Once you stop giggling about their name, Flotation Toy Warning’s debut Bluffer’s Guide to the Flight Deck will unscrew you from your head and leave you floating out by Neptune. It’s that kind of album.

Members of Mobius Band have apparently relocated to Brooklyn. Lord knows Brooklyn needed more young, scruffy, literate indie musicians, who only make up approximately 99% of the borough’s current population, all of them hunting for an audience not composed solely of other striving art bands.

I first heard Pelican about two years ago when Joemama let me borrow Australasia, along with a CD by the band 5ive (he didn’t get them back for almost a year, my bad). Anyway, what struck me about Pelican’s first album was the wall of sonic distortion that hit me; my ears struggled through it all to pick out the nuances hiding behind that wall.

The fact that this album exists kinda pisses me off. It’s not even as terrible as I first thought, but it’s pretty bad. The people who decide what records get put out should be held more accountable for their products.

For over 20 years, Daniel Lanois has been creating some of the most influential, awe-inspiring, and colorful work popular culture has heard. From his apprenticeship with Brian Eno (Ambient 2:The Plateaux of Mirror and Ambient 4:On Land) to his production work with U2, Marianne Faithful, and Willie Nelson, Lanois has earned his place in the music history books.

Who knew that Winnie’s little pink friend could bring the ruckus? Well, Piglet, the infamously adorable, rambunctious sidekick to the Pooh, does just that.

I am glad I got this CD to review. At first listen, I was not much into it; but after another few listens, it is a lot fresher and less derivative than I originally believed.

Ok, I asked for this one. I’m a fan of The Gourds and Dwight Yoakam, so I thought, why not Kentucky Headhunters? I’ll tell you why not: because this is like being stuck on a 12 hour road trip with only ZZ Top’s Recycler to keep you company. Except it’s not that much fun.

What is happening over there at Saddle Creek? Is it those Mogis Bros.? Did they sell their souls at a Nebraska crossroads? I’m usually suspicious of hipster movements like the one Saddle Creek is becoming, aided by their talented poster boy Conor Oberst, but they’re not overrated.

This is what I’m guessing: Ox, a group of country music fans from north of the border, got their hands on a bunch of hallucinogens and an old, lovable boat of a car, and drove around the U.S. blowing their minds listening to old 70s songwriters and druggies. Along the way they crammed their experiences and their influences into Dust Bowl Revival.

I can only think of the release of CDs like these as the ultimate altruistic gestures. Lets face it, most independent releases have a limited potential market, but this is ridiculous!

Overall, this eponymous EP is a pretty good little slice of rock and roll. The promo sheet described Death of Fashion as “Joy Division meets early Stones.” Lofty goals, indeed. It sounds nothing like those bands.