Today, two new records were released by bands I highly regard -- Gimmie Fiction by Spoon and Make Believe by Weezer. Although I've only listened to Weezer's record once, I have no qualms about crowning Gimmie Fiction the winner.

After two amazing records, Kill the Moonlight and Girls Can Tell, Spoon manages to keep things going. The record isn't quite as strong as the last two, but that would be tough to do. I'm just happy to see they didn't crash and burn. "I Turn My Camera On" is easily the best song, but the drop-off is tolerable. I'm also a big fan of "My Mathematical Mind" and "I Summon You".

Gimmie Fiction's a safe bet if you're looking to drop $12 on an album. In regards to Make Believe, I'm only gonna buy it if I can find it for $8.

Speaking as a long, long, long-time Ben Fold fan, the new record is my least favorite of all his output. It's unfortunate, but Ben Folds has gotten wimpy and I completely attribute this to his level of happiness. Having incredibly cute twins and a beautiful life in your Australian home does not help to produce good music in nearly all cases, Ben Folds being no exception. See the graph below:

As you can see, as he's gotten progressively happier, his albums have gotten progressively worse. Although I completely made up these happiness figures, I'm only mildly ashamed to say I hope his life gets a little tougher in the next year. He just needs something, anything, to get some of that angst back.

I can't say I'm happy about Ben's newfound wimpiness, but I'm also not totally disappointed with the album. Despite my misgivings, I have listened to it over ten times since getting it. Almost all of these songs are technically good and plesant to listen to. The problem is that I couldn't sing one of them to you right now.

I wish I could tell you that you should go out and give this album a shot, but I think you're better off buying his three EPs, which he put out over the last year or so on his own label, Attacked by Plastic.

The critics seem to like this record, but no one loves it. Critics be damned because I think it's awesome. The band hardly takes a breath on this record and that's how I like it. No one buys a Hot Hot Heat record for their ballads and I think they know that. This is a band that just wants to rock and that's what they do.

In the week that I've owned this I've listened to it nearly a dozen times, which is a lot for me. I hope all the indie rockers make a point to at least give it a listen. I recommend the song "Shame on You."

I can't stop listening to this record. I have no idea if it'll stand up to the test of time, but I know that after almost ten times through (it's only been out a week) I am nowhere close to bored of it.

I have two more things to say about the record. First, my friend Robbie recommended it to me and he deserves some credit. Second, they remind me of Wilco even though they very little like them. On top of being talented musicians and songwriters, Arcade Fire have a very adventurous spirit, which is why I associate them with Wilco.

It's been a short year, but here is my best of 2004 (up until now):

1. Air - Talkie Walkie

These two fine gents have gotten back on the horse after a few mishaps (Barrico, 10,000 MHz Legend). Many of the critics claim that this is their best record since Moon Safari, but I would say it's their best ever.

Air's sound is not radically different and they didn't add some amazing new producer for the new record. In fact, they produced it themselves after working with the producer of Beck's Midnight Vultures on 10,000 MHz Legend. The bottom line is that Talkie Walkie is just a completely solid outting. The record is cohesive, which is important to me, but still manages to have a number of songs that can stand well on their own. My favorites thus far are "Cherry Blossom Girl," "Run," and "Alpha Beta Gamma."

If you've heard Air, you probably know whether or not you like them. If you're a fan, run out and get this record. If not, there is not much here that might sway you.

This is nearly a breathtaking album. I mean that literally. There have been a number of times when I was listening and I nearly stopped breathing because I was so engrossed in the music. After one listen it was clear this album would be somewhere in my top five records of the year.

Her Majesty is an incredibly lush album with a distinctive sound. I compared it to a combination of the Shins and New Pornographers, but others have likened them to Neutral Milk Hotel. No matter who you choose, those are all some pretty sweet bands.

I recommend you check out either "Billy Liar" or "Los Angeles, I'm Yours." if you're going to download anything.

This is the end of my truly mini review.

Yep, it's Radiohead. This record is excellent. I keep listening to it again trying to think about what I'm going to write in my review but I'm coming up with nothing. Instead I'm just going to say that this record does a great job of combining the strengths in The Bends, OK Computer, and the two most recent "concept" albums. It is a record that every Radiohead fan can enjoy.

