THE IMPOSSIBLES
"4 Song Brick Bomb"
The Impossibles must hate Weezer. Sure, it seems like an odd thing to say, considering the fact that The Impossibles has consistently adhered to the same distorted guitars/vocal harmonies formula that earned Weezer legions of fans. But it was exactly because of that that they have been plagued by Weezer comparisons for its entire career. "4_Song_Brick_Bomb" is here to change all of that, an excellent collection of songs that’s anything but a Weezer rehash. That much is apparent from the blistering opening track, "Disintegration (Is the Best Album Ever)," the title is a sly reference to the Cure’s depression-wallowing opus. But rather than duplicate the bleakness of "Disintegration," the Impossibles ventures into some of its sunniest territory yet. The song explodes with pulsing guitars and Beach Boys harmonies before cutting the tempo in half for a grandiose dual-guitar closing. While the opener’s heavy pop sensibility may leave some still reaching for the Weezer references, the next song puts them to rest. "Get it + Got It + Good" is a hardcore-meets-garage-rock rampage, complete with extra-chunky Stooges riffs and a screaming vocal line. But just when it seems like the Impossibles has abandoned the melodic beauty of its earlier work, the band offers two gorgeous dream-pop numbers. Most notably the closer, "Long Way From, Long Time Since," an ethereal tune reminiscent of The Anniversary or early Mercury Rev. It’s clear that the Impossibles is doing its best to evolve, and while it might have sacrificed Weezer-esque accessibility, it more than makes up for it with a stellar collection of songs.

THE STARLIGHT MINTS
"Popsickle"
Sure, "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band" was a great album, Some would say the greatest pop record ever made. But like any great record, it sparked truckloads of derivative pap, condemning the masses to generations of second-rate psychadelia. Once in a blue moon, though, a band will take that album’s brilliance and turn it into something entirely their own. The Starlight Mints is one of those bands. "Popsickle," their first release since their 2000 debut, continues their tradition of completely warped, irresistibly catchy pop gems. The title track sounds like a lost "Sgt. Pepper’s" outtake, filtered through everyone from David Bowie to the Pixies to the Flaming Lips. Singer Alan Vest’s twisted, nasal croon is the perfect foil to the track, which is drenched in goofy horn accents, vocal harmonies and nonsensical lyrics about, well, Popsicles. "Pusher Girls" changes things up a bit with a dreamy mod flavor, throwing in disembodied piano figures and pulsating tambourines. In addition to these two excellent songs, "Popsickle" has a nifty enhanced CD feature: pop the disc into your computer and be rewarded with a music video that looks like the Muppets on acid. Sure, "Popsickle" isn’t another "Sgt. Peppers’s," but with hooks galore, gorgeous production and an amazing sense of playfulness, it comes awful close.

THE FAINT
"Danse Macabre"
Geez, is it already time for 80s nostalgia? It seems like yesterday that the world celebrated the end of that excessive decade. However, just when we thought that we would never have to deal with legwarmers and supply-side economics again, along comes a band like The Faint. The Nebraska new-wavers are back, once again poised to start an ’80s revolution. While "Danse Macabre" continues the same synth-heavy sound of their last release, the Faint has not made another "Blank Wave Arcade." That much is apparent on the opening track: "Agenda Suicide." Instead of angular synth lines, the song prominently features death-metal guitar riffs and a frightening breakdown with warped vocals worthy of a zombie from "The Evil Dead." The industrial influences of the opener are all over the album, but The Faint has not just been mainlining Ministry records. They have added a healthy dose of electronica to their bag of tricks, from the sampling on "Total Job," to the riffs ripped off from Daft Punk’s "Da Funk" that kick off "Let the Poison Spill From Your Throat." All of these divergent influences come together best on "Posed to Death," the clear highlight of the record. The track sounds like a head-on collision between Soft Cell’s "Tainted Love," Marilyn Manson’s "The Beautiful People" and the theme song to the Nintendo classic "Castlevania." Despite such dark influences, the song still manages to be by far the catchiest on the album, smuggling in copious hooks under its unabashedly goth lyrics. Songs like these prove that The Faint have once again created an album that proudly displays its influences, yet manages to transcend them. If this is the shape of the ’80s revival to come, hand me my Flock of Seagulls T-shirt.