Every Monday, Ghettoblaster is looking back to new albums released the previous week.  Below you’ll find several albums released on Friday June 3rd that we believe are definitely worth a listen.

Moonface and Siinai – My Best Human Face (Jagjaguwar)

Wolf Parade member Spencer Krug, under the name Moonface, has teamed up once again with the Finnish prog-rock band Siinai to present us with My Best Human Face, a strangely wonderful hypnotic album.  These songs all settle into nice rock grooves and mix with elements of electronic drone in such a way only they could pull off.  The synths soar and the guitars roar over solid bass and drums, all in service of Krug’s otherworldly lyricism.  My Best Human Face is full of lyrics that are at the same time hard to understand and easy to relate to.  The best example of this is on “Ugly Flower Pretty Vase,” easily one of the best songs so far this year, where Krug sings: “I dance into the dining room wearing my best human face / I’m an ugly flower, you’re a pretty vase.”  Overall, this is an album that is easy to get lost in and zone out to, yet, when it is given the attention it demands, My Best Human Face really digs its claws in and never lets go.

Whitney – Light Upon the Lake (Secretly Canadian)

Light Upon the Lake is an album that is great for special circumstances: be it something to play to soundtrack a road trip, a record to throw on when your parents are visiting, or something to listen to when mowing the lawn.  It is a subtle and smooth folk rock album that breezes along with warm, jangly guitar, somewhat strange yet lovely falsetto vocals and truly magnificent horns.  The overall sound is well defined and assured, especially for a debut album.  These songs feel lived in and organic, as if they’ve existed for years.  There are some shades of the folk-pop side of Fleetwood Mac in their retro-yet-refreshing sound, as well as a guitar tone that before now only George Harrison seemed to be able to pull off.  Light Upon the Lake is a special album, which begs to be played on repeat.

Tegan and Sara – Love You to Death (Warner Brothers)

Love You to Death finds Tegan and Sara picking up right from where they left off with Heartthrob.  This is another expertly crafted pop album with huge hooks, perfect production and overall just wonderfully written songs from the Canadian sister duo.  If you were a fan of Heartbreak, then Love You to Death will be like season two of your favorite show.  Once again Tegan and Sara present 10 songs in a tight 31 minute runtime, which leaves you wanting more.  Tegan and Sara seem to refine their lyricism more and more over their career, and the most recent album is no different.  Throughout the album Tegan and Sara weave together a collection of songs focused on the complexities of adult relationships, making this a really smart really poppy album.  Tegan and Sara have proven that Heartthrob was no fluke and I Love You to Death should establish them as one of the more important voices in pop music today.