Half-Handed Cloud, Halos & Lassos: Pretty much more of the same juicy lo-fi indie pop that's graced all of the band's records. It's still very good, but I don't think it's as consistent as last year's incredible Thy is a Word and Feet Need Lamps. Also, the sound has evolved from less of an pre-Panic Of Montrealesque, Elephant Six sound to more of a casio "dip dip buzz zip" lo fi pop that you'll hear on many Marriage Records releases (think: The Blow), which I don't enjoy nearly as much, but it's all the rage these days any way. In spite of that, it's still got all the fun and sometime random instrumentation to top it all off (The band also recently released a collaborative EP with Sufjan Stevens that was top shelf) [4.4/5]. The Flaming Lips used to be good [3.2/5]. Rf (Ryan Francesconi), Views of Distant Towns is a very pretty pastoral-electronic slash post-rock record. Sometimes it reminds me of a cross of a less-cute Múm with a less-sarcastic Fog, and sometimes of a less digital Pulseprogramming. It's more forward-thinking than his previous, and a huge step up from 2004's The Falls, but it's not quite as consistently pretty as 2002's marvelous Interno [4.5/5]. Crystal Skulls, Outgoing Behavior is an album that goes to show the band members can get a band distributed across the country based on the previous work of the band's members (the totally underrated Seldom) and who their friends are (just about everybody who's ever set foot in Seattle), rather than the quality of the band's music. I'll pass [2.7/5]. Love Is All, 9 Times That Same Song: I honestly don't know what all the hype is about. Maybe it's the same attraction that people have to Wesley Willis and fellow speech-impediment rockers Art Brut. At least Willis was funny [1.6/5]. Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood: The neither sexy, nor extremely talented, Neko Case has left us with another Jewel knockoff that falls flatter than even her previous forgettable efforts. Lucky for her, she's not the heaviest dead weight in the New Pornographers (come to think of it, the only member worth his weight is Destroyer) [1.5/5]. Gregor Samsa 55:12 is highly reccomended; finally, a forward-thinking post rock record. It's more ambient, rocks better, has tasteful female singing, and is less pretentious than what you'll normally find in the genre [4.4/5]. Finally, Ahleuchatistas All You Will: Dear lord, this is crazy. Without a distorted sound on the record, it marries the kick-ass experimentalism of Hella with the pop sensibilities of The Advantage, lacking only the superior composing of the Japanese video game writers. What it adds, however, is a strong jazz influence that manages to keep it grounded and accessible in it's fury [4.5/5].