Quasi, 'American Gong' (Kill Rock Stars)

Duo become trio and amplify small pleasures.

As a great blues-fueled rock band/formerly married couple, Quasi have been called the indie Fleetwood Mac. But while these Portlanders clearly love '70s rock, they've

Spoon, 'Transference' (Merge)

Seven albums in, indie-pop vets strip things down.

If Spoon had been meant to ride a comet out of the collegiate airwaves into modern-rock radio ubiquity, they'd be kickin' it with Jack White by now.

Beach House, 'Teen Dream' (Sub Pop)

Boy-girl duo find songs to pin their moods on.

Jonathan Richman once said the Velvet Underground didn't make music, they made atmosphere. That's also true for this Baltimore dream-pop duo, whose dense-fog organs, reverb-y slide guitars, and nodding harmonies feel as lush as a midnight walk in a wet garden. On their third album, those feelings now sound like actual songs, with swelling choruses and an all-encompassing ache.

Florence and the Machine, 'Lungs' (Universal/Island)

Flame-haired flamethrower sets alt-rock boys ablaze.

Calling all crazy ex-girlfriends: If you’re gonna keep up with Florence Welch, you might need stronger meds.

Peter Bjorn and John, 'Living Thing' (Almost Gold/Startime)

Success makes a mess of not-so-young folks' lives.

Two years ago, this Swedish trio scored an international smash with "Young Folks," an indie-pop sleeper so relentlessly upbeat that everyone from Kanye West to Budweiser whistled its refrain. But now, as fans await another breezy hit, PB&J take a dark turn, as if consumed by success-story guilt.

The Thermals, 'Now We Can See' (Kill Rock Stars)

Punk's peppiest diehards scream from the grave.

Call it Songs in the Key of Death. Written from a corpse's perspective, these Portland, Oregon punks' fourth album celebrates the joys of being young and alive: drinking, snogging, and writing three-chord odes to drinking and snogging.

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