Dominic Umile

On You & Me, The Walkmen's signature organ wheezes as though it's on the repair bench, and the hazy, back-corner guitar tones haven't changed much, either. One of the decade's most riveting bands channels its energy on this, their fifth album, into electrifying climaxes and a surplus of early '60s-era...

The sun-bleached cover photo for Saturdays = Youth shows how much this band is consumed by nostalgia. M83's Anthony Gonzalez combines synths, treated guitar washes, and '80s drum sounds ("We Own the Sky" and "Graveyard Girl") on M83's fifth album, as he and contributor Morgan Kibby long for their teen...

Clinic's path back to form after a half-hearted detour with Winchester Cathedral finds the Liverpool art rockers leaning constructively toward late '60s alchemy even more than they did on 2007's Visitations. Although the spastic riffs that curl 'round Do It!'s stompy garage ditties are as prominent as they were on...

The acclaim that so often rains down on (insert overrated dance act's name here) may soon stumble its bandanna-clad way toward Toronto duo Crystal Castles. While their self-titled debut full-length on Last Gang packs a strain of considerably punky tension under its arcade bleeps and beat programming, the more subtle...

Ode to the Ghetto is Guilty Simpson's debut LP, but independent hip-hop heads will be familiar with the cocksure delivery from this Detroit-raised affiliate of the late J Dilla. Check "Clap Your Hands" from the Chrome Children comp for an airtight testimony of a guest spots-heavy résumé, or even beatmaker/emcee...