For Monsta- two posts in a row. Look out.

Best Coast- 3.0 This is fun music .  I'm pretty ok with the whole California, care-free indie rock/ summery/ beach pop kind of vibe and Bethany Cosentino has a beautiful voice that fits this whole genre perfectly.  The problem is the indie music scene in general.  Don't get me wrong.  I love indie/alternative music. Yet I find that a lot of, most actually, indie acts come on to the scene (sometimes with incredible hype) with the best stuff they'll ever do. Sophomore releases tend to be more of the same but not nearly as vital or fresh as the debut.  A lot of these artists are this month's hype-darlings . Chosen more for the sake of keeping a trend going than for their actual musical prowess.  Maybe Best Coast is a little different because of Cosentino's presence and persona,  but I feel the same way- not nearly as vital or fresh as Crazy For You.  Mind you- all of this doesn't make the record a major disappointment- far from it. This is as tidy a little pop album as you'll find and I could so see myself on a beach in LA digging the whole vibe and digging BC- very much.  Yet, I can't help but feel they're doomed. Unless, of course they can figure out how to build a sound worthy of longevity.

E- 4.0 I never tire of this cd. Of course, I'm a huge fan of Mark Everett and The Eels. ok, ok. This is one depressed guy. He should be.  First he lost his father to heart failure, and then—in a way too short period of time—his sister to schizophrenia and suicide and his mother to cancer. Cruel- I'd be depressed to.  And if all of that wasn't enough-his cousin was a flight attendant on the plane that struck the Pentagon  during the 9/11/01 attacks. The plane struck the side of the Pentagon where his father had worked, and Everett remarks in his autobiography that he wonders whether the plane hit his father's old office.  Ouch!  Everett's songs always paint a picture in my mind. His lyrics are intelligent albeit dark, and every song he's ever written is a narrative on the coming of age, love, death, life and the struggles one faces getting through it all. A brilliant guy with a wonderfully creative vision of the dark side of things.

Peter Gabriel- 4.0  If all you want to hear from Peter Gabriel is In Your Eyes and Sledgehammer than this is not going to be your cup of tea. In fact, you'll hate it- maybe even  give it a Mongillo 0.5 or something like that. However, if you can appreciate songs like Carpet Crawlers, Moribund the Burgermeister, and The Barry Williams Show and if you can appreciate one of the greatest and most unmistakable voices in rock then you're going to be very happy with this cd. Gabriel is a creative genius. He out Lady Gaga'd Lady Gaga back in the 80's with his costume changes and showmanship. You could make an argument that this recording is slightly pretentious and maybe a little bit of an unnecessary undertaking. The guy has an ego, for sure. And maybe he did this to massage it a little. But, you know, he's Peter Gabriel and he's great and he accomplished what I think any live performance should- put a new spin on songs you know and love.

Royal Southern Brotherhood-4.5  I'm always a little leery of "supergroup", sometimes overhyped, new releases. But these guys hit the floor running. They had me right from the get-go. This is bluesy, funky, edgy, soulful southern rock  from a bunch of talented guys who have come together, seemingly effortlessly, to create a this masterpiece. Can't get it off my ipod. Every song knocks it out of the ballpark. Wow! Can't wait for the next one.

Tsar- 3.0   On first listen I thought this was pretty ordinary. I kept playing it though, because sometimes when you listen to something again you think, wow, this is great- what was I thinking? I also kept playing it because this is a record I should absolutely love-- it's solid punky power pop and the band has good energy and the songs chug right along and maybe if I play it louder and maybe next time the lyrics won't sound so trite and maybe I'll start singing along and maybe some of those guitar riffs will stick in my head and maybe I'll say wow, what was I thinking.  But none of that happened. I just think it's pretty ordinary. Good- but ordinary.

Question. While My Guitar Gently Weeps- Beatles. G. Harrison vocal. Slipping Away- Rolling Stones K. Richard on vocal. Boris The Spider- The Who. John Entwistle vocal. Leaving Home Ain't Easy- Queen Brian May vocal. Dirty Work- Steely Dan David Palmer vocal.