Go online and read somer serious reviews if you want serious criticism. When it comes to Radiohead, Capn Design sits humbly in the corner clutching his iPod, praying no one takes it away.

Before I begin, you should know that Guster is one of my favorite bands. I have been a fan for five years and my loves has waned only slightly. While a fan, I was forced to wait nearly four years before a new record was in my hand. It has finally come and I have a few things to say about it.

First, some of Guster's best work ever is on this album. They put there heart and soul into this album and the songwriting is spectacular. Wonderful stuff. Now, I have two major complaints about the record. The first is that there are a number of filler tracks on this record. Never before have I come across a Guster record with filler tracks. I recognize that the mood of this album is different from the previous three, but a slow song does not have to be boring and I find that everything after "Red Oyster Cult" is fairly boring. My other complaint is the lack of Guster-ness. This one is minor as a band is bound to progress and the Guster-core is still there. What's missing is the lack of hand drums and harmonies. There is definitely some of both but not nearly as much as I had come to enjoy in the past.

Now that the complaints are out of my system, I will say that I absolutely love the direction that Guster is going. I don't think a fourth album in the same vein would have worked for them as a band. They are all growing up and they are not Danielle Steele -- they cannot put out the same record/book over and over again. I don't mean to imply that the first three records are identical but with different names, but they do all have a similar attitude. The attitude has changed with Keep it Together and that's a good thing.

My favorite songs on the record are "Diane," "Amsterdam," the Massachusetts song (the title of which I have forgotten) and "Red Oyster Cult." As I mentioned, I can't get into the second half (post-ROC) of the record but I am going to give it another shot. Guster has yet to disappoint me and I'd like this not to be the first time. Still, by having a few duds at the end this puts them in perfect position for commercial success. Everyone knows that you are supposed to expend all of your energy on the singles and then poop out the rest of the songs until you have about twelve.

Seriously, this is a really good album. Guster fans are going to buy it without my recommendation but I think that those who haven't given them a try in the past should really check out this album. You can listen to six of the songs on the record at their website.

I was lucky enough to see Manitoba's show in New York a few weeks back. Before the show I had only listened to the album once and thought it was good. After the show, I fell in love. I began listening to the album a lot more and realizing just how talented this man is. Manitoba is an electronic band, one that defies some description (or my descriptive skills are not that good).

The album starts out very strong with "I've Lived On a Dirt Road All My Life." The vocals are ethereal and sound creepy, but are soothing at the same time. There is a definite wall of sound effect at times. My favorite song on the album is "Jacknuggeted," for reasons I can't quite explain.

As an album Up In Flames works very well. The songs flow in and out of each other easily and I've yet to have any desire to skip tracks. This album is highly recommended.

There's no denying it. I love Fountains of Wayne. I always have and probably always will. So when I happened upon a copy of the album while at work I nearly wet my pants. It's been four years since Utopia Parkway was released and this record has been in the works for half that time. And now that I have listened to it (about 6 times), I am incredibly happy. It easily lives up to what they've done in the past.

Like most FOW records, the first five or six songs are excellent, especially the lead-off tune, "Mexican Wine." In this run of songs you have the big single, "Stacy's Mom," which stands out in the record the same way "Denise" did in Utopia Parkway. It's a good song, but it was clearly created under the "single" pretense. My favorite song, by far, is "Hey Julie," which does not come in the first half of the record, but may be the best love song of all time. It reminds of my perfect version of "Uncle John's Band" by the Dead.

As you may have guessed from the title, this album is something of a concept album about office life. "Hey Julie," "Bright Future in Sales," and "Mexican Wine" are all definitely related to office life, and I'm sure others are as well but I can't remember at the moment. I gotta say, a good concept album is tough to do and FOW pull it off.

I gave this record a B+ for the same reason a teacher doesn't always give her best student an A. I love FOW and expect more from them than other bands, and although this record is excellent I can't say it's better than their first two. Of course, I've been listening to those regularly for years.

If you're a fan of indie pop, or regular pop for that matter, you must buy this record. No questions asked. These are two of the finest songwriters of all time and you owe it to yourself to hear this record when it comes out on June 10th. Go forth and enjoy.

