Desert City Soundtrack

If Coldplay and Sonic Youth produced a love child, Desert City Soundtrack would be it. The Portland-based quartet, which features former members of Edaline, fuses elements of piano-soaked Brit-pop and discordant, angular post-punk with trumpet swells and strained vocals to create songs that teeter precariously between gorgeously melodic and seething explosiveness. It's a dynamic and expressive seven-song disc that captures the attention early on and refuses to let go until it has succeeded in making its point.