staccato guitar rhythms that made their debut album, Tree City, such a jagged wrecking machine. But here, that tight, compressed punch is augmented by subtle orchestrations whose airy ambience hints at the chameleon funk of David Bowie and the dance-floor minimalism of early B- 52’s. Piano fuels both Ben Folds–style lightweight pop (“Across Your Knee”) and sentimental balladry (“The Ramp”), while on “Guard at Your Heel,” a horn section shifts Robbers in a Tin Pan Alley direction that’s reminiscent of the society-observing Kinks of the mid-’60s. ROB O’CONNOR

after Schnauss’ return to his hometown on the Baltic coast, and the wafting synths evoke fog rolling in from the sea on an overcast autumn afternoon. J. NIIMI

Ulrich Schnauss Goodbye ITUNES MYSPACE Lovely “auf Wiedersehen” from downbeat digital maestro

Judging from his album titles, Ulrich Schnauss always seems to be leaving or long gone. The sounds matched the sentiment on the Berliner’s first two releases, 2001’s Far Away Trains Passing By and 2003’s A Strangely Isolated Place— gracefully melancholic electronica with too much soul to be relegated to sushi-restaurant background music. Goodbye is a bittersweet farewell to Berlin

Sean Na Na Family Trees—or— CoPe We Must ½ ITUNES MYSPACE Tired of Har Mar Superstar? Well, actually, so is he.

People only familiar with Sean Tillmann’s role as sleazy, R&B singer Har Mar Superstar are in for a surprise. On an album more Ted Leo than R. Kelly, Till-mann even seems to apologize for his tighty-whitey-wearing alter ego: The rollicking, insistent “I’ll Take It All” attempts to explain all that selfish, hedonistic behavior Har Mar supposedly indulged in—drinking, drugs, sleeping in other people’s beds. And he atones for those belly-baring grindfests with “Can’t Get a Spark,” an endearing tale of a sensitive dude’s third-wheel woe. LINDSEY THOMAS

Just what the world needs: another formulaic record from a pop-punk band that efficiently delivers surging guitar anthems while a cute, sincere, openly emotional young guy pours out his heart. But unexpectedly, the third album from this Pennsylvania quartet has its compelling moments, thanks in large part to likably corny singer Kenny Vasoli. Playing the anxious optimist, he worries about making the most of his brief time on earth, tries to console the lonely, and imagines someday sharing tender moments with his grandchildren. If “Need to Love” doesn’t raise some goosebumps, consider defrosting your heart. JON YOUNG

The Starting Line
Direction
ITUNES MYSPACE
Good-hearted dorks make the
most of same old emo hokum

Tegan and Sara The Con ITUNES MYSPACE Canadian sisters still refining their heavenly harmonies

The Quin twins’ new-wave pop hooks are stronger than ever on their fifth (fourth in the U.S.) album, as the Calgary duo relocates to Portland to work with Death Cab for Cutie producer Chris Walla and the formidable rhythm section of Death Cab drummer Jason

They Might Be
Giants: Took a wrong
turn on the way to the
Flaming Lips show

McGerr and bassists Hunter Burgan (AFI) and Matt Sharp (the Rentals). The album peaks with the bouncy, piano-driven “Back in Your Head” and the Cars-esque “Hop a Plane,” while the title track’s a perfect summer anthem—three and a half minutes of bright, shiny bliss. J. NIIMI

The dashiki and
wheatgrass days
are no more.
Just Rhymin’
The crunchy moralist decides to let it flow
Common
Finding Forever ½
ITUNES MYSPACE

Common shows his hand early into his seventh studio album. The rapper’s first words form a lighthearted old-school announcement: “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s the C-O-double-M-O-N.” By contrast, he began his previous effort, 2005’s solid yet stuffy Be, with a rhyme that referenced his late friend Yusef, Malcolm X, and John Coltrane.

The Chicago MC has reason to be in a more spirited mood. His fans love him again, now that the memory of 2002’s experimental mishmash, Electric Circus, has faded. His acting career is blossoming— he’ll star opposite Angelina Jolie in the action movie Wanted. And Be sold more than 800,000 copies. But Forever is livelier, grittier, and better.

Best of all are “The Game,” a stripped-down, shit-talking anthem driven by funky horn squawks and dusty drums, and “Southside,” on which Common and Kanye West trade witty verses over intense electric guitars. The potential radio singles are effortlessly engaging: “I got my SAG card / I’m an actor,” he jokes while courting a girl on “Break My Heart”; and Lily Allen adds a whimsical dimension to the chorus of “Driving Me Wild.”

They Might Be Giants The Else ITUNES MYSPACE Iconic Brooklyn indie geeks go for catchiness over kookiness Maybe it’s because this duo have funneled all their unconventional ideas into children’s music lately, but the Giants’ 12th album (produced by the Dust Brothers) is their most straightforward yet. Fortunately, it’s not short on the witty lyrics (“I was grinding my teeth / I was wasting my youth / And using up my teeth”) and solid songwriting that always kept them from being a novelty act. This latest batch of characters includes a paranoid drug dealer who asks his nemesis for protection (“The Shadow Government”) and a brokenhearted man who parallels a breakup’s aftermath with the scientific details of a concussion (“ Contrecoup”). LINDSEY THOMAS

It’s comforting to know
the guy still has a vicious
put-down in him.

It’s also comforting to know the guy still has a vicious put-down in him. On “Start the Show,” he scolds unimaginative rappers who fall back on an army of hypemen: “With 13 monkeys onstage, it’s hard to tell who’s the gorilla / You should have stayed a drug dealer.”

THOMAS GOLIANOPOULOS

Tiny Vipers Hands Across the Void ITUNES MYSPACE Seattle songwriter exudes a starkly mystical allure

Held together by its depressive fragility, this debut by singer/ guitarist Jesy Fortino comes on like a melancholy mash note. Opener “Campfire Resemblance” is (barely) powered by her fingerpicked acoustic guitar and raw harmonies that invoke both choir practice and edgy carnality. Closer “The Downward” takes a prog-rock eternity to make good

FROM LEF T: GREGOR Y SCAFFIDI; MARCEL DZAMA/COUR TES Y GIRLIE AC TION