The self-titled debut LP by Philadelphia singer-songwriter-poet-playwright Adam Arcuragi (High Two) skips in the shadows of ambitious neo-folkies like The Decemberists and Mark Kozelek, with a sound that's slightly less distinct, but with melodies that stand up to his troubadour elders. Arcuragi's greatest strength is his lyrics; on sprawling ballads like "1981" and "Delicate," they tell free-associative stories of vibrantly emotional moments between friends and lovers… B+
Seth Kauffman's Ting (Hightone) sounds for all the world like a sampler drawn from the Numero Group archives, bringing together the label's regional R&B collections, island-hopping exotica, and lost roots records. But it's actually the work of one North Carolina music theorist who's apparently run out of junk shops to rummage through for funky old 45s, and has decided to make tomorrow's curios today… A-
Nobody & Mystic Chords Of Memory's collaboration Tree Colored See (Mush) combines the talents of one of the West Coast's most in-demand producer/remixers, and a collective of indie-rock psychedelicists. The results showcase both halves of the equation well: Nobody's crackly, jazzy trip-hop sounds appealingly focused when applied to actual songs, while Mystic Chords Of Memory's airy, country-inflected drones sound fuller and more transporting with the addition of a few well-chosen samples… B+
People on the watch for bands on the verge of a creative breakthrough should file away Metal Hearts' second album, Socialize (Suicide Squeeze), which has such a singular approach to sonic starkness—leaning on hushed electronic rhythms, quietly pinging guitars, and the murmuring voices of Anar Badalov and Flora Wolpert-Checknoff—that it's easy to hear how a few minor tweaks could result in an indie-pop takeover. The band's musical forbears include Hugo Largo, Trio, and B-movie soundtracks, but Metal Hearts' spine-chilling paeans to loneliness are wholly their own… A-
Proving that glitch-pop can be a powerful medium for intensely personal expression, Milosh's Meme (Plug Research) uses warmly burbling synthesizers and polyrhythmic percussion to put over a song cycle about losing love and learning to love again. Cynics should punch straight through to the second song, "Falling Away," which uses Milosh's light-rock-ready vocals and a low "city at 3 a.m." rumble to explain how staying up all night making music helps cure heartache… B
Lantern (Brassland) is the fourth album by the baroque instrumental ensemble Clogs. It shares some members with The National, as well as an interest in low tone and bumpy textures. Essentially postmodern chamber music, Lantern's compact, exotic-sounding mood pieces pack more vivid imagery per minute than songs with actual words… A-
Crackpot lo-fi legend Dan Treacy is out of jail and has revived his post-punk standard-bearer Television Personalities for My Dark Places (Domino), a not-quite-comeback album that's about one-quarter brilliant, one-quarter passable, and half shit. Opinions on which part is which will vary between listeners, but pay no heed to anyone who doesn't dig the puckishly plagiaristic ditty "Velvet Underground" (which rhymes with "How did they get that sound?")… B
While waiting for the first domestically released full-length by upwardly mobile Swedish guitar-pop outfit David & The Citizens, enjoy Friendly Fire's self-titled sampler EP, which runs through six richly hooky, propulsive songs that marry David Fridlund's hypnotically discursive lyrics with music that recalls early R.E.M. and the wild Americana of Frank Black… B+
Eclectic Chicago cutie-pie Baby Teeth follows up its little-bit-of-everything debut The Baby Teeth Album with an EP, For The Heathers (Riot Act), that's anchored by three songs—one by each member of the trio—about a girl named Heather. Singer-keyboardist Pearly Sweets mixes Queen, Billy Joel, and Suicide on his strangely lovely "Heather Via PS," while bassist Jim Cooper plies early '80s new-wave funk on "Heather Via JC," and drummer Peter Andreadis fuses techno-pop, honky-tonk, Euro-folk, and his own meandering thoughts on "Heather Via PA." The band can be creative to a fault, but better to have too many ideas than none at all.… B+