Best New Music

[Gigantic; 2008]
Rating: 8.5

After the slight misstep of 2006's A Hundred Miles Off, the Walkmen enjoy a return to form on a consistently wonderful record marked by, for these guys anyway, relatively direct lyrics and simple pleasures.

London Zoo
Wed: 07-30-08

The Bug:
London Zoo

[Ninja Tune; 2008]
Rating: 8.6

Another manifestation of the way London has transformed the sounds of Jamaica to its own ends-- from 2-Tone to jungle to dubstep-- the Bug's London Zoo offers high-energy anger and ferocity, as opposed to outright bleakness, as he streamlines his sound, shaving away the distortion and letting most of the impact come from the rhythm itself. This makes Burial sound like Music for Airports.