Pitchfork

The laborious title to Marnie Stern's new album weirdly suits her-- like her and her music, it's obsessive, playful, and choppy, and it captures the single-mindedness of this self-taught guitar virtuoso. On her second album, she also displays a new sense of self-assuredness, channeling her energy and learning to relax and record in a real studio without sacrificing the full-bodied qualities of her music.

After a brief hiatus Grizzly Bear's Daniel Rossen has revived the Department of Eagles project, enlisted some of his bandmates, and created a sprawling pop record (complete with guitars, piano, horns, banjo, and more) that evokes Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Sung Tongs, Van Dyke Parks, and Gene Clark. Ambitious and complex, it's stuffed with cocooning harmonies and shimmering, sunlight-smacking-the-Pacific melodies.