Tiara

By the time most bands get to their third album, they have either self-destructed or gotten themselves into such a rut that only the most enthusiastic fan gives a damn. But every so often it takes a band that amount of time to really hit their stride, and instalment number three turns out to be the climax they have been threatening to reach. Ohio's Tiara is one of these bands. Titletron, arriving seven years into their career, covers a lot of ground, demonstrating that the band has pretty good taste when it comes to what music they listen to. How else could you explain the songs that sound like Pavement or Death Cab For Cutie? And that's just fine, because it makes for an album that works as an actual album, not just three singles and a whole bunch of filler. It is a surprisingly strong album that gets better with each repeated listen, thanks to the band's knack for a good tune and their ability to mix together a wealth of styles into 11 examples of infectious indie-pop. With wonderfully gentle vocals sitting atop varying degrees of guitars, there's nothing to complain about here at all; very good stuff indeed.