Hello again, citizens of Giant Bomb.

In January, I did a music roundup post, and had fun with it, so I want to try and do it every month.  Unluckily, February was rather barren, so I've combined it with March, which was an overload.  A whole bunch of stuff came out this month, and this is only what I personally found…

[first off, you can listen to a samples from all of these albums HERE!]

 Peter Bjorn And John - Gimme Some

This Swedish trio already had a good reputation for having indie pop talent, but it wasn't until their last album that I felt they really proved themselves.  This new album isn't as wacky as Living Thing, but it's just as crazy good catchy.  Just straight up guitar rock partying.

I'm doubt I need to explain Radiohead to anyone here.  If not for its surprise announcement, this is a pretty unremarkable album.  There isn't much of a central motif or flow found in every other release.  It feels just 8 b-sides.  A couple damn good b-sides, but not so much meat as I expect from these guys.

Parts & Labor - Constant Future

This group was on to something by breaking up their typical noise rock with a few power ballads on their last album, Mapmaker.  They took that idea and went way too far with it here.  The songs sound epic at first, but get repetitive and tiring fast.  They don't have as much range with this genre as they did with noise rock.

 Polysics - Oh! No! It's Heavy Polysick!!!

Alright, this is my favorite band, so I may be slightly biased; but this album kicks ass.  They are short one synth player now, and have thrown a robot army of sequencers into the mix to fill the void.  This is their most innovative album in years, and works all three members of the band into the songs in very clever ways.  The whole album is an electric shock, start to finish.  

The Go! Team - Rolling Blackouts

This may be my favorite album of the year so far.  This album sounds like the punk rock episode of Schoolhouse Rock, or a high energy Jackson Five.  It's nothing new for the third album, it's just all done better.  Lots of range.  Every song is unique, positive, and fun.

 Elbow - Build A Rocket Boys!

This is a slow moody band from Manchester.  Not to the liking of most of GB, I'd imagine.  Still, I thought I'd give it a mention because they do what they do really well.  Their singer has an amazing strong voice, and they know how to craft a tune with swells and epic moments without dragging.

Again, a bit biased, because Rick Froberg is one of my idols.  Strong second effort by this garage rock band.  They tightened up their songwriting process.  The songs are sharp and to the point now.  This is just no frills smoky bar rock and roll, which is my favorite kind of music.

 Bit.Trip Flux Soundtrack

The music of these games is a huge reason why I love them so much.  I bought the soundtracks to all six games.  Since this is the finale, the music is longer and more euphoric, with lots of clever medleys of previous songs.  Also, a brand new track by chiptune artist, Bit Shifter.

Ancient Astronauts - Into Bass And Time

I hated Plastic Beach.  Grolliaz just aren't that good anymore.  Ancient Astronauts take their place handily.  Same thing as Gorillaz here.  Damn good beats, and lots of guest performances.  It takes a lot for me to get into a hip-hop album, and I love this, if that means anything.

tsushimamire - GIVING BLOOD

Crazy absolutely bonkers relentless all girl punk trio.  Their usual shtick is to coat their songs with a overload of cute and pop then trap you with an all out noise attack.  This album just guns straight for the noise.  If you like distortion, you'll love this.

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Belong

I've only listened to this twice, and am not digging it.  I thought their debut was alright.  It was like No Age, but good!  This on the other hand, makes me feel like I'm listening to a John Hughes film.  It's too coated with sappy teenage love.  A lot of the songs feel hammy and overproduced… I don't know… maybe it's a grower.

Welp, that's all I got.  You guys get anything this month?