Hockey - Mind Chaos (2008)

I know my Jay Reatard reviews have made me sound like a total fanboy lately, but I've listened to a lot of bands this year and this may be the one I was looking for. Only time will tell if the concert high wears off. They combine my love of gritty soulful vocals, funky baselines, and indie rock. While not nearly as noisy and wild as their live show, the album still captures that allusive cool, yet fun sound. The vocals are just more discernible.

Like MGMT and the Virgins, there's no denying that they love the 80's party jams, but like the former, they mix it up enough to keep it sounding fresh. It's only nine songs long and they are all pretty damn good, but if you made me choose I'd say you need to check out "Too Fake", which sounds like LCD Soundsystem fronted by Rod Stewart, and "Work", which combines world weary lyrics and dancefloor groove. As strong as the songs are, I still I prefer their more feral state. Until you can see them live, crank it up loud.

The Virgins - The Virgins (2008)

Apparently there's a large (huge?) place in my heart for the derivative but catchy pop song. The Virgins seem to specialize in that type of song because every song sounds familiar, but contains a chorus that makes me want to sing along ("she said, well right now you and I were getting high, but we don't have to be this way..."). Some songs sound like the Strokes, particularly "Fernando Pando", but most of the time they just sound like a 80's revival band specializing in poppy new wave, particularly on "Murder". I can see why some people wouldn't like these guys - I'm not sure they bring anything new to the party but a good time, but damn man, that's why I party. Although they can keep their high end drugs, I'll stick to the beer. Thanks though. "Hey Hey Girl" kind of reminds me, in a good way, of those late 90's pop radio songs, the kind that Sugar Ray might write. "Private Affair" and ""She's Expensive" are my favorites. At another, more image-conscious time in my life, they might have been guilty pleasures.