Lily Allen—Alright StillA sensation in England but only famous on the internet in the U.S. (largely because of her own self-promotion on Myspace.com), Lily Allen's debut is a lot more promising than we ever expected. Her sweet vocals and catchy songs are made even better thanks to some crisp production that secures some unlikely sample material in classic reggae songs and New Orleans R&B numbers. It isn't too late for this to be the soundtrack for what remains of the summer weekends.
Excepter—AlternationThe Brooklyn electro group Excepter make music that falls halfway between the dancefloor and a bad trip, matching their synthesizers with an echoey sonic-scape of found sounds and industrial noise. Their latest album highlights an off-the-cuff spirit without sounding like so much experimental noodling. The overall mood of the album can often be sinister and dark, but there's just enough playfulness available to keep it interesting.
An exceptional release from Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace label, Awesome Color is a trio that channels the Funhouse-era Stooges better than anyone ever has (and a lot of bands have tried). Their music follows in the tradition of great early '70s rock bands who never worried about songs as much as they did about a solid drumbeat and a great nosiy guitar solo. At a quick 35 minutes, we really didn't expect much from this release, but their debut is a relentless assault of straight ahead rock anthems with attitude to spare.