I kind of gave up on The Flaming Lips after 2006’s disappointing At War with the Mystics, but I may have to revisit that album and check out 2009’s Embryonic because this album is quite good. While not nearly as immediate, catchy or accessible as their 1999 landmark The Soft Bulletin or its also excellent follow-up Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, its odd textures expertly evoke early ’00s Radiohead and on occasion, Kraftwerk as well. It’s not quite the psychedelic weirdness of their earlier work, but another wrinkle in a challenging but rewarding discography.

This brand new self-titled EP features her robotic cover of The Kinks‘ “I Go to Sleep” (also done by The Pretenders on their second album II) and five other songs, which unlike “I Go to Sleep” did not make her self-titled, Geoff Barrow-produced debut from last year. Among these are Anika-ized versions of The Shocking Blue‘s “Love Buzz” (also covered by Nirvana on Bleach) and The Crystals‘ creepy “He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss)” (covered by Grizzly Bear and featured on an episode of Mad Men).

The first album by The House of Love since 2005’s Days Run Away (and only the second with guitarist Terry Bickers since 1990) finds The House of Love in a much mellower place than on their classic late ’80s and early ’90s material. This stellar release shows that they’ve matured just as ably as The Trashcan Sinatras have. In other words, this is music for adults that doesn’t suck, but instead has beauty, emotional resonance and lots of playback value.

While not as great as Thurston Moore‘s 2011 solo album Demolished Thoughts, this release from Moore’s abrasive, at times almost crude-sounding new band is still an enjoyable listen. There is a cover of The Germs‘ “Communist Eyes” on the bonus 7” that comes with the vinyl release, though the rest of these songs consist of original material.

Though the Pushead-like artwork (supplied by one of the band’s guitarists) could make one think of a metal band or perhaps hyper-fast thrash ala Septic Death, don’t judge this book by its cover. Instead, what we have here from this Racine, WI band is turbo-charged, melodic and passionate hardcore punk in the vein of Leatherface, Samiam, Hot Water Music and other similar bands (and more recently, the California band Out of Trust). There are the occasional touches of metal, ala guitar solos, and at times there is a distinct Midwestern hardcore vibe ala Naked Raygun. This is a very strong release and you can here it here.

The first Stooges release since 2007’s absymal The Weirdness is thankfully much, much better. Given that it’s also the first collaboration between Iggy Pop and guitarist James Williamson since Iggy’s 1979 solo album New Values, it’s not surprising that much of this sounds quite similar. Still, there are a few moments that sound like 1973’s landmark Raw Power, but very clearly this is a 2013 Stooges album. There are some really stupid lyrics here (see “DDs”), but also ones that have a social consciousness like “Dirty Deal”. This album is all over the place, but ultimately Iggy’s vocals and Williamson’s guitar work (the great rhythm section is unfortunately barely audible here) make this an enjoyable album. Furthermore, it’s nice to hear Iggy sounding his age and (mostly) not trying to force himself to act stupid for stupid’s sake here.

A Record Store Day release that is a preview of sorts for Light in the Attic’s upcoming reissue of First Issue, their 1978 debut (which also contains the A-side of this, their amazing first single). The sleeve is a replica of the original’s cover and newspaper insert, too!

The first track released from Wild Nothing’s upcoming EP Empty Estate is different from anything else in Jack Tatum‘s back catalog. Instead of ’80s UK post-punk and indie-pop influences, this one reaches back further and seems to channel something from Brian Eno‘s Another Green World (even the cover is similar) along with vintage early ’80s synth-pop.

Here’s a chance to catch up with this great Nashville band’s output to date. This free download consists of ten hand-picked songs from their two full-lengths and numerous singles and makes for a great introduction (though so does 2011’s great Screws Get Loose). You can check it out here.

Simply put, this is the best record that The Men have made to date. I especially like the first half, where they indulge their alt-country side. For a band that just a few years ago was a raucous, noisy, punk-ish band, this is quite a change (and a welcome one as I actually think they’re better now). Sure, SST’s ’80s heyday is still an influence here, but think of the first Dinosaur Jr album or Meat Puppets‘ II and Up on the Sun instead of say, Husker Du. Though this is a very enjoyable release on its own, I’m also quite curious where they’ll head next.