Dirty Projectors

A true indie rock freakout, Bitte Orca is the much-hyped new album from Brooklyn's Dirty Projectors, and no matter what you were expecting, it's filled with joyous surprises. With a voice that echoes Antony Hegarty and Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig, Dave Longstreth leads his band through funk, folk, chamber rock, electro-pop, and frayed punk, like a psychedelic Pied Piper marching down Driggs Avenue. The best review? Entertainment Weekly, hardly known for championing experimental music, says they achieve "a unified style that's all the more glorious for its strangeness."

For fans of: Vampire Weekend + Yeasayer + TV On The Radio

Sonic Youth

Thurston Moore told Rolling Stone "it feels great" to be free from a major label contract, and for their first Matador album Sonic Youth have started messing around again. Famous for developing noise-rock in the '80s, Sonic Youth tightened up their sound on their most recent releases (and did a compilation album for Starbucks), alienating almost as many fans as they gained; now they're back to old tricks, with extended slop-jams and brash spurts of punk keeping The Eternal nice and real. Allmusic says "Sonic Youth's freedom to follow their bliss is what holds The Eternal together," and there's something about this album that feels like an lengthy, extremely satisfying live show from a band you love.

For fans of: The Velvet Underground + Pixies + Nirvana

Various Artists

French label Kitsuné Music puts out some of the best electronic music today, and their Kitsuné Maison compilations are consistently filled with killer tracks and remixes. The 7th installation in the series kicks off with Irish trio Two Door Cinema Club, followed by the rather excellent Classixx remix of Phoenix's "Lizstomania," and new music from Heartsrevolution, James Yuill, The Golden Filter, and Lifelike. Having it all in one place is much easier than scouring the blogs.

For fans of: Cut Copy + Phoenix + Hot Chip

Datarock

On Red, their second album, Norwegian dancepunk duo Datarock gleefully straddle the gap between 1981 and 2051. Opening track "The Blog" combines a Kraftwerk robo-voiceover, sound clips about The World Wide Web, and cheering crowds; later, they construct an entire song's lyrics from Talking Heads song titles. You might roll your eyes, but the music itself is as solid as ever: NME says it's "irresistably slinky new wave... master[s] the frothy disco pop they so admire."

For fans of: Talking Heads + The Rapture + Devo

Todd Snider

Todd Snider, a new addition to North Carolina's Yep Roc Records (Robyn Hitchcock, Nick Lowe, Jim Lauderdale), adds a good dose of humor to soulful American folk. On "Good Fortune," he sings about a girl who looks "like Booker T. and the MGs sound," and on "America's Favorite Pastime," he recounts how Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis threw a no-hitter in 1970 while on LSD. You'll come for the punchlines and stay for the spirited tunes; the Washington Post says "when Todd Snider lets the pure energy of his music run free, there's nothing better."

For fans of: Lyle Lovett + Old 97's + Randy Newman

British Sea Power

With an extended ambient piano intro, three tracks over the eleven minute mark, and song titles like "Spearing the Sunfish," it's fair to say British Sea Power aren't gunning for radio play with their newest album. A gorgeous, picturesque re-scoring of the 1934 documentary Man of Aran, which followed a group of fisherman on a remote chain of Irish islands, this album is quite a departure from the Brighton band's acclaimed post-punk. The Quietus calls it "an impression of an impression; a 21st century attempt to complement a 20th century film about an often 19th century way of life... and it works beautifully."

For fans of: Doves + The National + Arcade Fire

Joan of Arc

Written over a year in four different sessions, with singer Tim Kinsella leading four different lineups, Joan of Arc's newest album is a cryptic, meditative work. Not so much background music as sonic wallpaper, Flowers is deceptively low-key, with deep unrest lurking beneath the lyrics when you look closer; still, Spin says "hearing Kinsella empty out his mind might just calm yours." Want to dig deeper? Get each of Joan of Arc's previous albums for $5.

For fans of: The Mountain Goats + Sparklehorse + Pavement

Other Girls

Cleveland's Other Girls have their debut out on Audio Eagle Records, the label run by The Black Keys' Patrick Carney, and from the sound of it they'll bust out of Ohio in no time. Soaring vocals and thickly layered guitars make for warm rock that longs to fill a concert hall, even though they've mostly played small clubs and bars up to now. "Alternately ecstatic and gorgeous, Perfect Cities plays like a lost standout from the '80s Manchester scene, the millennial New York City rock it inspired or maybe even the next underground club classic" (Cleveland Scene).

For fans of: Band of Horses + The Walkmen + My Morning Jacket

Freeland

Sometimes it takes a little extra to give electronic music a real kick, and DJ Adam Freeland got the right idea when he pulled in Tommy Lee on drums for the first track on Cope™. Later, Devo's Jerry Casale lends his vocals to "Only A Fool (Can Die)," Spinnerette's Brody Dalle sings on "Borderline," and "Morning Sun" is amped up by NIN guitarist Twiggy Ramirez and Pixies bassist Joey Santiago. The whole thing ends up like an expensive music video with a lot of cameos, and while the guests might seem to outshine Freeland himself, he gets much credit as a savvy executive producer.

For fans of: The Prodigy + Nine Inch Nails + Fischerspooner

The Clarks

Packing stadiums in their hometown Pittsburgh, The Clarks are a seasoned band who've been around for twenty years and twelve albums. Restless Days is their first new record in five years, featuring the alt-rock radio single "Trampoline" and their upbeat cover of "What A Wonderful World," a live favorite. If you ache for the years of TRL rock and the Empire Records soundtrack, this one's for you.

For fans of: 3 Doors Down + Goo Goo Dolls + Gin Blossoms