City. Not only did they watch the trio perform all of the songs off of their debut album “Tourist History” (plus three new songs), they were able to meet and talk to the lead singer and guitarist Alex Trimble after the show! Let the “awww’s” commence!

Instead of being down and out about the miserable weather we’re having, why not cuddle up and listen to one of the albums that the Music Directors Matt and Caitlyn have so thoughtfully reviewed for you? (because even though classes are over and school is out, that does not mean that M&C are not hard at work, trying to bring you the best in new alternative music!) Click on to read what they have to say about new albums by Kate Nash, Caribou, Typhoon, and Two Door Cinema Club!

Since becoming the new Music Directors, Matt and Caitlyn felt it necessary to shower you all with gifts! Unfortunately, it is not flowers and chocolate, but it is four great reviews of albums that you should check out by Codeine Velvet Club, The Boxer Rebellion, MGMT, and The Apples in Stereo. Click on to read!

Zeus
“Say Us”
3.5 Stars

Fans of indie music, in particular Canadian indie music, know that it’s an unwritten rule that many successful indie bands from Canada are interconnected in some way or another. Zeus is connected to Jason Collet of Broken Social Scene, the 19-member Canadian supergroup, via members Mike O’Brian and Carlin Nicholson, who served as Collet’s backing band, Paso Mino. Zeus’ latest release, “Say Us,” shares a producer with Leslie Feist, also Canadian.

No two songs sound alike though, as songwriters O’Brien, Nicholson and Neil Quinn are constantly switching roles along with instruments. Their influences are wide, from British Invasion-style tracks to southern rock and twang. Just the right amount of 21st century indie vocal harmonies add a fun and light sound to all of their songs.

Tracks like “Marching Through Your Head” and “Kindergarten,” while differentiated by style, sound and who’s playing what, somehow retain a cohesive sound.

Key Tracks: “Marching Through Your Head” & “Kindergarten”
-Melissa Virzi
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Gorillaz
“Plastic Beach”
3.5 Stars

The new Gorillaz album offers a little something for everyone — Damon Albarn appearances, electronic beats, ex-Clash members and hip-hop guest spots from Mos Def and De La Soul. So there’s no doubt “Plastic Beach” caters to a wide variety of audiences, but does its scatterbrained persona make it too eclectic for any one listener to latch onto?

Ever since Blur’s Damon Albarn (a legitimate U.K. rock icon) conceived the conceptual, animated foursome in the late 90s, Gorillaz have been all about reinvention, dexterously denying the tags “rock” and “hip-hop” with singles like “Clint Eastwood” and “Feel Good, Inc.” On “Plastic Beach,” Albarn and his cohorts indulge in the collective’s most ambitious opus to date. There is no shortage of extra baggage across the record’s 16 songs and 56 minutes, but there is also a wealth of genre-bending innovation that recalls Danger Mouse’s production and Beck at his most experimental states.

The listener is treated to a little bit of Albarn, some rapping from Mos Def, De La Soul and others, and vocals, both sung and spoken, from former Clash members Mick Jones and Paul Simonon, The Fall’s Mark E. Smith and the legendary Velvet Underground leader Lou Reed.

Key Tracks: “Stylo” and “Rhinestone Eyes”
-Chris Payne
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Dum Dum Girls
“I Will Be”
4 out of 5 stars

Dum Dum Girls started out as the solo project of L.A. hipster-chick Kristen Gundred, who recruited a rotating backing band and released a four-song EP last year. Since then, she’s been snatched up by Sub Pop Records and has rounded out her band with a set lineup in preparation for her debut full length, “I Will Be.”

Decked out in tights and short skirts, the Dum Dums play up the ’60s girl group aesthetic to the max while merging their bubblegum harmonies with sludgy, lo-fi garage rock. Buried beneath the reverb of “Jail La La” is a blissful pop harmony and within the two minutes of opener “It Only Takes One Night” is an urgent guitar-driven hook. The record’s first four tracks are especially strong, bombarding the listener with more infectious hooks than are typically heard within a ten-minute span. Predictably, the foursome can’t sustain the entire record at this pace (the dull “Rest of Our Lives” at track five being the biggest culprit) but does manage to pack enough of “I Will Be”’s 29 minutes with delightfully buzzed-out pop.

In a scene populated with like-minded, all-female acts like Vivian Girls and Those Darlins, this quartet will certainly face plenty of stiff competition, as well as damning “flavor of the week” allegations from the music world. With this in mind, it will be interesting to see if the Dum Dum Girls will sustain any success behind this debut or merely be tossed into a heap of other lo-fi acts populating “South by Southwest” and CMJ lineups these days. “I Will Be” at least proves that their songwriting chops are head-and-shoulders above most of the competition.

Key Tracks: “Jail La La” and “It Only Takes One Night”
-Chris Payne
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Peter Gabriel
“Scratch My Back”
3 out of 5 stars

Peter Gabriel, most famous as the songwriter and singer of classic rock band Genesis, is releasing his first solo album in eight years, and it’s entirely composed of covers. This is not surprising considering the latest recording outside of this was his cover of Vampire Weekend’s “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa,” in which he sang “Oh it feels so unnatural, Peter Gabriel too/Oh it feels so unnatural to sing your own name.”

Gabriel’s taste is ecletic and evident in his choices of songs to cover, ranging from classic artists such as Paul Simon and Lou Reed to indie bands like Arcade Fire and Bon Iver. Each track is covered with Gabriel’s smooth vocals backed by a full orchestra. Everything comes off with generally the same sound though, slowing down each track into a blissful, gentle song, with the violins coming in on the bridge, of course.

Each cover is interesting, if not in its arrangement, then in its performance.

Key Tracks: “Listening Wind,” “My Body is a Cage,” and “Philadelphia”
-Melissa Virzi