By:

Staff

Each week, we preview a handful of notable albums scheduled to hit the shelves, plus offer a full list of the current new releases.

Bishop Allen

The Broken String

Dead Oceans

Bishop Allen has to be one of the hardest working bands in indie rock. Last year, the group put out twelve -- count 'em, twelve -- EPs, one for every month of the year. That's followed up this year with this new full-length, the LP follow-up to 2003's Charm School. The album features twelve tracks, nine of which are reworked from last year's EPs. The Brooklyn-based band comes via Harvard and the Boston area, where Bishop Allen mainstays Christian Rudder and Justin Rice met. You may also know both of them from director Andrew Bujalski's films Mutual Appreciation and Funny Ha Ha. ~John Zeiss

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Band: http://www.bishopallen.com/

Label: http://www.deadoceans.com/

Audio: http://www.myspace.com/bishopallen 

Camp Lo

Black Hollywood

Traffic Entertainment/Good Hands

Will Bronx duo Camp Lo ever outlive "Luchini"? The group's 1997 hit attracted such a broad audience -- from conscious backpackers to NYC purists to casual radio listeners -- that the 2002 follow-up, Let's Do It Again, seemed destined to fail. Nevertheless, Sonny Cheeba and Geechi Suede return with longtime producer Ski (Beatz) to do it once more on their third effort, Black Hollywood. Sneak listens of the group's lead singles "Black Hollywood" and "Soul Fever" (see below) suggest a return to the soul-drenched sampling, crisp snares, and limber tongues of yore. ~Dan Nishimoto

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Label: http://www.trafficent.com/

Audio: http://www.myspace.com/therealcamplo

Marmoset

Florist Fired

Secretly Canadian

Midwestern band Marmoset returns after a half-decade absence with Florist Fired. After so much time off, not too much has actually changed with the band. It's still centered on singer-songwriter Jorma Whittaker. And the group's songs are still short blasts of rock energy that recall Swell Maps or Guided by Voices. The band was one of Secretly Canadian's first signees and now returns after that label recently celebrated its hundredth release. ~John Zeiss

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Label: http://www.secretlycanadian.com/

Audio: http://www.myspace.com/marmoset

Portugal. The Man

Church Mouth

Fearless

Portugal. The Man plies an interestingly mixed amalgamation of prog-rock and other elements. The band's often times cold, sparse sounds originate from the members' oftentimes cold, sparse hometown of Wasilla, Alaska. Frontman John Gourley was raised by displaced hippie parents who competed in the Iditarod while immersing their son in Motown and Led Zeppelin records. He forms the core of the band with ex-Anatomy of the Ghost bassist Zach Carothers. Church Mouth is a much more fleshed-out, full-band record after 2004's minimalist Waiter: You Vultures! ~John Zeiss

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Band: http://www.portugaltheman.net/

Label: http://www.fearlessrecords.com/

Audio: http://www.myspace.com/portugaltheman 

Sean Price

Master P

Bucktown

The jump-off for a trifecta of summer Boot Camp Clik releases, Sean Price's latest mixtape practically writes itself: Sean P, Alchemist, Babu, Prodigy, and a gang of BCC and affiliated folks. The fuck else do you want to know? Oh, Steele of Smif N Wessun also releases his mixtape, Hotstyle Takeover, today. ~Dan Nishimoto

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Artist: http://www.seanprice.com/

Audio: http://www.myspace.com/scragbite 

Robbers on High Street

Grand Animals

New Line

Robbers on High Street is one of many uber-cool New York City rock bands. Touchstones for the band's sound can at times come from its recent tourmates, the Sea and Cake and the Redwalls. At other times, the group can sound like fellow New York rockers the Walkmen or the Strokes. Grand Animals is the follow-up to 2005's Tree City. ~John Zeiss

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Band: http://robbersonhighstreet.com/

