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md instrumentaladditivessubvert eccentriciry favor ofa cool cosmoin politan sheen."Evil Twin Brother," 'Jealous Thing Called Inve" and sinewy cocktail ballads "hve Is a Loaded Pistol" md "Oceana"navigate urban environs,with Latin grooves, brass and stringsbolsteringthe tempos. Fortunately, Dolby hasnt wholly abandoned his weirderways;"SpiceTiain," for example,is buoyedby what sounds like a whoopeecushion,and rhyming "Macaroni md cheese" with "deep freeze" opener"Nothing New on Under the Sun' certainlyseems silly. Nevertheless,Dolby's melodies are as agile and accessible wer. as -LE E ZI M M E R M E N DOWNLOAD: "r7 Hills." "Road to Reno' it's a good one. Their previous efforts were all solid experiments in infuence sharing-everything from Ninma to their belovedSmiths(seemoniker)but Exix &All the Rcstfind the band in a comfortable groove they never

T HE DU KESPIR IT
Bruiser
(Shangrl-La) wwwshangri la music.com eachrelease UK quintet this \\|I,h W addsanorherimoressive notch in their musical,.p.r,oi... For their third release theyve dighdy polished their harmoniouslydark pop while revelingin soulful, gritty rock. Bruiser openswirh the haunringlyrhythmic drumming and brooding riffs of "CherryTiee" then happily embarla upon a rich, melodic ride: welcome to the land of the Dukes,whereLiela Moss' sultry vocalscoasrover smarrly orchestrated sounds."Everybody's Under Your Spell"is reminiscent of the fast paced,chargedtracks from their debut Cux Aoos theLanf yet when the Dukes slightly turn down rheguitars, in "De Lu," or highas light Moss'pimo skillson "Mllain," they show the most progress. Braiser is an entrancingalbum from start to finish and a promising peekinto whar The Duke Spirit'sfuture holds. -APRI t S . E N G R A M DOWN LOAD: "Northbound." "Bodies"

quite found with their other records. Front woman Nina Diz in pafticular hasevolvedinto a remarkable singer (not surprisingfor someone who joined the bmd at 13), being able to segue seamlessly from soft crooning ro fist-in-your-face screams needed. as A little less punk-infuenced than their earlierefforts,the band can still bring out the distortedguitarsand fuck you aititude when needed, specifica.lly on "Hope," the only positivething to comeout of Arizona! racistimmigration policy.Not a weak track on the album. -JOHN B. MOORE DOWNLOAD: "Hope," One EyedFool"

rhythm and choralharmonies. And when Owens lamentsthat the ladies dont reallylike his boney body,his dirry hair, or the stuff that he'son, his self-deprecation affirms that Girls care more about making revealing, quality music than jumping on the latestbandwagon. -CIAIRE ASHTON DOWN LOAD: "Honey Bunny," "Vomit"

.TOM CAIIAHAN DOWNTOAD: "Country Ghetto," "Brighter Days"

TheSoundof His Own Voice

JOHNWESLEY HA RDI NG

(Yep Roc) unrw.yeproc.oom note. Misters Davies Lfake lVIand songCostello; singer, writer, author and auteurJohn Wesley Harding is crashingyour turf. His new album captures samesense the ofwhimsy and pure pop propensity that ws onceyour specialired domain. By combining irrepressible charm,enoughhooks to outfit a 6shing feet and a backingcastfull of marqueenames(the Decemberists, Rosanne Cash,PeterBuck and Scott McCaugheyamong them), Harding's crafted l5 sumptuoussongsasmemorableasthey aremelodic.Thatt obvious earlyon, in the perlcy, propulsive lilt of"Captain Courageous" and "Uncle Dad," the cozyswayof "The Colloquy of Mole & Mr. Eye," in the beautifulballads"Good News (& Bad News)" and "The World in Song," the bittersweet blissof "The Vay tJ7eren't"md the weary obserua'We tions ruminating through "There'sa (Where the StarbuclsUsed Starbucks to Be)." Hardingt adeptat melding a simplesliceof life with irresistible refrains, and that's what allows 7/e Soandof His Own Voice soar ever ro so sweedy. -tEE ZIMMERMAN DOWNLOAD: "Captain "Uncle Dad" Courageous,"
q

J JG RE Y A ND M O F RO
BrighterDays
(Alligator) u,!wy,alligator.com Crel and Mofro, a dynamic fJ I combination of swamprock. soul, Sluesand funk, might jusr be the most important band to come out of the AmericanSouth in the 2lst century so far. And like other legendary artistsofthe South,suchasOtis Redding, the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd, they have to be heard live to fully understandtheir power.Brighter Daysis a combination DVD/CD that recordsths bandt appearance the Atlanta at Variety Playhouse January 20 I 1. in The two-hour DVD is shot in classic "rockumentary'' style and features both performanceand interview material. Meanwhile, the editeddown CD might not be the Allmans at the Fillmore, but it's damn close. Grey has a knack for writing tunes with infectious hooks that are perfecr for singingor dancingalong,his songs often startingwirh a whisper and building to a roar. liVith revival meeting pmsion, he preaches backwoods wisdom and blue collar values in a world where globalization and corporate capitalism destroying are thosevaluesday by day.

GIR LS

Father, Son,HolyGhost

(True Panther Sounds/Matador) www.truepanther,com ather,Son,Holy G/asris nothing if f -not I honest. Girls perfecr graphic a sophomore effort with the literary intricary ofNabakov and the lovelorn, Texs-Panhandle rock ?r' roll favor of Buddy Holly. Rooteddeeplyin cold hard realiry vocalist Christopher Owens' existencetrumps any work of fiction and makesfor wonderfully wound-up storytellingthroughout. Time spentin a religiouscult in Europe,asa grocery-store employeein dmty nonh Texas,and asa member of the band Holy Shit lendsa spiritually radical,blue collar authenriciry to Girls' gritty and often emotionallybroken plight. The album appeals on a broad level with straightforward, bass-hearytracla that often read like The Zombiesin their punctuated

GIR L IN A C OM A
Exits & All the Rest
(Bladdeart) www.bladdeaacom took four albums, bur rheSan Jt IArtonio trio Girl in a Coma have finally found their sound,md damn, 74 B LU R T I N T E2 0 I 1 W R