Real Estate: Atlas

With its jangly guitars leads, harmonies, and mellow sound, Real Estate sounds like a happy version of the Smiths. And even though the Smiths wouldn't be half as interesting if Morrissey was happy, it works out pretty well for this band. This is a gorgeous album, full of shimmering guitars and great vocals performances from Martin Courtney. "Had to Hear" is the album's highlight, offering the best of all these aspects while also proving (if you weren't already aware) that a great guitar solo doesn't have to melt your face off Eddie Van Halen-style. The instrumental "April's Song" is another surprising highlight, in that's it's a typical Real Estate song, but with no vocals, yet somehow manages to be better than most of the songs here that have vocals.

Real Estate is a very "nice" sounding band; there's no edge to this band, so if that's important to you, you won't be a fan of Atlas. But for those who like this style, few do it better than Real Estate.

Grade: B+

"Had to Hear"

The Walkmen: Lisbon

On Lisbon, The Walkmen's 2010 magnum opus, Hamilton Leithauser isn't searing with anger as he was on their earlier albums. Usually losing this edge spells doom for bands that thrived on it, but The Walkmen came out on the other side better than ever, first with 2008's You & Me, and then two years later with this album, which is even better, without hitting turning into dad-rock a la 2012's Heaven. 

Lisbon manages to be mature yet fresh. Leithauser's voice remains their calling card, but the band's music is tighter than ever--just check the incredible second track, "Angela Surf City;" the guitars jingle and jangle through its intro before a punishing drumbeat kicks in, propelling the song to a new level. Frantic drums, clean guitars and strong lyrics are the foundation of Lisbon, which is a stunning achievement the band, impressive as their catalog is, has not topped.

Grade: A-

"Angela Surf City"

The Decemberists: What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World

After a well-deserved four year break, the Decemberists have returned, sounding mature yet fresh. What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World is the first album from this band to come around in a while that really feels like a true Decemberists album. By that I mean, it's not the Americana one, it's not the one that's basically a long play, it's not the one based on a Japanese folk tale--it's just the band sounding like themselves.

Colin Meloy's lyrical wit is as sharp as ever here, though opening number "The Singer Addresses His Audience" may be a bit too meta for some. Lead single "Make You Better" did little to keep expectations for this album measured, as it stands among their best work ever, with its gorgeous harmonies and big, movie-end-credits type chorus. Elsewhere on the album, "Carolina Low" echoes Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Daddy," while "The Wrong Year" could end up sounding like a bad '90s song in the wrong hands, thankfully it avoids that fate here. On the other hand, the album does have a few parts that meander, such as "Till The Water's All Long Gone," and generally doesn't have the same number of memorable songs as their previous efforts. Overall, What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World sounds like a more mature version of the band behind Castaways and Cutouts; and while the songs about medieval sailors have been replaced by songs about fatherhood, the end result is every bit as good. 

Grade: B+

If you haven't yet seen the priceless video for "Make You Better" with Nick Offerman, here it is, and enjoy.

The Men: Tomorrow's Hits

Tomorrow's Hits, the fourth album by Brooklyn band The Men, seems to have been ironically named, since it actually sounds much more like a throwback to yesterday than anything that could become a hit tomorrow (or today for that matter, considering the current rock-phobic state of pop music). This album is classic rock and roll: harmonicas, guitars, horns, and drums are all you'll hear here. 
The album kicks off with "Dark Waltz," a Boston-esque tale of starting a rock n' roll band. All the other tunes emulate various points of rock history, with varying degrees of success: "Sometimes" sounds like Neil Young, while "Pearly Gates" sounds like the '50s, though it unfortunately gets old long before its six minutes are up. "Another Night" is the highlight of the album, a horn-led rocker dominated by great riffs, setting a standard that the rest of the album can't quite reach.
Overall, Tomorrow's Hits is a solid throwback rock album, nothing more, nothing less. It's a good time while you're listening to it, but not especially memorable.

Video: "Another Night"