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Interpol - Antics - Matador Records
Fending off the sophomore curse nicely, Interpol steps up to the plate and swings an introspective winner with their latest. Held down by the band’s oft overlooked rhythm section, which churns and drones along perfectly, these songs have several things in common, namely unique, propellant bass lines, even more confident (if that’s possible) vocals from singer-slash-guitarist Paul Banks; a stoic romanticism, and an overriding moodiness that still manages to make you move. Standouts include the best-on-repeated-listenings “Evil,” the punchy “Last Exit,” the catchy “Slow Hands” with its Joy Division-like guitar riffs, and the interestingly urgent “C’mere.” “Not Even Jail” and the concert fave “Length of Love” make their mark, as well. If this NYC-grounded post-electropop-punk effort is any indication, then Interpol should be around for quite a while.


Tommy Stinson - Village Gorilla Head - Sanctuary Records
Generally overshadowed in the past by the admittedly talented Paul Westerberg, former Replacements bass player Tommy Stinson nevertheless proves with this disc that he has quite a few hidden talents of his own, as well as an identity that’s several steps away from the band that made him famous, even though the influence is definitely heard. He’s tried this before with a couple of ’90s bands (namely Perfect and Bash And Pop), but with this album, everything finally pulls together to make a set of songs that really works. Thirteen tunes are included here, with almost as many collaborators, including several of his old bandmates. Even an elementary school chorus hops in to help Stinson out on the tune “O.K..” Other songs of note include the noisy “Something’s Wrong,” the complex “Couldn’t Wait,” and the Dylan-meets-Jamaica flavored “Hey You.” This may just be the solo album that Stinson deserved to make.

Duran Duran - Astronaut - Sony Music
It’s definitely a lot of what you’ve come to expect from Duran Duran - guitar and synthesizer-led pop with the distinctive vocals of Simon LeBon, spiffed up with their usual slick production. But this album also manages to surprise. Duran’s art-rock set standards for pop back in the ’80s, and it’s interesting to hear how they gave that retro sound a top layer of freshness - it’s not a throwback, as you might expect, nor simply a means for the Duran boys to capitalize on previous success. This is actually a collection of well-crafted pop songs, from the first single, the rapidly-charting “Sunrise,” to the well-structured, Dandy-Warholesque “Nice,” the pretty “Finest Hour” and “Still Breathing,” and the atmospheric “What Happens Tomorrow.” It’s something to note that this is the first recording that the 5 original members of Duran Duran have made together in almost 20 years - but once you take a listen, you’ll wonder why Duranx2 didn’t do this earlier.

Minnie Driver - Everything I’ve Got In My Pocket - Zoe Records
Much has been said about actors becoming musicians or musicians becoming actors - and, in many cases, all of that scoffing is within reason (think Bruce Willis, Juliette Lewis, or Russell Crowe - uh, yeah.) However, what people often forget is that many creative people’s artistic skills range easily across several different fields - like Driver, for instance, who was actually in the middle of negotiating a record deal when she scored the lead in Circle of Friends, the movie that launched her acting career. Backed on her first release on such self-penned songs as “Fast As You Can,” “Deeper Water,” “So Well,” and the title track by a band that includes members of Pete Yorn’s band and various Wallflowers, Minnie Driver as singer-songwriter proves that she’s good at two careers, with her mellow, breathy vocals, autobiographical lyrics, and evocative hybrid pop-folk tunes. It’s nice to see someone prove a stereotype wrong.
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