Sidetracked

Artist: Cold War Kids
Song: “Every Valley Is Not A Lake”

This piano-driven jam by the now officially consistent Cold War Kids offers a delicious helping of lead singer Nathan Willet’s trademark whine.  Although the Kids aren’t especially bluesy, Willet’s voice is still suited for the simple 12-bar blues progression that is prevalent on most of the track.

Grade: B+
by Paul Mattingly


Artist: Jack’s Mannequin
Song: “Crashin”

This Tuesday finally marked the release of the new Jack’s Mannequin album The Glass Passenger, and its opening track “Crashin” sets an extremely strong tone. The piano-powered pop gem proves that Andrew McMahon has outgrown his Something Corporate roots and is now wearing his Beach Boys influences on his sleeve, which isn’t a bad thing.

Grade: B
by Alex Benson


Artist: The Killers
Song: “Human”

The Killers’ new single “Human” sees the band continuing to step up in their pretensions to become the world’s most pretentious band. If the song’s title and poignantly ungrammatical chorus, “Are we human or are we dancer?” didn’t make that clear enough, the song’s channeling of U2 and every band influenced by Suicide beats it into your head.

Grade: C-
by Amanda Lowry