| Glaswegian four-piece Snow Patrol finally see the North American release of their second full-length Final Straw (Universal). Although not as immediately infectious as their debut, this album is full of thick, mid-tempo (if over-produced) rockers, making them sound a lot like Nada Surf’s kid brothers.
Eudora Kansas’s pop-punk sons The Get Up Kids return from the oblique pop of their departure album (On A Wire) with Guilt Show (Vagrant). These 13 tracks are a return to form – bright guitars and vocal hook – despite a lot of studio indulgences. Lacking the raw charm of 1999’s Something to Write Home About, but at least the band sounds like themselves again.
For fans of the new wave of intelligent hip-hop, Volume III (Def Jux), the third compilation from underground label Definitive Jux, is a must. Produced by, and featuring, EL-P (known for his work with the Blue Series Continuum) the album features hip-hop vets like Phase 2 along with the dexterous wordplay of Aesop Rock and the cut-and-paste style of RJD2. Comes complete with smooth grooves, tight rhymes and a bonus DVD (if you buy the right version).
Finally a question: According to the cover, It Came From The Garage (Sony) features "30 garage rock classics." I don’t doubt the classic nature of The Velvet Underground, Bob Dylan and the MC5, but can The Raveonettes and The Moony Suzuki really be called "classic" already?
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