7.1.10
Four new CDS arrived today: Janelle Monáe's The ArchAndroid, Stars' The Five Ghosts, Hot Chip's Made in the Dark, and Wolf Parade's Expo 86. I also wanted to order The Drums' self-titled debut, but apparently it doesn't have a physical release in the US yet, so I might have to settle for a digital version for the time being.

Expo 86 is probably the record I'm most looking forward to, because I'm still waiting for Wolf Parade to recapture the consistent brilliance of Apologies to the Queen Mary, but I've got high hopes for the Stars record as well——I'm not a huge fan of theirs, but when they hit the right mark, I swoon, and the clips I've heard so far mostly leave me wanting more.

7.2.10
I forgot to post about June's 100 $5 MP3 downloads from Amazon last month, so let's get right to July's. There are some really strong ones here, including MGMT's Oracular Spectacular, Arcade Fire's Funeral, the Shins' Wincing the Night Away, the Strokes' Is This It, and Pearl Jam's Ten. Two recent releases worth $5 are Broken Bells' debut (the collaboration between famed producer Danger Mouse and the Shins' frontman James Mercer) and Gorillaz' most recent release, Plastic Beach, which stands a pretty good chance of making my top 10 this year.

On the second tier of records that are worth owning and for which $5 is a pretty good price are Modest Mouse's Good News for People Who Love Bad News (which features their breakthrough single, "Float On"), Spoon's Gimme Fiction (a good, solid release from a very consistent band), and Radiohead's Hail to the Thief. Some maybes——records that I own and don't hate but which I hardly go around singing the constant praises of——include Iron & Wine's The Shepherd's Dog, Drive-By Truckers' The Big To-Do, and Menomena's Friend and Foe.

7.6.10
The new Janelle Monáe sounds like what Prince might sound like if he had managed to stay both innovative and relevant. I'm not sure I'm totally in love with it——references to 20s pop and jazz have never settled well with me——but it's going to get more than a couple of listens, and for me, the of Montreal collaboration alone was worth the price of admission (although, you know, I could have saved quite a bit by just downloading that track if it's the only takeaway for me).

7.7.10
The Five Ghosts is already my favorite Stars album. The highs aren't quite as high as the best songs on Set Yourself on Fire ("Calendar Girl" and "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead"), but it's much more consistent, and there are very few weak spots. I'm still a litle reluctant to call myself a fan of the band, but if this album sets the tone for future works, they might yet make a believer out of me.

7.8.10
There's a new of Montreal song available to listen to (although unfortunately not to download): "Hydra Fancies". It's much more in the style of Skeletal Lamping than the first single from False Priest, "Coquet Coquette", and even though it's apparently not the album version of the track, it's probably pretty close.

7.9.10
I downloaded the Drums' self-titled album from Amazon last night (it's not available as a CD in the US, and the Amazon digital version was $2 cheaper than the iTunes version), and I'm really enjoying it so far. It's retro in a way that I can't quite put my finger on, but it definitely appeals to the 15 year old in me who was just beginning to discover alt/indie/college rock.

I'm hoping they don't turn into another Pains of Being Pure at Heart for me, though——that's another band who make overt references to the 80s underground scene that I was infatuated with at first but who started to grate after a while. They're a little sloppier around the edges——the pristine perfection of Pains is one of the things that I think wore on me a bit——and they definitely have that amateurish charm that tends to appeal to me.