Sounds of summer

Wild Nothing—Gemini

Virginia native Jack Tatum expertly employs indie rock's time-tested tools of nostalgia—shimmering guitars, abstract yet evocative lyrics, hazy production—to produce an album tailor-made for that end of summer, preemptively nostalgic feeling.  Strongly recommended.—Daniel Kolitz, dkolitz@udel.edu

Let It Sway—Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

The major complaint lobbied against  Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin is that their sunny indie-pop tunes, while undeniably catchy, are almost entirely weightless. That's definitely the case with their most recent effort, produced by Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla. When you're looking for some easy summer listening, though, that weightlessness doesn't necessarily detract from the album's overall enjoyment. Take this one for a nice summer stroll—you probably won't remember it afterwards, but you probably won't have a bad time, either.   — D.K

Memphis—Magic Kids

These Memphis indie-pop darlings dropped the musical equivalent of a summer fling this past August—exciting and full of possibility, but the album ends after 29 too short minutes. Unlike summer love, though, Memphis is endlessly re-playable—and you're going to want to be spinning this thing all the way to next summer's romance. —D.K

That's How We Burn—Jaill

On paper, this is perfect summer playlist filler—short, energetic jangle-rock songs about getting drunk and feeling nervous. Yet in execution this Milwaukee four-piece messes it all up by forgetting the hooks (for the most part—"Everybody's Hip" is explosive) and seemingly taking great pains to sound as indistinct as possible. In other words: if you're looking for short, energetic jangle-rock songs about getting drunk and feeling nervous, I recommend you download some Hold Steady. — D.K

The Suburbs—Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire is generally the last band one might expect to release a summer-ready album. And, really, The Suburbs isn't one. Album opener "The Suburbs" sounds like a nice bike ride through the development on a sunny day, sure, but the sinister noises underneath hint at something a lot darker. —D.K

Recovery-Eminem

The single "Not Afraid" introduces Eminem's new album Recovery, along with his changed persona and rapping style. He admits to his fans that his last album Relapse was "eh," vowing to never return to his unsatisfactory ways. The single's promise of change is evident. Unlike in his previous records, The Recovery lacks skits like an intro, interludes and an outro; each of the 16 tracks are songs. In this filler-free album, Slim Shady justifies his reasons for recovery in "Not Afraid." then describes his struggle on that road in "Talkin' 2 Myself". The rest of the album successfully moves forward past the horrendous previous records and drug addictions. —Arielle From, afrom@udel.edu