“The Quilt”
GYM CLASS HEROES
WHY CARE?: The genre-straddling group had a big hit in 2007 with “Cupid’s Chokehold.” On Tuesday, the group releases its new album.
TRIVIA: Frontman Travis McCoy has tattoos of Hall &Oates, heroes of his, on the backs of his hands.
HIGH POINTS: “Guilty as Charged,” featuring British rapper Estelle on the chorus, starts things off with a big soul-sounding brass section.
FANS LIKE: A mash-up of styles, with an emphasis on hip-hop.
ANDY SAYS: This is easy-to-digest hip-hop for mall rats. While the album starts and finishes strongly, it drags in the middle.
GRADE: C
“The Stand Ins”
OKKERVIL RIVER
WHY CARE?: The group topped “best of” lists with 2007’s “The Stage Names.”
TRIVIA: After recording its last album, the band ended up with enough material for a double album. Rather than release it in one fell swoop, the group broke it into two separate albums.
HIGH POINTS: The galloping “Lost Coastlines” builds from a plucking banjo to a tumult of guitars, horns and drums, as the ever-literate singer Will Sheff wails that, “Every night finds us rocking and rolling on waves wild and white, where we have lost our way, but nobody’s goin’ to say it outright.”
FANS LIKE: Arcade Fire, Americana
ANDY SAYS: Sheff would get called indulgent if he weren’t so talented. Singing to the rafters, he belts out his bleary-eyed tales with terrific urgency.
GRADE: A-minus
“Alphabutt”
KIMYA DAWSON
WHY CARE?: Kimya Dawson’s prominent spot on 2007’s “Juno” sound track led to a performance on “The View.”
TRIVIA: Dawson, who lives in Olympia, named her daughter Panda.
HIGH POINTS: “I Love You Sweet Baby” is a charming snapshot of a day in the life of a mother and child.
FANS LIKE: Kids’ music, animals
ANDY SAYS: This kids’ album includes tales of hungry tigers, loose teeth and a fart-referencing alphabet song, hence “Alphabutt.” Kids may love it. Adults, not so much.
GRADE: B-minus
Andy Rathbun
arathbun@heraldnet.com
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