The Boxer Rebellion- The Cold Still

I got my first Boxer Rebellion album, Union, free from FirstListen.org in 2009 and absolutely loved it. So when I saw that they were releasing a new album, I jumped on it. I'm really happy with how well this band is doing. They are featured in the film "Going the Distance" with Drew Barrymore and Justin Long. They even recorded a song especially for the movie soundtrack; "If You Run." I was afraid that I wouldn't like "The Cold Still" as much as "Union," but luckily it proved me wrong.:) They managed to keep their original sound intact without creating songs that all sound the same. My favorites are No Harm, Get Out of the Car, Organ Song, Memo, and Doubt. Nathan Nicholson's singing style gives the band a very unique sound that is different from many male fronted bands that I've heard. The songs are on the slow side for the most part, but they are far from boring and monotonous. Their sound is pretty true to alternative. For instance, if you enjoy the Arcade Fire, Cold Play, Sufjan Stevens and/or Dashboard Confessional you might want to add them to the list of music you enjoy.

The Arcade Fire-The Suburbs

So it took me a while to buy this album. I was unsure about it, but when it beat The Black Keys and Vampire Weekend for Best Alternative Album of the year at the Grammys I figured I would give it another chance. "The Suburbs" is a great collection of songs with the same theme. I love that the songs bleed into each other, not just with subject matter, but they have some of the same lines and descriptions of the same things happening from different perspectives. The opening track, which is also the title track is a great upbeat opener to the collection. A few of my favorite tracks are Half-Light II(Celebration), The Suburbs, Ready to Start, The Sprawl I(Flatland), and The Sprawl II(Mountains Beyond Mountains) which contains some of my favorite lyrics;
"sometimes I wonder if the world's so small
that we can never get away from the sprawl
living in the sprawl
the dead shopping malls
rise like mountains beyond mountains
and there's no end in sight
I need the darkness
someone please cut the lights!"

I think the words speak for themselves. The album does a great job of presenting the reality of suburban life.