Here's July's Emusic downloads.
My favorites from this list? Definitely these two:
It took me quite a long time to get past the overtly dance-punk meets The Fall sound of
Art Brut's first record. But once I let my guard down, I had a blast. This second helping doesn't quite attack the
whole idea of being in a rock band like the first one did. But much of the frenetic guitar playing is blow-away beautiful. I might be in the minority, but I think the second one's better.
My Teenage Stride remind me
a ton of my fellow Houstonians,
Scattered Pages. Like Scattered Pages, My Teenage Stride doesn't break much new ground, but the polished songwriting instincts, multi-layered arrangements, and sardonic lyrics sort of win you over on quality alone. And like Scattered Pages, there's an obvious love for 80s-era Smiths and Cure. It's a sound that's got a lot of mileage. Perfect if you like the following bands (available on Emusic as well):