Could this summer be any better?

I'm pretty sure it couldn't, considering these two albums will be on repeat, blasted from my car stereo all day every day. (Minus, you know, the 9 hours a day I actually have to work. Work is such a hindrance to music, isn't it?)

Sleigh Bells, Treats

Tokyo Police Club, Champ

Trust me, I'll be writing some more things about these albums. They are irresistible!

Jamie Lidell - Compass

The title is no lie; it takes some serious assistance to find a sense of direction while listening to Jamie Lidell’s fourth full-length. Funk, soul, hip-hop, dance, and electronica are all mashed together in songs that fizzle and pop like kooky science experiments. Lidell yelps and whoops like a maniac atop the jazzy horns of “The Ring,” the shuffling percussive twists of “Your Sweet Boom,” and the bass-heavy disco jam “Enough’s Enough.” Beck lent a hand to the spacey production, along with Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor, who Lidell says he knew he needed to work with from the minute he heard Veckatimest. The result is a disjointed, yet festive, collection of songs that paint pictures of Lidell’s roughest moments of the past couple years. Layer after layer of sound urge questioning - is that glass breaking or just a chime? Is he using vocal effects or is that another instrument entirely? Judging from pictures of his packed home studio, all of the above. Feist and Beck contribute ethereal harmonies to album standout “Big Drift,” a haunting desert ballad. The title track refreshingly peels back the layers to showcase Lidell’s passionate growl, the one glorious string that ties all Compass’ madness together.

The Black Keys - Brothers

Pat Carney and Dan Auerbach aren’t brothers, but they might as well be. The Akron duo has been playing music together since the two were teens, and it shows. Auerbach refers to their musical relationship as a well-oiled machine. In fact, the Black Keys finished Brothers in nine days of recording at Muscle Shoals studio. On their sixth album, dirt and grime coat every song. A visceral rawness radiates throughout, giving the album an attitude that reaches back to basics – distorted guitars, pounding beats, and clean bass. “Howlin’ For You,” which will probably land at the top of the ‘2010 scorchers’ list, kicks off with Jock Jams drum hits and amps cranked to 11. Danger Mouse, who produced 2008’s Attack and Release, was back behind the boards on “Tighten Up.” The song’s innocent whistling adds just the right amount of whimsy to the driving riffs and bumbling bass. It ends with a slo-mo guitar solo that’s straight out of a movie dream sequence. Carney and Auerbach cover Jerry Butler’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” with old soul flavor, and stay true to their blues revivalism on “Next Girl.” With grooves this good, you kinda wish the guys were your relations.

Me + Alicia Keys = Dreamworld

Hey kids!

So guess what. I like blogging a lot. We're friends; you know that. I've been nominated to keep a blog for Alicia Keys. And you know what? That would rock, like, way harder than the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I'm pretty sure I need your support. (Ok, I'm positive. Whats a girl gotta do, beg?) So pretty please, in the name of your mother on this Mother's Day weekend, go check out my posts, which I'll update daily.

If you could give me some gold stars, I'd be happy as a second grader, who gets stars on her star chart and drinks apple juice for snack. (When I was in second grade, I also drew Sailor Moon characters all over the chalkboard, so maybe you could, you know, send me some anime suggestions, too.) If you could also throw some complimentary comments my way (on that blog), I'd probably be overjoyed. I'll probably eat a piece of chocolate for each comment. I'm hoping to gain about 20 pounds in the next two weeks. So help me out with that, if you know what I mean.

Just go here. Help a (super) woman out. You are the best friends a girl could ask for!!

The National - High Violet

Just when music lovers thought that the National had already achieved peak glory with 2007’s Boxer, a shadowy but obliquely intense collection of songs, the quintet of Cincinnati natives shatters all conventions. On their latest fare – to put it simply – they strive to define a generation, and in many cases, they succeed. High Violet rumbles from its own belly, the songs exploding from within themselves, the lyrics detailing the impossibilities of everyday life in a way that’s simultaneously puzzling and universal. Like the National’s other albums, High Violet is a grower. After a few listens, the way Matt Berninger’s deep baritone rises and falls ever so subtly over Aaron and Bryce Dessner’s melding, shimmering guitar lines creates a certain hypnosis. Punctured by Bryan Devendorf’s alternating time signatures and his brother Scott’s pounding bass, these songs kick to life. “Sorrow found me when I was young/Sorrow waited, sorrow won,” Berninger mumbles in a hushed tone on the album’s second track, “Sorrow.” It’s one of those moments that hint at the emotional journey High Violet shares with listeners. “England” is the kind of sprawling sonic landscape, swathed in strings and horns, that will inevitably draw comparisons to U2. The National doesn’t reach perfection here, but they get so close it’s scary. We’re stuck wondering – is this their Joshua Tree?

The Mystery of the Black Keys

There's so much I've been dying to say, but I just can't muster up the courage to say it. Perfectionism is kicking in, triggering a familiar procrastination.

Like, for one, I am totally a goner for the new Avi Buffalo album. I have an interview that I recorded with Avi some months ago that I need to put together. And I need to collect my thoughts further. Because, for the life of me, I can't put my finger on what exactly draws me to his songs. Bubbles automatically want to touch one another, by some physical, scientific connection. My ears are similarly, and weirdly, might I add, attracted to everything about the way Avi's fingers sound on his guitar. The way that his song structures don't really make any sense to me, but then they end up making total sense. The way his voice annoys me and thrills me, and how much it upsets me when people automatically lump him with James Mercer, just because it's "different."

As I sit here, trying to figure out a scanner, wondering why I had to be born into a century when these things matter, The Black Keys' new album plays on my record player.

My player looks like an old radio combined with an old record player. It looks cool. It doesn't sound so great. But it plays CDs. And tapes. And radio. And records. So that's gotta count for something.

Anyway, The Black Keys made an album named Brothers that I'm supposed to be reviewing this minute.

All I have so far is that it sounds like these songs sound like they've been coated in dust, and then dipped in whiskey. It's like something Dairy Queen might dream up if it was owned by some really gritty alcoholics.

The album is great, and that's really no surprise to me, considering The Black Keys are making some of the best simple music of our time. Consistently. These songs help me understand what my dad might have been thinking when he wore out the grooves of his Zeppelin records. Not because it sounds anything like Zep, but rather because this is just rock in it's purest form. I never felt like I could truly UNDERSTAND classic rock, and maybe that's because it came before me.

And one more thought - The Black Keys are making some of the sexiest music alive. Yeah, it's alive. The riffs are breathing, and Auerbach's vocals are steaming, and everything about the drums feel paced for strutting.

"Howlin' For You" is destined to be the hottest song of 2010. Don't even deny that. You can't. It'd be like telling me that hands would function properly without thumbs. They just wouldn't. I broke my thumb once. I know.

Deer Tick - The Naked Truth

Deer Tick's John McCauley gets into trouble when he drinks. That means he gets into trouble a lot.

"The other day when we played in Iowa, we were playing so hard and so fast for so long," recalls the Rhode Island native. "I felt like taking my clothes off, so I just played naked toward the end. I didn't go out there planning on it. Shit just happens sometimes."

It might have been strange and awkward for audience members unfamiliar with Deer Tick, but their fans know stuff like this is common at shows. McCauley caused a media storm when he wore a dress at Coachella last month, yet any loyal follower would know band members bring dresses and skirts on tour — just in case the mood strikes.

McCauley's other stage tricks include piercing his ears and lips (sometimes he bleeds profusely, but he insists he's too wasted to feel it) and playing guitar solos with a bunch of burning dollar bills in his mouth (no, they don't burn his tongue).

Read the rest here at the Cleveland Scene.