Little BrownHaired GirlFrankie Rose& the Outs,self-titled,Slumber-land [9/21/10]Drummer FrankieRose (Vivian Girls,Dum Dum Girls)steps out on herown for this en-chanting debut. Iwas tempted to re-fer to it as a soloeffort, except that isn't fair to band mates Margot Bianca, KateRyan, and Caroline Yes! (the exclamation mark is intentional).The appearance of this release on Slumberland (Henry's Dress,Aisler's Set) gives some indication as to the contents, i.e. awayfrom her other groups, Rose chooses the quiet over the loud.There's a little feedback here and there, but she appears to belooking more to acts like Opal and Mazzy Star than the Shangri-Las

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Likea TreeTy Segall, Melted,GonerLive yourlife likea tree.-- quotefrom CDinsertYou can't always--and shouldn't always--judge an artist (or anyone, really) by the company they keep. Some people, as talented and charismatic as they may be, have lousy taste in friends. Or they may see something in them the rest of us can't.In the case of Ty Segall, an associate of San Francisco's venerable Thee Oh Sees, I feared his work might not measure up to that ofJohn Dwyer, etc., who've been on a roll for a few years now (theyput on a great show, too), but his third record holds its own.Naturally, a couple of Thee Oh Sees drop by to land a hand.That's Dwyer playin

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A Variety of PermutationsSleigh Bells, T r e a t s ,Mom+PopM u s i cOne of my favoriterecords of the yearis also one of themost unlikely. Der-ek Miller's big-assBilly Squier beatsmeet Alexis Kraus-s's kittenish 4AD vocals to form a unique mélange of indie pop, dance music, and stadium rock.The pounding on Treats is so loud I feared it might give me aheadache, but the songs are too cleverly constructed for that. Theway the Brooklyn duo strikes a balance between the hard and thesoft keeps me returning for more, rather than wearing me down.Further, they aren't exactly aone-trick pony. Miller knowshow to dial things down, justas Krauss can shout as ex-pe

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JulyReviewsThese arethe reviewsand otherpieces I'mworking onthis month.Amazon DVDs: The Maid, The Only Son/There Was a Fa-ther - Two Films by Yasujiro Ozu: Criterion Collection, Mys-tery Train - Criterion Collection (Jim Jarmusch directs Masotoshi Nagase, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Joe Strummer,etc.), Rush - Beyond the Lighted Stage [two-disc set], andCougar Town - The Complete First Season [3-disc set].Amazon Theatricals: Christopher Nolan's Inception (withLeonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Ellen Page)and Alain Resnais' Wild Grass (with Andre Dussollier).Still playing (or yet to open): Alice in Wonderland, Diaryof a Wimpy Kid, Exit Through the

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