Until The Light Takes Us

Megafaun – “Heretofore” (Hometapes)
North Carolina’s best band returns from last year’s gracefully sprawling “Gather, Form & Fly” with this concise mini-LP, which finds the band both at its most pop-centric (the buoyant Americana pop tune “Carolina Days”) and its most out-minded (the gorgeous 12-and-a-half-minute jazz-jam “Comprovisation For Connor Pass”). Megafaun might paint with all hues, but in their hands, the spectrum is contained and controlled in a singular — and treasured — prism.
Volunteers

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Interpol – “Interpol” (Matador)
The somber post-punk outfit offers another collection of broad, sweeping melodies and guitar textures. The New Yorkers’ fourth LP is its last to feature bassist Carlos D, and it favors melodic accents taken from influences as far-flung as post-rock (“Summer Well”) and black metal (“Memory Serves”), while building toward the smooth anthemic quality of arena headliners like Coldplay.

Sharon Van Etten – “epic” (Ba Da Bing)
Brooklyn songwriter Sharon Van Etten doesn’t waste time on her sophomore effort, a surprisingly ample 32 minutes spread over seven songs. But the gravity Van Etten pours into her voice, her viscous, molasses melodies both heavy and sweet, captivate effortlessly. These songs of heartbreak become songs of triumph as Van Etten clears them, delivering each line as though it need never be uttered again — except whenever you’re ready to press play.
Don’t Do It

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Superchunk – “Majesty Shredding” (Merge)
Titans of indie rock in the ’90s, Superchunk has since been more of a sporadic thing — until now. This, the band’s first proper album in nine years, is an overdriven shot of gleeful adrenaline loaded with powerful hooks and draped in glorious distortion. Just try to stop humming “Digging For Something.” It’s no small feat. Indie rock hasn’t sounded this good in almost a decade; I don’t think it’s a coincidence.
Digging for Something

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Glasser – “Ring” (True Panther Sounds)
Behind her Glasser moniker, Cameron Mesirow crafts intricately and thoughtfully layered pop assemblages evoking the eclectic pop of Kate Bush and Goldfrapp’s slinky disco. Her bright melodies and distinct vocals would seem to favor a sort of sunrise dance-pop, but the lush percussion and wind instruments that fill her arrangements point more to the symphonic pop of Europeans Slarraffenland and Efterklang.
Home

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The Autumn Defense – “Once Around” (Yep Roc)
On their fourth full-length outing, Wilco sidemen John Stirratt and Pat Sansone drive home the soft-rockingest tendencies of their main band, and showcase the mellow-gold songwriting and roots-reverent countrypolitan shine that tugs against Glenn Kotche’s and Nels Cline’s avant-garde explorations in Wilco. On their own, Stirratt and Sansone deliver the oldies-station goods with smooth twang and honeyed melodies that don’t ask for any bombast.

~ Bryan Reed