I've discovered some new sounds recently, some of which have been discussed on here recently, and here is my take on music I have heard in the last week. Reviews are using the same snarky scale as pitchforkmedia.com:

Cursive-"Happy Hollow": A lot of Tim Kasher's work is fairly indigestable and not exactly hook-laden, this is no different. But the lyrics are pretty awesome and there are some legitimate innovative moments going on here. Drags at points, but an awful lot to like overall, especially songs 2-4. Rating: 8.1

Bernard Fanning-"Tea and Sympathy": A Lost Highway release that is right in my wheelhouse. Some catchy country-pop tunes. This guy is Australian and used to be in a band called Powderfinger. I recommended to Birch because we both love Ryan Adams. I think most people on this blog do, and although this lacks a lot of Adams' twang, you will probably love this. Rating: 9.3

Tom Petty-"Highway Companion": Some filler, but some absolutely classic Petty stuff as well. Would recommend Wildflowers or the Wilburys or Full Moon Fever or Southern Accents or the She's the One soundtrack first, but this is a decent disc in all reality. Rating: 6.9

Christina Aguilera-"Whatever the Fuck It's Called": Ms Potter has been killing me with this lately. It's not like it's the worst thing ever put on CD, and it actually takes some pretty calculated risks that other pop artists wouldn't take, but I just can't handle the over-singing on EVERY song. I think that this will become a favorite at the Maxx, as Aguilera is quickly becoming Madonna of the 2000's. Rating: 3.8

The Beach Boys-"Pet Sounds": I figured if most people said that this was one of the three best albums of all time, I might as well listen to it. Well, it turns out they were right. Rating: 9.9

I'm off to catch the Flaming Lips, Sonic Youth and the Magic Numbers with the MIB, which will undoubtedly be an awesome show. See you bastards at Dundee Days.