They're a young band with easily discernible influences, but this Glasgow outfit manages one of the year's finest full-length debuts to date. Singer James Graham focuses on the angst and trauma of adolescence but never succumbs to self-pity, and the band's sound, in which epic guitar squall climaxes are balanced by folky accents and accordion, mirrors the material's emotional arc.

After two albums, various EPs, and the godlike singles collection Suburban Light, this London band inches away from thoughtful stasis, from employing a handful of production tricks and lyrical themes to articulate a rich and complex world informed by magical realism, memory, and the ache of nostalgia. For good or ill, this uniformity seems to be slipping away. God Save the Clientele sounds like the work of the same band, but it shows them in a new, brighter light, broadened in both sound and outlook. In terms of sonics and tunes, these changes are welcome and logical, expanding upon the sound with which they made their name without sacrificing intimacy or risking coming across overcooked.

These wildly unpredictable art-rockers infuse the murky experimentation of their last two albums with the raw two- and three-chord rigor of punk, 1960s garage, and early 70s hard rock. Liars is scorched-blacktop biker music played through the bleak filter of German new wave and early industrial, and the first Liars LP to truly capture the band's mesmerizing live intensity.

Though it doesn't quite match College Dropout or Late Registration in pleasure-center overload, Kanye West's third album is both his most consistent and most enterprising yet, indicating that he might actually deserve the legendary status he constantly ascribes himself. Where his past records have mostly functioned as contagious nostaglia trips, Graduation finds him expanding his palette, merging his familiar vinyl-crackle soul samples with European sound sources ranging from Can to Daft Punk.

After expanding his palette on both the excellent Woman King EP and 2005's full-band collaboration with Calexico, In the Reins, Sam Beam finally completes his gradual journey from lo-fi home recordings to a full-band setup. The gorgeous results find Beam and producer Brian Deck deftly exploring new sonic territory (dub, blues, and West African music, to name a few) while preserving the best aspects of Beam's earlier recordings.

Between Wolf Parade, Swan Lake, and Frog Eyes, Sunset Rubdown's Spencer Krug may be the most prolific indie rocker this side of Robert Pollard. But you'd never know from his latest full-length, which features melodies so architecturally complex and harmoniously joined that the boundaries between them become erased. With its exquisite attention to detail and layers of depth which emerge over multiple listens, Random Spirit Lover may be one of the most toiled over releases of the year-- and in line with 2005's Shut Up I Am Dreaming, as well as his work with Wolf Parade, it establishes Krug as one of independent music's brightest talents.

you either love this or hate it. i loved it. it's a great story, although sometimes a little hard to follow.

check it out.

I read this book a couple of years ago, maybe three, but it was a good, fun read. it's very different from what i'm usually into, but letts is a great writer and hauls you right into the story. very good.

if you're thinking of travelling to moscow, buy this. if you're going to moscow, and you don't have this book, buy it now. you'll need it. there's a map of the city, odd facts and tells you everything to check out and how to budget while you're there.

have fun!

if it wasn't for this book, i would have been very lost in st petersburg. this book gave me directions, and because of it, i found some great restaurants to check out. buy it used, save yourself a few bucks, it's defintiely worth it!