A. Graham & the Moment, "Glorious" (Sonic Unyon). A turn-that-frown-upside-down ode to anyone who reacted to being pissed on by picking up a thesaurus and a twangy guitar before shouting, Glo-ri-ous, tri-um-phant, op-ti-mis-tic, tran-scen-dent.
The Architects, "Sixty-Eight Gold" (Anodyne). A deliriously convincing nah-nah-nah throwback custom-fitted for putting the top down and the gas pedal through the floor -- even if nobody in the band was actually alive in '68.
Boomstick, "Dick" (Independent). Kind of like "Glorious" without all the big words. Boomstick whips fellow Phonies in a frenzy with a chorus -- You're a dick/Yes, you're a penis/You're such a cock/No love between us -- made for America's Pub circa 1 a.m.
The Casket Lottery, "On the Air" (Second Nature). This is the sound of settling. Or at least of the Casket Lottery sweeping up the slivers of broken dreams with lines like Am I wasting all my time?/Or am I proving them all wrong?/Am I wasting all my energy in these old songs?
Doris Henson, "The Power" (Pacific Rock). You have that steady guitar roar throbbing in your veins. The plodding drums keeping time with your heartbeat. That off-key lament on the edge of your lips. And that's when you know that "Power" has obviously gone to your head.
The Popper, "I Do" (Flip Ya Wig). Do you like a bouncing backbeat? I do! Do you like shouting along to choruses about drinking with the dudes after hard days? I do! And verses about thongs and baby momma drama? I do! Did you feel like you couldn't escape this song last summer even if you moved to Reykjavik? Me neither.