Label: http://www.newlinerecords.com/

Audio: http://myspace.com/robbersonhighstreet 

Saturday Looks Good to Me

Cold Colors

Polyvinyl

At this point any band with a weekday in its name brings to mind emo. But rest assured that Saturday Looks Good to Me isn't anything like that. The first clue to that being true is that the label handling this release, Polyvinyl, has already this year released Of Montreal's Hissing Fauna and will soon put out the new one from Architecture in Helsinki. This five-song EP is the first new material from the band since 2004's Every Night. Look for a full-length later this year on the similarly indie-tastic K label. ~John Zeiss

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Band: http://www.slgtm.com/

Label: https://www.polyvinylrecords.com/

Audio: http://www.myspace.com/saturdaylooksgoodtome  

Tegan and Sara

The Con

Vapor/Sanctuary

They're identical twins. They're Canucks. They bring the folk rock goodness. They rock the femullets. And now Tegan and Sara return with The Con. The new album was produced by Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla. It also features guest appearances from fellow Death Cabber Jason McGerr and Rentals leader Matt Sharp. Amongst the fourteen tracks are emotional cutters including "Knife Going In," "Burn Your Life Down," and "Dark Come Soon." ~John Zeiss

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Band: http://www.teganandsara.com/

Label: http://www.vaporrecords.com/

Audio: http://www.myspace.com/teganandsara 

Tiny Vipers

Hands Across the Void

Sub Pop

Another week, another release from a female singer-songwriter who records under an assumed name. Tiny Vipers is Jesy Fortino, who hails from the hometown of her label, Seattle. Like Damien Jurado, a singer-songwriter who also first made a name for himself on Sub Pop, Fortino has worked on building a repertoire in the small coffee houses and clubs of the Pacific Northwest. This is her debut full-length. ~John Zeiss

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Label: http://www.subpop.com/

Audio: http://www.myspace.com/tinyvipersss

John Vanderslice

Emerald City

Barsuk

What is the Emerald City? It's the name of Dorothy's destination in The Wizard of Oz. It's the military code word for the Green Zone in Baghdad. And it's also the name of the latest album from producer and musician John Vanderslice. Apparently that middle, political possibility for the album's name is no coincidence, because much of the new album's material stemmed from Vanderslice's frustration over his French girlfriend's visa application was rejected by U.S. immigration officials. That fracas still has yet to be resolved. What has been decided is that the work is another notch in the belt of one of our most socially engaged singer-songwriters. ~John Zeiss

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Artist: http://www.johnvanderslice.com/

Label: http://www.barsuk.com/ 

Audio: http://www.myspace.com/johnvanderslice  

Nicole Willis and the Soul Investigators

Keep Reachin' Up

Light in the Attic

I've said it once, I've said it twice, and I'll say it again: Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin' . . . for Nicole Willis. The veteran singer has worked the entire soul spectrum -- from godfather Curtis Mayfield to dance disciples Deee-Lite -- but has constantly worked just ahead or behind the success curve. Unsurprisingly, the Brooklyn-born artist looked abroad for a more stable platform -- and wound up in Finland, of all places. Fortunately, Scandinavian musicians are in the States' good graces, and it appears Willis's most recent record, 2006's Keep Reachin' Up, will finally receive its proper dues. A proper romp through Motown-style songwriting, Funk Brothers musicianship, and cool crooning, the record is the perfect summer soundtrack. Light in the Attic continues its white-hot streak of reissues by repackaging this stunner for the States in a more affordable, import-free package. ~Dan Nishimoto

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Band: http://www.nicolewillis.com/

Label: http://www.lightintheattic.net/

Audio: http://www.myspace.com/nicolewillisandthesoulinvestigators 

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Is Is

Interscope/Fontana

A newbie from Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Thing is, it's only an EP. And most of the songs on it have been around for a while. Still, though . . . Yeah Yeah Yeahs! Karen O's shenanigans! Nick Zinner's ringing guitar work! That other dude on drums! All the songs on the EP were written while the band was touring behind its breakout album, Fever to Tell. Three of the five were on the DVD Tell Me What Rockers to Swallow. And that cover art? It comes courtesy of Liars' Julian Gross. ~John Zeiss

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Band: http://www.yeahyeahyeahs.com/

Label: http://www.interscope.com/