I'm going to do my June CD run a week early -- I received a bunch of good recommendations and I'm getting anxious. Before I do that though, I'll go through my May run. I listen to the albums in iTunes which counts the number of times I play tracks, so I can give favourite songs based on those numbers.

The Stills - Logic Will Break Your Heart

I am really enjoying this album. The music is solid but it's probably the drumming and lyrics I like the most. Their second video, Lola Stars and Stripes, was just released. I'm not sure if the New York rock sound is intentional, but it's obvious. If you like Interpol or The Strokes, you'll like The Stills. Best part, these boys are Canadian. The drummer is from Ottawa and the rest of the guys are from Montreal.

Favourite tracks: Still in Love Song, Of Montreal, Lola Stars and Stripes, Changes are No Good, Gender Bombs

The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow

This album took me longer to like, it's not a usual sound. It's rock, but it's not hard rock. Some songs have strong acoustic guitar parts, others are positively country-influenced (Gone for Good). The lyrics, though not commercially digestible, are pretty cool and sometimes goofy. The music itself is fairly simple, sometimes without drums. The band though, is unlike any band I've found myself liking before ... the closest thing I can think of at the moment is Cake, at their simplest. But who knows, I never was a big Cake fan.

Favourite tracks: Mine's Not a High Horse, Young Pilgrims, So Says I, Pink Bullets, Turn a Square, Fighting in a Sack

Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctica

Out of all of the May albums, this one is the hardest to listen all the way through. Modest Mouse is one of the strangest bands I've ever listened to, like their go out of their way to be weird ... Presidents of the USA or Beck-like. It doesn't help that the album is a mish mash of influences and musically they are all over the board. That's part of the appeal of the band, though. Once a band settles into their sound they tend to clean it up a bit and focus ... I wonder if that happened on Modest Mouse's latest album, Good News For People Who Love Bad News. If I end up listening to and liking this album more I'll check that one out.

The only song that's anywhere near radio friendly is Gravity Rides Everything, which everyone will recognize from a car commercial. That single is definitely worth checking out.

Favourite tracks: Gravity Rides Everything, 3rd Planet, The Cold Part

Death Cab for Cutie - We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes

Death Cab's most recent album, Transatlanticism, is one of my favourites of this year. I decided to go backwards four years to see what they were like back then. This album is definitely lower key, less produced and chilled out album than their latest. The tracks play better as an album, where they all sort of melt together in a 42 minute emo haze of all sounding similar. This album will take more patience on my part to appreciate, especially after I get my hands on the next CD, The Photo Album, which preceded Transatlanticism.

Favourite tracks: For What Reason, Scientist Studies, 405

Doves - Lost Sides

If you're a fan of the British band Doves, you'll be interested in this album just to hear more until the next album comes out, which they are apparently recording at the moment. If you've never heard Doves before, they have hard rock moments but the overall mood of their albums is subdued. Most songs sound like they've been put through an electronic wringer as well, so they have a very original sound. For a taste of their style, listen to Sea Song from the album Lost Souls.

The album contains a few songs from Lost Souls slightly modified/remixed plus b-sides. Some songs are just completely instrumental which makes this a good background music album. Lost Souls is a better overall album, however.

Favourite tracks: Darker, Crunch, Break Me Gently (Incidental)