Even the skeptics would say (or should say) that The Writer’s Block by Peter Bjorn And John was anything but – there was a special sort of quality that hoisted it above prior work, even the great Falling Out. Songs like “Young Folks” and “Objects Of My Affection” were some of the best songs of 2007. Living Thing is the follow-up and, not surprisingly, it fails to live up to its predecessor. But that doesn’t mean it lacks greatness; again, anything but.

Hinting strongly of Sarah Records and the twee movement, Charlie Big Time can easily be likened to everyone from greats like The Field Mice and Lovejoy, to more modern artists like Palomar and Tender Trap. And, of course, the king of all twee-based influences: The Smiths. There is no denying the influence of The Smiths here, both the songwriting and vocal styling have Moz written all over “Love Is A Franchise”.

Oh man, this is where it gets good. When the near folk-y “Intro” leads into the intense rock drone of “Sleep By The Ocean”. It sweeps you off your feet, leaving you stunned. You ask: Where did that come from!? And then you grin, because Fauna Valetta really is fucking good.

North Elementary’s John Harrison has used his bands soft core and playful folk track “Golden Tigers” to illuminate the city of Durham, North Carolina. This a type of video that should be made more often. With images of establishments with strange titles like Food For Supreme Life and Fo Sho Philly Style Clothing, Durham’s blend of urban and hipster settings provides an outlook for what could be a great and less than compromising future.

In sociology there is an ancient debate that continues to rage today: are our instincts influenced by nature or nurture? On one side, nature argues that it is our inherent instinct that rules—that which is passed on from generation to generation. The nurture argument, on the other hand, would argue that we are a product of our environment. Much like the determinism versus free will argument in philosophy, when posed the question, many would say there are elements of both that make up our personalities and explain …

When You’re Still Frozen In Time arrived in the mail, I got really excited—the group’s label was responsible for releasing one of my favorite indiepop albums last year, an album by Fireflies. Stars In Coma feature heavy synths and glam-like bits, but not quite to the level of Sweden’s The Ark; where The Ark is more rock driven, Stars In Coma makes glam pop.

The concepts on Russian Circles’ Station are far from new—this particular genre being dominated by power names like Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, and Dungen—but in comparison, there seems to be more going on here thanks to an added guitar or two. Like EitS, Russian Circles lacks vocals, such that the emphasis is, of course, on the instrumentation and a play on loud versus soft.

Exaltation comes in many forms. The latest one for me is once again seeing the word Crocodile associated with live Seattle music. It champions the somewhat lesser excitement around U.S.E. (short for United State Of Electronica) and their upcoming release L O V E W O R L D, but only because the Croc has been a longtime favorite spot to see great bands. The two will meet – two being the Crocodile and U.S.E. – on March 28. That means clear tomorrow’s schedule.

I’m not one to champion hip hop and rap, but listening to The Winter’s End EP by Common Market (MySpace), it’s hard not to; fronted by RA Scion, this duo is not your typical for this genre. There are no bitches nor any hoes. And, thus, there aren’t any pimps with gold or racial profanity that so often taints and henceforth lessens a large portion of the genre. It is, however, seemingly typical for hip hop in the Pacific Northwest.

One develops a special sort of affinity for Partman Parthorse once they’ve experienced their live performance. This is hardly a statement to take lightly; frankly put, watching Partman Parthorse perform for the first time is equatable to loosing your virginity or experiencing the stage performance of Rocky Horror Picture Show for the first time. There is a special part of you that is lost forever and, as much as it saddens you that the next time will not be the first, you’re definitely looking forward to that next …