1. Julian Casablancas Phrazes for the Young The Strokes frontman unexpectedly issues one of the best records of the year. Read our review here and listen here.

2. Say Anything Say Anything The uncommonly innovative emo-punk outfit gets boldly optimistic. Read our recent feature on the group here and listen here.

3. The King Khan & BBQ Show Invisible Girl The raw energy of a Khan show gets captured on disc yet again.

4. Cold Cave Love Comes Close A wider release comes for a synth-heavy buzz band. Listen here.

5. Weezer Raditude Will Weezer start to measure up to its first years anytime soon? If the Rainn Wilson–penned title of this record is any indication, no. But, hey, we’ll take a listen.

For more releases, see Largehearted Boy.

Last night, CMJ descended upon New York like the music industry’s very own Balloon Boy: kind of shiny, moving at rapid speeds—and desperately hoping that Wolf Blitzer doesn’t inadvertently discover it’s all a hoax. One of our first stops in a week full of ‘em was Stereogum and The Believer magazine’s supereclectic bill at the Studio under Webster Hall. Click past the jump to find out about Free Energy’s impressive mustaches, the Golden Filter’s disco bangers and Cold Cave’s chilly synth-pop.

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Brooklyn Vegan Showcase with Fanfarlo, the Antlers and more at the Music Hall of Williamsburg
We told you in our CMJ Music Marathon preview feature that practically no band was coming into the festival with more significant buzz than sunny English indie-pop combo Fanfarlo (pictured). What more proof do you need than to see the group headlining an opening-night showcase bearing the imprimatur of one of New York’s savviest, most influential blogs? You’ll also catch the Antlers (who taped an intense exclusive live performance for the Volume back in May), Laura Marling, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Wheel, former Quicksand frontman Walter Schreifels and quite likely even more.

Clare and the Reasons at the Mercury Lounge
Another top CMJ pick for us, which comes as no surprise, since we’ve been giddy about Clare Muldaur Manchon, Oliver Manchon and the swinging company they keep for quite some time now. They share tonight’s bill with Josh Mease, who specializes in delicate introspection.

Cold Cave, the Golden Filter, Free Energy and Glasser at the Studio at Webster Hall
Stereogum, another of our favorite music zines, is responsible for this rich, impressive bill, topped by the icy goth atmospherics of synth combo Cold Cave.

Enescu Re-Imagined by Lucian Ban and John Hébert at Merkin Concert Hall
If you’d prefer to avoid CMJ, consider this brainy, brawny and compellingly tuneful take on the music of Romanian Romantic composer George Enescu, refracted through a modern-jazz prism and played by a scary-good group.

Phil Woods Quintet at Birdland
An elite disciple of bebop architect Charlie Parker, alto-sax great Phil Woods soars into Birdland with his rock-solid combo, featuring fiery trumpeter Brian Lynch.

Photo: Caroline Voagen Nelson

This past Saturday (August 8), Santos Party House hosted a heavy-duty convocation of avant-garde visionaries, all of whom share a penchant for the dark side. Participants included Genesis P-Orridge (pictured), Non (the performance alias of Boyd Rice), Cold Cave, Prurient, Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart, Kid Congo Powers and more. Click ahead for a review of the event by Luke Teegarden and a photo gallery by Caroline Voagen Nelson.

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