The Silversun Pickups have had an exciting 2009, and their CD 'Swoon' might be the year's pinnacle, showcasing the band's pulse-pounding combination of visceral Indie Rock finesse and Shoegaze thunder. The year has also included opening for Metallica at South By Southwest, playing Coachella and lighting up London, but there's just one thing enquiring minds want to know: Have they attempted to play their own songs on 'Guitar Hero?'  

The titles are stacking up like cordwood here in April, and rolling the weekly excess into the following posting seems less like a solution and more like stockpiling. This week I tackle new CDs from Scott Miller, Willie Nile, Fastball, Circus Devils, Silversun Pickups, John Doe and the Sadies, The Tragically Hip, The Ettes, Alexis Harte and Eulogies, plus classic vinyl from Tucky Buzzards.