By:

Staff

This week: Ben Gibbard and Chris Walla embrace their emotional side on the first Death Cab for Cutie album since 2005's Plans; Japancakes' Heather McIntosh releases her solo album (and Jeff Mangum guests!);  Joseph Arthur releases the third of the four; and Vetiver releases a covers album. Click the underlined albums for a full description.

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Abysmal Dawn: Programmed to Consume (Relapse)

Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O.: Recurring Dream and Apocalypse (Important)

Architects: Vice (Anodyne)

Aretha Franklin: Precious Lord: 19 Gospel Recordings (Remember)

The Bellrays: Hard, Sweet and Sticky (Anodyne)

The Black Angels: Directions to See a Ghost (Light in the Attic)

Botticellis: Old Home Movies (Antenna Farm)

Coalesce: 0:12 Revolution in Just Listening (Relapse)

D.R.I.: Skating to Some Fucked Up Shit (Cleopatra)

Death Cab for Cutie: Narrow Stairs (Atlantic)

Devin the Dude: Best of Devin the Dude (Rap-A-Lot)

Devon Williams: Carefree (Ba Da Bing!)

DJ Yoda: Fabriclive 39 (Fabric)

Dosh: Wolves and Wishes (Anticon)

'Duffy: Rockferry (Island/Mercury)

Echo and the Bunnymen: Works

Ecstatic Sunshine: Way

Eightball & MJG: We Are the South: Greatest Hits (Koch)

Essie Jain: Inbetween (Ba Da Bing!)

Fern Knight: Fern Knight (VHF)

Foxy Brown: Brooklyn's Don Diva (Koch)

Fucked Up: Epics in Minutes

Ghost of the Russian Empire: Mammoth (Thirty Ghosts)

Gregor Samsa: Rest (Kora)

Instruments: Dark Smaland (Orange Twin)

Jason Mraz: We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things (Atlantic/WEA)

Joseph Arthur: Vagabond Skies (Lonely Astronaut)

Kassin +2: Futurismo (Luaka Bop (Ryko))

Kidz in the Hall: In the Crowd (Duck Down Music)

Max Minelli: Remedy (Koch)

Modey Lemon: Season of Sweets (Birdman)

The Myriad: With Arrows, with Poise (Koch)

Old 97's: Blame It on Gravity (New West)

Plantlife: Time Traveller (DeCon Inc)

Pomegranates: Everything Is Alive (Lujo)

The Presets: Apocalypso (Modular Interscope)

The Queers: CBGB OMFUG Masters: Live 2/3/03, The Bowery Collec

Quiet Village: Silent Movie (K7)

Ray Charles: Legend Lives On (Golden Stars)

Robert Hood: Fabric 39 (Fabric)

Ryan Cabrera: Moon Under Water The Shangri-Las: Remembered (Golden Stars)

The Submarines: Honeysuckle Weeks (Nettwerk)

T Bone Burnett: Tooth of Crime (Nonesuch)

Tindersticks: Hungry Saw (Beggars Banquet UK)

Titus Andronicus: Airing of Grievances (Troubleman Unlimited)

Trae: Streets of the South, Pt. 1 (Oarfin)

Transistor Transistor: Ruined Lives (Level Plane)

Under the Flood: Witness (Koch)

Vetiver: Thing of the Past (Gnomonsong)

Ween: Friends EP (MVD Visual)

Yukmouth: Best of Yukmouth (Rap-A-Lot)