It was inevitable: not just the indie-rock Now, the indie-rock Now aimed at the actual Now audience. (That isn't, you know, an O.C. soundtrack.) If anything, though, This Is Next, the first volume of what's promised to be a biannual series, could stand to be crasser: Even for fans of either artist, Sonic Youth's "Do You Believe In Rapture?" segueing into The Shins' "Phantom Limb" during the mopey first half is pretty much the softest-pedaled transition in history. And of course the material varies in quality—Bright Eyes and Cold War Kids, boo. Those who know and love these songs have probably already made a better mix-CD than this one.
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