Local H have delivered a surprisingly stunning concept album titled 12 Angry Months. It contains 12 songs for 12 months of heartbreak during a year of a relationship gone wrong. The duo features vocals, guitars and drums and hits with the same force as a duo like the White Stripes, but leans more heavily on unapologetic classic rock and grunge than on the pre-punk styling of The Stooges. This track asks the ex-girlfriend in passionate fashion, “Where’s my Pretenders record, you know the one, the one with ‘Kid’!” That one line wins a gold star, and there’s much more to be found on 12 Angry Months.

8. Be Mine! - Robyn
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on Rhapsody
From the album Robyn (Explicit)
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The canned beats and predictable production found on this eponymous record by Robyn are the kinds of things that usually have me running in the other direction. But I would be a liar and thief I didn’t freely admit that this is a great mainstream pop album. It’s just as chewy, but tastes better than anything crafted by a long line of current pop starlets raking in the major dough. But in this case the record is self-produced. Madonna is not worthy to sniff the dirty gym socks of Robyn, and if we must have glossy poptart music, this is the premium brand.

9. Cafe Jobim - Lawson Rollins
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From the album Infinita
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So I opened another CD package that arrived in my mailbox, looked at the cover and thought, “oh great, another California, new age inspired, granola chomping guitarist”. But one day I popped the CD in and discovered that indeed, one should never judge a book by its cover. On Lawson Rollins’ Infinita album you’ll find a superior melding of world music with the highlights being beautiful bossa nova and middle eastern grooves. Lawson’s guitar playing is virtuosic as its worst and mind-bending at its best. He also has the good sense to find truly talented vocalists to provide a complete package. So ignore the cheese-tempered album cover art and listen without preconception.

10. Fawn - Scarlett Johansson
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on Rhapsody
From the album Blue Lambency Downward
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“Famous Actress Turns Musician!” is a headline that will give even the most talented artist an uphill road to climb, and probably for good reason. But when I read that Scarlett Johansson’s debut foray into music was to be an album of mostly Tom Waits covers I was intrigued and impressed. After all, anyone who loves Tom Waits is ok in my book. Well, although the record is not as bad as a Heidi Montag or Paris Hilton, the atmospheric backdrop and seriously ProTooled vocals are an obvious attempt to create talent where none exists. Sure she’s beautiful and sure, she likes Tom Waits, but a singer she’s not. I suggest you keep looking at Scarlett and listening to Tom.

11. Clelia Walking - Kayo Dot
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on Rhapsody
From the album Selective Hearing
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The avant garde outfit known as Kayo Dot

evolved from the ashes of progressive metal, but you would never know it by listening to the new album titled Selective Hearing. This is experimental music in its purest form. It’s unpredictable, difficult to listen to and alternates between nightmarish chaos and brilliant musical ideas. I will be the first to admit that the record will not appeal to the vast majority of music fans, but it is a worthy effort that treads on Syd Barrett territory at times.

12. Crystal Skulls - Wolftron
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From the album Flesh & Fears
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It may seem a bit melodramatic for a 23 year old kid from the Pacific Northwest to be challenging the status quo, but for Kenny Choi, the heart and voice behind Wolftron’s ambient pop songs, Wolftron is your bedroom pop favorite of 2008. The debut LP Flesh & Fears, out on Eyeball Records, is a sweet melancholy narrative complete with haunting vocals and breathtaking composition which recalls a more ambient One AM Radio or a more techno savy Iron & Wine; perhaps a less nordic Sigur Ros.

13. 7 8 9 - Barenaked Ladies
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on Rhapsody
From the album Snacktime
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Barenaked Ladies have now gone the way of  They Might Be Giants by releasing a “hip” alternative to the multitude of children’s CDs available for purchase.  I was not surprised that the band would do a children’s project considering their sense of humor and success with simple melody. Well, as both my children will attest, Snacktime is a success — it had them both dancing, singing and smiling for days.

14. Purpose Was Angry - The Bloodsugars
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From the album BQEP
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Jason Rabinowitz was diagnosed with diabetes at age 9, thus the name of his band The Bloodsugars. BQEP finds Rabinowitz’  songcrafting taking center stage with excellent melody, structure and vocal styling. Unfortunately, the band is overbearing (especially the overwrought keyboards and dynamically challenged drums), but even so, the songwriting manages to break free. Keep a keen ear open for Jason Rabinowitz, he has all the right stuff and as soon as he collects the right band the sky’s the limit.

15. The Ladder In My Blood - Scott Kelly
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on Rhapsody
From the album The Wake
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Scott’s Kelly’s The Wake sounds like that guy you know who just learned to play guitar, but can turn a small number of notes and chords into compelling songs. He does it by being completely in tune with the music he creates – both emotionally and spiritually. The Wake is appealing as Outsider art. Kelly’s rough-hewn voice and severely limited acoustic guitar work are merely annoyances if you allow yourself to be sucked into his world. And this isn’t hard to do since Scott Kelly is already there 100%, talent be damned. This is Jandek for beginners.

16. Miami - Chin Chin
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From the album Chin Chin
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The eponymous debut by Chin Chin on Def Jux is a feast to be savored. It melds so many influences so well that it quickly becomes something you can’t turn off — the curiosity of what will come next will leave you transfixed. Incredibly danceable, the record throws out funk grooves, disco beats, R&B sensuality and Steely Dan-esque styling.At times the album becomes a bit of an overload, but in the end Chin Chin have a fine debut on their hands here.

17. You Haven’t Done Nothin’ - Joe Cocker
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From the album Hymn For My Soul
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With a voice that launched a thousand ships and a face that sank a few, Joe Cocker is back with Hymn For My Soul. I’ve always considered Joe a distant (not as successful) second cousin to Van Morrison, and the trend continues when you compare this one to Van’s latest Keep It Simple. The band Cocker assembles here is a crack team of pros and Joe still has that guttural, gritty voice that made his career, but around the edges you can sense that Joe Cocker is no longer at the top of his game. Hymn For My Soul is pleasant, inoffensive and but a footnote in the career of a singer who is himself but a footnote.