Touchdown

His lyrics remain as brashly entertaining as ever: A Poconos swami tells of a thief and his child bride in "Ancient Mysteries," a track that gives Men Without Hats' "Pop Goes the World" an appealingly pessimistic twist.

I have never toured Europe. In fact, I have never been to Europe, and I am a terrible musician, so it seems unlikely that I am right about this, but I will say it anyway: Brakesbrakesbrakes’ new record, Touchdown, sounds like a bunch of musicians touring Europe. It is pure energy, musicianship, and lyrical hilarity and quite simply is the best record yet to be released in 2009.

Lead by Eamon Hamilton's croaky, yelping vocals, Brakes can be an acquired taste. Songs tend to shift and mutate, various musical genres emerge and then disappear leaving the listener uncertain and moreover a little impatient. All Night Disco Party aside, their debut was hampered by a lack of focus and sounds now very much like an album by a side-project and not the main act. Luckily, as a large majority of Touchdown testifies, when the songs are good enough the musical folly can work for rather then against them.