What Albums Are Currently Rocking Our World? (Patrick C. Taylor's picks)

Let it be said that "rocking our world" was not my choice of phrase. That said...

The Minders - It's a Bright Guilty World (2006, Future Farmer Recordings)


It seems that nothing is going to stop the Minders. They’ve been around for about ten years now, with the indestructible core of husband and wife Martyn Leaper and Rebecca Cole, though they’ve also seen members of Dressy Bessy, the Thermals, the Jicks and Boycrazy fold in and out of the band. They’ve gone from full-on rock-ditties-of-the-sixties with their early work to a more experimental rock band to, on Bright Guilty World, something more personal and introspective on the current album than we’ve ever seen from the band before. Songs early on Bright Guilty World like “Don’t Stop” and “Accidental Joy” are rock numbers not unlike what we’ve heard on albums like Golden Street, but then the album relaxes into something much more somber than we’ve come to expect from this band.

I'll have more to say about the Minders when I review their August 17th at the NorVa in Norfolk, VA (along with Of Montreal, also a CTC favorite).

MP3: The Minders - Accidental Joy

Snowden - Anti Anti (2006, Jade Tree Records)


With its August 22nd release date looming, prepare for Snowden's first full-length to knock your socks clear across the room. The band's sound has evolved since their earlier work into something that combines the energy of a band like Bloc Party with the influences of bands like My Bloody Valentine. Just listen to the title track and you'll be hooked.

MP3: Snowden - Anti-Anti

Sound Team - Work EP (2005, Big Orange Records)


Pitchfork has gleefully trashed this band lately, proclaiming them to be up there with the Killers as the cheap impostor "hot band" of the summer and tore their full-length in half. But what they failed to mention is the energy and spark of the band's debut EP, which I've been listening to constantly since I picked it up earlier this year. I'll grant that the ensuing full-length was a bit of a letdown, but listen to this EP and you'll hear that Sound Team has crafted a sound that is both genuine and powerful.

Mp3: Sound Team - The Fastest Man Alive

What Albums Are Currently Rocking Our World? (Josh Boone's picks)

The Sleepy Jackson - Personality (One Was a Spider, One Was a Bird) (2006, Astralwerks Records)


Hands down, one of the best albums of the year. I was a fan of "Lovers," but this blows that out of the water. Should be one of the hottest releases of the summer.

The Long Winters - Putting the Days to Bed (2006, Barsuk Records)


We're big fans of this band here at Cut the Chord. The Ultimatum EP, which came out at the end of last year, whet our appetites for their latest. Another solid album. These guys have never let me down.

Lily Allen - Alright, Still (2006, LilyAllenMusic.com)


She's smoking hot, she has an accent, she writes the catchiest songs I've ever heard, and she makes me laugh. Thus, she's the perfect woman. Everyone's already heard about how she launched her own career with the help of MySpace. Once she's on MTV and every radio station in the country, I'm going to like her less. But until then... She's mine.