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REYAN ALI
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Creative canvas
The real joy of listening to Maps & Atlases' music doesn't come from how it sounds but from what it makes you see.
Polyvinyl (2012)
When I was a teenager who truly cared only for emotions-on-the-sleeve punk rock, I came up with the dumbest idea: if I ever reviewed records by breaking down individual categories (production, lyrics, whatever), I'd include a grade for "heart" or "passion."
Vice (2012)
The single coolest thing about OFF! being a supergroup of sorts is how they're nothing like a supergroup.
C.Y.O.A.
Contemporary plugged-in life is a monument to excess.
Youth gone wild
Oblangle Fizz Y'all could refer to one of any number of things: the battle cry of a Martian zombie army, a brand of aardvark repellent only sold in a hardware store in Delaware, or the sound a robot makes when gargling.
Kanine (2012)
The Dawn of Eternal Summers is being released by a small record company whose name starts with K.
Poster child
Knowing what kind of wall hangings a musician had as a child doesn't always offer clues about his adult personality, but in the case of the Boise-situated creator of hazy pop project Youth Lagoon, Powers's posters provide handy visuals when listening to his song called— wait for it — "Posters."
Xenon/Downtown (2012)
Lissy Trullie sounds simultaneously hungry and tepid, as if Trullie wants to make a big splash, but her album lacks the conviction or vision to make it happen.
Vagrant (2012)
To enter School of Seven Bells' world, you have to share their refined sense of beauty.
Electric Blues/Vagrant
Band of Skulls aren't innovators, and they probably won't ever be.
Thrash and glow
Once in a while, a name can conveniently give you an accurate sketch of what a band sounds like.
Rendezvous
I don't remember where I was the first time I heard "I Believe in a Thing Called Love," but I do know that I hated it.
Arbutus (2012)
The debut record from Grimes, an alias of the Montreal-based Boucher, kicks off the peculiarity parade by presenting song titles steeped in cutesy affectation.
Dead Oceans (2012)
Onwards to the Wall clocks in at 16 minutes and 35 seconds, and it could shatter into smithereens at any moment.
Shangri-La Music (2011)
Don't be tricked by Bruiser's title. On album number three, the Duke Spirit are in no hurry to get into a scuffle.
30-year-old skank
Despite its seminal role in the creation of first-wave UK punk, ska in America doesn't get no respect.
Doomtree (2011)
As of this writing, no one on Last.fm has created a tag for "hyper-paced, ultra-smart, ultra-self-aware, futuristic, planet-hopping indie hip-hop."
Old sound, modern means
Ordinarily, the end of days isn't a very enticing prospect, but after hearing Tristen Gaspadarek chant "Doomsday" repeatedly, you might welcome horsemen on the horizon.
Ghostly International (2011)
In order to appreciate Dive properly, you'll need one thing: headphones.
Kind of blue
Will Wiesenfeld believes in making purposeful choices.
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