Portugal. The Man is a group of guys from Alaska, or at least was prior to members leaving. Their original band was Anatomy of a Ghost before they broke up in May 2004; so, the remainder of the group members ended up forming the experimental indie-trio Portugal. The Man. A few guys left, some new guys came, but all-in-all the two most important still remain. Nice rhyme, eh? Completely unintentional.

It’s Complicated Being a Wizard is a short EP that John Gourley conspired after creating Waiter: “You Vultures!” (another great Portugal CD). Even though it’s a twenty-three minute mini-album, it still packs a nice punch of ghostly and haunting psych-synth sounds. The entire album is a lucid, ethereal dream you’ll never wake up from. Or at least until it finishes.

It’s Complicated labels each individual track after a specific gem of wizardry. What each gem implies specifically, I haven’t a clue, but what I do know is that throwing this CD into one genre would be nearly impossible. Each individual song manages to sound similar to the others but at the same time keep its individualism; usually through various kinds of vocal presentation. Sorry to end this review rather short, but basically…the album is worth listening to.

It seems like I’m going backwards in time with these reviews. The albums are getting older, but the bands are getting better. The Unicorns are a pop-synth band from Canada (where all the best pop-synth music is created) that broke up in late ‘04. After heated arguments and intense touring, the band collapsed due to rising tensions finally bursting. Later on, two of the three unicorns ended up forming a similar band called Islands, which is due to release a second album this April.

Now, this CD may be aged but just like a fine wine, it only gets better as it matures. Full of fun and fancy beats, Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone? is not like all the other albums spawned in Montreal. These guys perfect the beloved essence of pop music to deliver you a dose of fully-polished songs that will infect your mind with their catchy tunes and childish lyrics. The only way to keep them out is to let them in; so, open your doors and welcome in their quirky choruses and whacky verses with arms wide open.

I tend to start at the beginning of this album to only find myself at the end moments later. The CD flies down your ears smoothly, banging on your ear drums with each pleasant, passing tone. In a way, their music lacks structure but they still manage to keep it ringing through your head. With silly lyrics and an immature disposition, their album is the Toys ‘R Us of the music world. It’s a place you still dream about, even as an adult.

A big name for a big group, and I’m not talking about popularity points here. The Sound of Animals Fighting (TSOAF) is a collaboration of Rx Bandits, Circa Survive, Finch, Atreyu, Never Heard of It, The Autumns, Chiodos, Days Away, and Sunn O))) (simply pronounced sun). Whew, that was a mouthful. Anyways, their newest album (if you call May ‘06 new) is a dramatic shift from their old one. The previous and original CD was a progressive, post-hardcore mix with an opera-style layout. In Lover, the Lord has Left Us…, they decided to shake it up quite a bit with lots of electronic beats and foreign language for a completely new sound.

It’s hard to break down the album because it’s all so completely different. All of the bands come from different backgrounds and musical styles, but when combined together it creates a sound of beautiful chaos. With six different amazing vocalists (excluding the foreign singers), this CD is something to brag about. “Horses in the Sky” has a lot more energy and is definitely the more “hardcore” side of the band coming out; while “The Heretic” is the complete opposite. The rest of the album sticks in the middle of those two extremes.

Lover, the Lord has Left Us… is like a good cop/bad cop sort of scenario where they’ll kick your ass and then try to help you out. It’s a bi-polar, manic-depressive album with PMS. You never know what’s coming at you and once you figure it out, it stops being nice, and starts kicking dirt into your eyes.