Lou Barlow (of Sebadoh fame) and John Davis (of John Davis fame) come together as Folk Implosion yet again for an even tighter, tastier result. These two kids go together like bread and freakin' butter, for Jesus' sake.

Their complex opuses range from undeniably poppy to downright non-musical, but are always fresh, unlike the stale and moldy cottage cheese being kicked out by mainstream alternative bands. The opening track, "Pole Position," is a perfect example. It opens in such a way that you're almost totally lost in a tangled-up guitar mess that makes no sense before it blasts you into oblivion with chords as catchy as a goddamn baseball glove, while other songs manage to conjure up images of indie rock versions of Peter Gabriel and INXS. Weird enough? No, it actually works.

After 1994's radio beef, "Natural One," I was expecting to get backhanded with pop pleasures. Instead, I got knocked on my ass, and just found out what hit me: El Implosion De Folk.

-Ryan Schreiber