The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow (2003)

[Indie Pop/Rock]

Pa' Orlando.

The Shins are one of my favorite bands ever, they have been emulated, but never duplicated. (Rhyming! Fuck yeah!)

Led by James Mercer, the Shins play a brand of Indie pop/rock very reminiscent of old time greats like The Beach Boys, but with a flair all their own. This album, in particular, showcases some of their most developed and profound songs.

Chutes Too Narrow, is a gem of indie pop/rock, as well as their other two albums, and while most people may choose to pinpoint Oh, Inverted World as their crowning achievement, I choose this one out of nothing but personal love, and well... because this is my blog dammit.

Some must-listen songs here are: Saint Simon, Pink Bullets, and my all-time favorite Shins song... A Call To Apathy(Gone For Good)

That said, be sure to check out their other releases: Oh, Inverted world and Wincing the Night Away. Pop perfection.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2EL8L9BO

Man Or Astro-Man - Experiment Zero (1996)

[Space Surf/Punk]

So basically, take the review for Destroy All Astromen! And copy paste it here.

I pretty much uploaded this because of my love for these guys, but also because this album is another of my favorites.

So yeah, pretty much the same concept, some good ol' Space Surf to keep your toes tapping and your arms swinging.

Jumping into hyperspace with this one.

Just in case you need more convincing:

Go!

http://rapidshare.com/files/314157396/Experiment_Zero.rar

Ratatat - Classics (2006)

[Electro/Indie Rock]

Mix equal parts electronica, hip-hop, and alt/indie rock... And what you get is a very nice young man, who takes his dates out to nice restaurants and always pays the bill, then later on, makes sweet sweet love to them. Let's call him Ratatat.

This is an instrumental album, and it's especially nice to listen to while driving at night, it's very chill-outy (not a word) and funky at the same time. These guys do their influences proud, as you can definitely hear the old-school hip hop influence, as well as the newer electro flow.
They make very good use of guitars, and effects... Not a sound feels out of place, or forced. Which is awesome considering the mix in their influences could lead to that.

In short, it's a great album to just chill out, drive around, or dance. It's your choice.
Makes me wanna shake it.

http://rapidshare.com/files/74060494/Ratatat-Classics.zip