Listen to all of this issue’s Key Tracks
The Killers “When You Were Young”
Paying equal homage to Born to Run and “Paradise by the Dashboard Light,” the former New Wave revivalists find a way to make the bombast work.
[Listen]-[Review]
Sean Lennon “Parachute”
Sweet vocal harmonies and guitars turn a chilling song about getting dropped from the love airplane into something lulling and lovely.
[Listen]-[Review]
The Decemberists “Summersong”
Forget for a second all those baroque literary themes that Colin Meloy loves. A gorgeous end-of-the-season love song.
[Listen]-[Review]
Elton John “Just Like Noah’s Ark”
Elton and Bernie Taupin look back on forty years of friendship on this pristine honky-tonk number.
[Listen]-[Review]
Yo La Tengo “The Story of Yo La Tengo”
The New Jersey hipster gods make up for the lame joke of the misspelled title with glorious squiggles of sound.
[Listen]-[Review]
The Hold Steady “Chips Ahoy”
A bashed-out raver from the smartest, most raucous bar band this side of Guided by Voices.
[Listen]-[Review]
Listen to all of this issue’s Key Tracks
More: Listen to more choice cuts from the CD reviews section