Snikt! Jeffrey Morgan's Media Blackout #213! Snikt!

X-Men Origins: Wolverine — Stolen Work Print (FOX) :: Y'know, if everyone was on dial-up like I am, most illegal downloading would pretty much grind to a halt.

Mark Olson & Gary Louris — Ready For the Flood (HackTone) :: I know you won't believe it, but this sounds just like McCartney & Lennon when they did their acoustic Everly Brothers bit during Let It Be — and that's definitely saying something, so believe it.

Tagaq — Auk/Blood (Jericho Beach) :: I've heard a few throat-singing albums in my time, but never one that reminded me of Nico's Janitor of Lunacy until now. That is, if Nico had played her larynx instead of her harmonium.

Bleeding Through — The Complete Truth (Trustkill) :: This one sounds like Paul Stanley fronting a double-time thrash-screamo band. At least it does during the melodic singing parts. Of which there aren't many.

Matthew Sweet — Sunshine Lies (Shout! Factory) :: "Matthew Returns With a Power-Pop Stunner!" raves the cover sticker, which ain't a bad call. And although I wouldn't go so far as to call it a "kaleidoscopic masterwork," like the additional small print does, I'd certainly recommend it solely on the vintage anarcho-punk Donovan Rundgren vibe.

Mardeen — Read Less Minds (Collagen Rock) :: Proto-atypical teenage angst-rock that, inexplicably, has a late '70s early '80s jingle jangle post-punk patina. Maybe this is what Lodger shoulda sounded like. Maybe not.

SIZZLING PLATTER OF THE WEEK: Cameron Latimer — Fallen Apart (Black Hen) :: This may be a first: An album that just doesn't just includes a lyric sheet, but a lyric sheet that's notated with all the necessary chords needed to turn it into sheet music. And although it's usually at this point in the proceedings that I'd lambaste this record raw for not being nearly as smart as that bright idea, this is one country album that's actually even smarter — right down to the looping title track which, incongruously, sounds just like a high quality outtake from Paul and Linda's Ram. Paul. Ram on. Paul Ramone. Geddit?

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