I didn’t really get into Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin back when Broom came out (2005), however this time around, with the release of Pershing, I have been drawn in. The upbeat indie pop that is exemplified in Modern Mystery is satisfying and refreshing now that spring has finally touched down here in Colorado. Speaking of the great square state, the band is going to stop by Denver in May which I will most defiantly be checking out.
sslyby.com – myspace – hypem

The Weepies latest album Hideaway, hot off the iTunes press, is finally meeting my long awaiting ears. Overall, I found the album to be a satisfying continuation of the amazing songwriting and vocal harmonies that were seen in Say I Am You. My only qualm with the album is the three song lull at the 4-6 slots. The songs here were not solid or lively enough for my idea of what the ‘meat’ section of an album should contain. I felt that the album really started to take shape from track 7 on where I found many of my favorite songs of the disc. I also should note that these are only my first impressions of the overall flow of the album, and that the songs individually exceeded my expectations.
theweepies.com – myspace – hypem

I am a huge fan of the mind bending game Portal. Although the game is only about 4 hours long, I have played it for at least 20. What I really want to talk about here is the soundtrack. Consisting of only one song, Portal’s end credits (and the tin-can version that plays over the radio), Still Alive is a crash course in the distorted and demented A.I. antagonist , GlaDOS. A great lyrical analysis can be read here as well as a through analysis of GlaDOS’ real plan here. Overall the game is amazing and sparking countless fan creations of all kinds. I particularly enjoy the Victims of Science mix that includes almost all of the GlaDOS dialog from the game. If you haven’t played the game I would highly recommend it. If you have, I would go read some of game-ism’s articles.
Portal Official Page – Jonathan Coulton

I previously mentioned Annuals last November but I didn’t say much. Hopefully the music spoke for itself. At any rate, Annuals and Sunfold have a split EP Wet Zoo out today. I personally enjoyed the three track Annuals side, but in actuality Sunfold and Annuals are the same band (Pitchfork disambiguates the confusion). Overall, Just Stay In stuck out to me as noteworthy and exquisite. The noodling violin/cello orchestration is especially sublime. This fall, look for a full length from Annuals on their new label Canvasback Records. For more reading and available tunes Canvasback’s site is your fix.
annualsmusic.com - myspace – hypem