"It's A Corporate World" by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.

It's A Corporate World by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. was
released on Quite Scientific Records on June 7, 2011

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. are much more than just a band with a quirky, attention-grabbing name.  Dale Jr. Jr. may have initially caught the attention of the masses through their namesake, but they've kept their fans through their inventive and invigorating sound.  The band picked up a bit of steam from their EP last year Horse Power (which featured an awesome cover of The Beach Boys' "God Only Knows") and this album expands upon that sound that they built for themselves.  It's hard to lump Dale Jr. Jr. into a category because the stereotypical "indie pop" title just simply doesn't fit, there's too much going on to pigeonhole them into one category.  It's A Corporate World is full of captivating lyrics, polyrhythms, and instrumentation.  Each track is capable of being a summer anthem with it's infectious choruses and captivating rhythms, It's A Corporate World is certainly one of this year's standout albums from top to bottom.

The Myxem Staff Reviews "Bon Iver, Bon Iver" by Bon Iver

Bon Iver, Bon Iver, released June 21st, 2011
on 4AD and Jagjaguwar

Grant:
Bon Iver, Bon Iver is an ambitious piece of work that marks not only the evolution of Justin Vernon and his band musically, but also emotionally.  While For Emma, Forever Ago was a raw and bare-boned type of album this sophomore release is far from the Bon Iver everyone came to know and love on his first release, but this rebirth of sound is an incredibly pleasing one.  Vernon's distinguished falsetto rings through amongst dense textures of sound in each track in a way that all sort of intertwines as an experimental, R&B, easy listening, soul, folk record.  The lyrics are just as strong and pertinent as they were on For Emma but my small qualm is that they're rather unintelligible while being sung by Vernon.  By no means am I saying that it's a large detractor from the album because like I said the lyrics are still incredibly powerful regardless of whether you need to be looking at a lyric sheet or not.  "Say nothing, that's enough for me", Vernon croons on "Holocene", the album has a familiar theme with it's lyrics that get you emotionally attached to every song, you get the feeling like Vernon really had something to say and knew exactly how he wanted it to be said.  In the same song he sings "And I at once knew I was not magnificent", quite frankly the world couldn't disagree more.  It's incredibly fulfilling to hear an artist grow as much as Bon Iver has over the past few years, especially when you can still hear bits of his old style sprawled about the album but with a new take on it, much like towards the end of "Minnesota, WI" when Vernon is spilling his heart out over a banjo riff that's meshing itself with a saxophone part as well.  From For Emma to working with Kanye, to Gayngs, Vernon has truly become a type of artist that I'm sure nobody would have pegged him as with the release of his debut effort.  I only see great things coming in the future for Bon Iver.

Rating: 9/10
Standout Tracks: "Holocene", "Perth", "Calgary"

"Suck It And See" by Arctic Monkeys

Suck It And See was released June 7, 2011 on Domino Records.

Arctic Monkeys took the world by storm with the unprecedented overnight success of their first album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, in 2006, after growing popularity on the internet (specifically Myspace) thrust them into the public consciousness. The band followed up with Favourite Worst Nightmare, which proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the band was more that a mere viral sensation and has since gone double-platinum in the UK. Sadly, it seems as though the Arctic Monkeys have lost their way since then. Suck It And See, which feels like a followup to 2009's lackluster Humbug, is a collection of faux-vintage guitar rock that feels more like an elaborate Alex Turner solo album than a true Arctic Monkeys outing. That being said, I have greatly admired Turner as a songwriter for quite some time and have enjoyed all of his solo output, but when the band's name is attached, music like this just feels wrong. Gone are the punchy melodies and whip-smart social commentaries that made us fall in love with this British quartet in the first place. In their place, we have more traditional oldies radio fare, albeit with a distinctive Britpunk edge (though this edge is often dulled until it's nearly unrecognizable).

From The 'Net: "Said That, She Did"

Full disclosure: I am a complete Star Wars nerd. That being said, I am incredibly fortunate to have come across "Said That, She Did". The premise is simple: take a Star Wars quote out of context, cut to Yoda saying his broken-English equivalent of "that's what she said." Sure, it seems a bit stupid, but the results are absolutely hysterical. The site just got started on June 1st so there's not a whole lot of back catalog to go through, but judging by the gems that are on here already this will be keeping me entertained for quite some time. Check it: http://www.saidthatshedid.com.