Artist: The Battle Royale

Album: “Wake Up, Thunderbabe”

Release Date: Jan. 8

Label: Afternoon Records

The Battle Royale is an electronic indie band that relies heavily on dance grooves and poppy vocals for emotional and enthusiastic music. The group comes from Minneapolis and has just cut its sophomore release on Afternoon Records.

“Wake Up, Thunderbabe” is a side A/side B album, with half the album devoted to groovy dance songs and half devoted to a more acoustic sound. An experimental hybrid of indie guitar riffs and distorted keyboards that are heavier than most dance/pop music make up the driving rhythms tracing the first half of “Thunderbabe.” John Pelant (vocals, guitar) lends some pretty heavy cuts to the first half of the album.

“Thunderbabe” revolves after the sixth track, starting the acoustic, side-B-like second half. The folky ending of the album shows The Battle Royale’s ability to write wispy pop songs filled with great harmonies. Grace Fiddler (bass, vocals) adds standout vocals to this album, especially for her energetic and melodic backgrounds on the acoustic ballads.

“Wake Up, Thunderbabe” is a catchy one-two punch of indie pop music that deserves credit for an energetic style that is refreshingly bold and new.

By Rashah McChesney

Artist: Barton Carroll

Album: “The Lost One”

Release Date: Jan. 22

Label: Skybucket Records

If Connor Oberst of Bright Eyes had a child with Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, Barton Carroll would be it. “The Lost One,” Carroll’s third solo album, features the simple raw emotion that is sure to become a staple for sad indie kids everywhere.

What really puts Carroll ahead of the pack is his vocals. They would sound completely out of place if Carroll sang a capella, but he manages to blend them perfectly with the sweet melodies plucked from the strings of Paul Elliot’s fiddle and Matt Weiner’s bass.

Carroll said he stole the album title from the German film noir “Der Verlorene” – meaning “The Lost One.” The “lost” theme is carried from the first track, “Pretty Girl’s Going to Ruin My Life (Again),” to the last track, “Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still.”

With lyrics like “Let me know what you want me to sing/For that look in your eyes I’ll play anything”, the album showcases Carroll’s easy way with words and proclivity for songs that tread the thin line between country and indie pop.

While indie pop and country may sound like ground that plenty of bands have trodden before (like Wilco, Bright Eyes, and the Avett Brothers ) Carroll’s album fits nicely into the mix.