Quickie Album Reviews: Voxtrot, Pink Mountaintops, and B&S

Voxtrot - Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives
With their second EP, Voxtrot continues to prove that they're willing to work harder for your satisfaction -- both musically and lyrically -- than nearly every other pop band out there today. The eponymous title track is such a charmer that it could completely prop up the rest of the disc, but there’s plenty of likable material to be found here.

Pink Mountaintops – Axis of Evol
Axis of Evol’s premiere track New Drug Queens barely has enough time to suggest you should “Tell your mama gonna stay out late tonight” before it ends, but oh how you’ll build up a sweat in that short time. While the next song Slaves, offers eight minutes plus of psychedelic mojo jojo that threatens to turn you into one of those guys in college who took a few hits of acid and was never quite the same... Even though there are a few skippable bits, several tracks like these manage to make this the best stoner rock album since The Queens of the Stone Age’s Lullabies to Paralyze.

Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
Should they be called The New Belle & Sebastian now? This radical change in sound takes the band into some interesting places (one track even sounds like it could be from T Rex...), but if you let your itunes wander into Tigermilk once this album finishes up, you’ll likely begin wistfully recalling the days of B & S’ incredible, early work.