Anything in Return by Toro y Moi

Released:  January 22, 2013
Rating:  ééé1/2
Genre:  Chill & B

This album does not come easy.  It takes repeated listens to get into the layers that make it so darned interesting, and ultimately enjoyable.  There's R&B, funk and electronica here, and they all come together for something that is really terrific when you need a distraction (in the office between tasks) or when you have time to really listen (like during the commute or a drive to Monterey.)  I don't know Exactly what to compare it to that would be better known.  Maybe Stereolab, or Girls.  Spotify relates them to Phantogram, which I guess I can hear.

Chaz Bundick, the 26 year old from South Carolina (now residing in Berkeley CA), is Toro y Moi, This is his third album (my second) since 2010, though he's been performing since 2001. It's darker than 2011's Underneath The Pine, but I also think it's a better collection.

My favorite song on the album is   High Living.  I can also strongly Cola and Studies.

Beta Love by Ra Ra Riot

Released:  January 22, 2013
Rating:  éééé
Genre:  Indie Chamber Rock

This is my third album from the now-five-piece from New York.  (The cello player, who I met during their last show in Sacramento, has left the band.)  My enthusiasm for the album, matched against the breadth of the reviewers opinions here, support my theory that if they're mixed on it,  I'll probably love it.  Almost all of the reviewers acknowledge how much fun the music is.  Most of the mixed and negative reviews tend to harp on the fact that they're trying something new and they don't like it.  (Some folks just didn't get what they expected.)

The album's just soft enough to work in the office; the dance beats are great for the gym; and it's not bad in the car, though a little slow at times.

My favorite songs on the album are the spacey, synth-heavy What I Do for U and the 80's style  When I Dream.

Light Up Gold by Parquet Courts

Released:  January 15, 2013
Rating:  ééé
Genre:  Neo-Punk

Parquet Courts' special breed of "Americana punk" - noisy indie rock with jagged punk edges borrowed from late-'90s guitar-heavy alternative acts - began in 2011 when some former Texans who had relocated to Brooklyn began practicing and gigging regularly.  The band released its first album, American Specialties, on cassette in late 2011. This is their first disc.

Don't let the artwork fool you.  There is nothing cowboy about this.  And, while I like the album, the critics seem to love it, with a metascore of 84

There's nothing I can adequately compare them to, as the bands others use as comparisons, for the most part, I've never heard of (The Feelies, Borrowed Thyme, etc.).  Please pardon my ignorance.  The two bands I have heard of include Modern Lovers and Foxygen (which, coincidentally, I was just introduced to tonight).

Personally, I found the best place to listen to Parquet Courts was on my i-Pod at the gym.  Way too frenetic for the office.  Not bad in the car, but it can become a little monotonous.  For a taste, I'd suggest Donuts Only, Yonder Is Closer To The Heart, or, my favorite, Stoned and Starving.