Curiosity
Wampire
Polyvinyl Records
Portland lo-fi subdued garage rockers Wampire released their heavenly debut album in May. The album is laced with keys and synth, making for a translucent rock record with abstract tendencies.
Tomorrow, Tomorrow
Campfires
Fire Talk Records
The scratchy gypsy throwback rock of Portland's Campfires is brilliantly filled with a layered sing-along quality. Songs are fanciful and down-tempo despite all being less than three minutes long; in fact, half are under one minute. A couple of instrumental ditties are thrown in as well.
Cabinet of Curiosities
Jacco Gardner
Trouble In Mind Records
Dutch psych-rock artist Jacco Gardner's debut Cabinet of Curiosities leverages the very European -sounding harpsichord to create a baroque sound that rubs up against the mind-expanding rock of '60s bands like Jefferson Airplane. It's a retro album with all the telltale signs of modernist art.
Volume 1
Mississippi Sheiks
Document Records/Third Man Records
Jack White's label Third Man Records teamed up with Britain's Document Records to put vintage recordings of the 1930s fiddle group The Mississippi Sheiks back into production. These iconic—and mono—pieces of breezy Americana harken back to lazy riverboat rides and swinging in hammocks.