Top Five Albums You May Have Missed Last Year

Rilo Kiley front woman Jenny Lewis has a lot going on for her. Not only is she one of the most beautiful and vocally talented women in indie rock, but she's also one of the movement's most earnest songwriters. Her debut solo album, Rabbit Fur Coat, serves not only as a way for her to explore an alt-country sound, but also to show her strengths as a musician without her male counterparts.

The deeply personal album explores areas ranging from Lewis' childhood (titular track "Rabbit Fur Coat") to her struggles with faith ("Born Secular").

Adding the soul singing Chandra and Leigh Watson, simplistic yet powerful instrumental arrangements and a cover of the Traveling Wilburys' "Handel With Care" (featuring Conner Oberst, Ben Gibbard and M. Ward) to the mix made Rabbit Fur Coat a debut not soon to be forgotten.

The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America (Vagrant)

While residents of the U.S.'s East and West coasts may not hold the Midwest in such high regard, the region is home to some of the country's greatest musical acts, past and present. Case in point: the Hold Steady.

Singer/guitarist Craig Finn may just have created the ultimate bar rock band if the Hold Steady's latest outing, Boys and Girls in America, is any proof. The album title, inspired by the Jack Kerouac line "Boys and girls in America have such a sad time together," is no coincidence as Finn and the gang seem fixated on the destructive decisions of American youth culture.

Booze, parties, drugs, more booze, getting fucking up, just plain fucking and the guilt associated with all of the above are thematically embedded at the core of this album. The Hold Steady's amazing penchant for rock and roll songwriting makes Boys and Girls in America a surprisingly deep album, with enough guitar distortion to make it the perfect party album and lyrics clever enough to make its listeners rethink their heathen ways.

Josh Ritter - The Animal Years (V2)

Chances are most readers have never heard of Idaho native Josh Ritter, but there's also a good chance that's about to change. Ritter's fourth studio release, The Animal Years, has earned him comparisons to such musical legends as Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan.

While equating a musician with such big names early in his career can be a blessing or a curse, it's not hard to see where the comparisons are coming from. The Animal Years showcases Ritter's ability to write songs ranging from mellow folk melodies to more catchy rock arrangements.

Instrumentals aside, Ritter is a natural storyteller with narratives summoning religious figures ("Peter said to Paul/ 'All those words that we wrote/ Are just the rules of the game and the rules are the first to go'") and Middle American imagery ("Wolves in the piano/ Wolves underneath the stairs/ Wolves inside the hinges/ Circling round my door").

Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards (Downtown)

Cold War Kids are one of the more enigmatic newcomers of the year. They're the sort of band that can take a normally depressing subject matter, cover it with hooks and turn it into a pop song.

Their debut, full length album Robbers and Cowards, for example, opens with "We Used to Vacation," a darkly humorous, piano-driven song about what drives a father to drink in excess. "I promised to my wife and children/ I'd never touch another drink/ As long as I live/ But even then it sounds so soothing," howls singer Nathan Willett.
Robbers and Cowards tracks range from straight up indie songs with cacophonous piano breakdowns ("Hang Me Up to Dry") to spy film-inspired melodies with a hint of latin influence ("Passing the Hat"). Ambitious, yes, but Willett's dynamic voice ties the whole experience together nicely.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium (Warner Bros.)

With all the hype this album has received, one would think the Chili Peppers had brought upon the second coming of Jesus with their brand of funky rock and roll. In all honesty, Stadium Arcadium is nothing more than a slightly disappointing follow up to 2002's By the Way.

For reasons unknown, Anthony Kiedis felt compelled to create a 28-song epic as opposed to a regular length album. The end product feels a little watered down, but that doesn't mean RHCP is past its prime.

Stadium Arcadium is, without a doubt, bogged down by an overabundance of filler material. But had some of the fat been trimmed off it could have been comparable to its nearest predecessor.

First single "Dani California" has a great deal of radio appeal. "Hard to Concentrate" features hypnotic performances by drummer Chad Smith and bassist Flea. "Hump De Bump," though unfortunately named, is a return to the band's prior funk-metal form.

For an album that took four years to release, Stadium Arcadium should be better than it actually is. One can't help but feel that, had The Chili Peppers cut out 14 to 16 songs, it would have been a triumph.