alt-J - RELAXER - Pretty good, though imo they could never really top An Awesome Wave. This one grew on me though, on first listen I only really enjoyed ~2 of the 8 tracks but I appreciated the others more on second listen. Somewhat odd rendition of "House of the Rising Sun", again I didn't like it at first but got a little bit more out of it the second time around. Standout tracks are "In Cold Blood", "Deadcrush", and "Pleader".
Fleet Foxes - Crack-up - Hell yeah hell yeah. Finally we get more sweet, sweet Fleet Foxes content. Nice, gentle, understated, at points even a little boring on the surface/at first, but beautiful and complex underneath. Again, appreciated more on second listen, but not quite convinced I like it quite as much as their previous material. But it's a lovely, well-balanced album.
James McAlister, Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dessner, Nico Muhly - Planetarium - Have to give this one a mention because it's a great collaboration and a cool concept. Haven't gotten around to a second listen yet, but first impressions were that it was really nice listening and musically diverse, except that I rather too easily get tired of Sufjan's voice. But put a Dessner bro on anything and I'll check it out.
Speaking of which, stay tuned for The National's new release later this year! I've already gotten pretty hooked on the lead single, "The System Only Dreams In Total Darkness." I'm such a sucker though... to me, Matt Berninger's voice is like coming home and wrapping a soft warm blanket around my ears.
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