Like a tin of supermarket sushi, this succulent batch of indie pop exceeds in its genre blandness, reworking familiar elements in familiar ways in the hope of finding a familiar endorphin rush of familiarity that breeds something more than contempt.

god's voice in the avenue

Thao With The Get Down Stay Down – More calculated than her whirlwind first effort, Thao has to actually break a sweat or two to forage for the cacophony that came so easily on her debut. That being sad it’s just as uneven, unfortunately the highs here can’t quick reach the same peak so attainable a year ago.

Via Tania - Through her breathy vocal delivery and snake-charmer backing Ms. Tania finds some rhythmically ethereal appeal in this rather simple offering. Indeed, the most shocking thing here is her 80’s style perm on the disc’s cover shot – by the way, did I ever tell you about the time my mother sent me down to the beauty parlor for the works? Oops, running out of space here …

Digits – Quite pleasantly living up to their name digits forges a synthetic path with restrained but movement friendly beats, heavily tweaked vocals, and overmodulation set to stun. If you prefer multiple synth solos in your retro-pop songs the key to your heart is contained within.

The Clientele – When the wind gets brisk and the collars turn upward it’s Clientele weather, and they continue to deserve their reputation for finding the emotional detachment with a warm creamy center, including horns and glistening Spanish guitars accentuating a longing that will likely never be sated.

Hornet Leg – The majority of this disc is dedicated to the raw garage punk cacophony that K records so mercilessly delivers in their normal junk-bin production style, though I’ve picked the one restrained morsel to be found in this heavily spiced meal. So pursue further at your peril!

The Fresh & Onlys – The rapid pace of these two concurrent releases makes me wonder if this crew is either ebulliently creative Pollard style or had a bit too much fun winnowing the track listing on the first disc. In any case consistency is their hallmark, as the retro 60’s garage vibe is just as evident and enjoyable on this fine follow-up.

The Rifles – Post-Revival-Post-Punk is likely passé by now but I had been predicting the revival for so long that I still find myself saving one song per release regardless of quality, especially if they so effectively work in heavy handclaps and a jangle worthy of the C-86 compilation.

Nudge – One day sonic archivists will wonder why some so doggedly captured the unfocused sounds of what seemed to be a basement band practice inside multiple cardboard sleeves seemingly intended for space-wasteful physical cataloging.