Josef K

YOB - Atma (2011)

Already one of my favorite metal albums. "Adrift in the Ocean" kills so hard.

4/5

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The Go! Team - Rolling Blackouts (2011)

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. Their first album is great, but the second was sort of a disappointment. This is a return to form, if not quite as good as Thunder, Lightning, Strike, and I hope there's more from them in the future. Sort of exhausting in the same way New Pornos albums are exhausting, but still, good stuff.

3.5/5

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WU LYF - Go Tell Fire to the Mountain (2011)

Perfectly okay indie rock. Just go listen to the first two Arcade Fire albums.

2/5

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Iceage - You're Nothing (2011)

Finally listening to this, and it doesn't disappoint. Good punk stuff. Not one of my favorite albums, but should be good for debate tournaments, where I only listen to loud, fast music.

3/5

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Ty Segall - Singles (2011)

Good hooky lo-fi garage stuff. What's not to like? Another sort of taxing listen - 25 songs in 54 minutes - but for the most part the songs are pretty good. I doubt I'll be listening to it a ton more though, except for "Skin", which is a really good song, and maybe a couple others.

2.5/5

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Shabazz Palces - Black Up (2011)

I'm sort of underwhelmed by this, to be honest. Decent enough, but not as awesome as I was led to believe.

2/5