UPDATE: After giving this album another ten listens, I have decided that it is indeed worthy of a complete A. It is on par with their other records; I just needed some time to let it all sink in.

I didn't think they could top Pause, but I was so very wrong. Rounds is nearly guaranteed a top 5 spot on my tops of 2003 list. This is laptop rock at it's absolute finest. Actually, I'm not sure if I want to call it rock. It is such a good record it defies definition. I would just love to be around to watch these guys think. They wouldn't even have to talk or play an instrument, they just need to be around me.

Truthfully, I would love to see them live, even in this new anti-concert era I have entered. I now only see bands I absolutely love or those whose live show exceeds the quality of their albums.

Bottomline: Fourtet is amazing.

Number of waking hours I've owned this album: 7
Number of times played: 3

That should tell you what I think of this album. I've yet to become one with it, but I am falling in love with a couple of the songs. My favorites thus far are "Brothers and Sisters," "Jets," and "Gene by Gene." The whole album does it for me though. The album is lush but forceful, and it is appropriately eclectic. In fact, I think that Blur may be the best at being appropriately eclectic. 13 convinced me of that.

I may write some more after the songs sink in, but I guarantee Blur fans will like this and I know that music fans will like this. Who needs Graham Coxon!

This movie has one of the best musical hooks I have ever heard. You pop in the album and it just grabs you. The first song definitely delivers. Unfortunately, it is all downhill from there. The rest of the album is either uninspired or over-inspired. The lead singer grabs from a number of different singing styles and the music is nothing to write home about. I didn't spend much time paying attention to the lyrics, but I don't imagine they are anything special.

So, if you are completely in love with the Brit-pop sound, then these guys will make you happy. The album is completely unobjectionable, and that's its biggest problem. I want to emote!

These are a few British blokes who are trying to be the newest group of punks to capture our heart. Well, Libertines, my heart belongs to you. In a good way, their eclecticism reminds me of The Coral, which is my other favorite Brit group of the moment. Although the Coral have mastered Pirate-rock, these cats lack that sort of singular vision. They seem to care about making good songs, regardless of what classification they may fit in. Ballad, driving pop-punk song or lil' ditty, it don't matter -- the Libertines just want to make good songs.

And so, you get sucked in. Buy this record if you like rock music.

Fucking A. That is the best way to describe this album. There was no sophmore slump for these cats as this album is just as good and probably better than their first. I have only listened to it a couple times, but I know it is going to be on my top 10 for 2003 already. Just writing this review makes me want to listen to the record, which I will proceed to do.

I recommend this album for anyone who loves a perfectly constructed rock or pop song. I guarantee everyone can, at the very least, appreciate the amount of talent on this record.

I feel bad for Tim Kasher. After Domestica, it would take a revolutionary followup to further impress me. Instead, we get a rebuilding album. The album has a few good tracks, essentially the title track and "Art is Hard", but overall it lacks the emotion and cohesiveness of the last one. Even the EP and split that came out in the last couple years were better. So, I enjoy the album, but it is not going to have the same profound effect that Domestica had.

This album is beautiful. It is only a matter of time before someone asks them to score a film. That's all I can say after listening to the first 4 songs.

Welcome back old friend. Sea Change is a magnificent album, even if it doesn't bring back the craziness we experienced during the Odelay era. The album has a country base with layers of pop, electronic, folk, and that indescribable indie aesthetic. Yeah, so it sounds like what we'd expect from Beck, but this album is much more ethereal. The first track, The Golden Age, is a wonderful first track and really prepares you for the sonic backrub you are about to experience. This is a great follow-up for those still clinging to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

I really like these songs: Golden Age, Lonesome Tears, Sunday Sun, Little One.

You probably won't like it, but I love it. This album is glossy, poppy, croony and amazing. Lots of great melodies. So maybe you should check it out. At least for free on the web.

I waited a long time to get this, but it was worth the wait. Usually if there isn't something to tell me to run out and buy an album, especially if it's hyped, I assume my gut is right and avoid it. I was wrong this time. Way to go Iceland.