Your mid-twenties are a confusing time, not least in terms of the progression of your musical taste. The time when you could enjoy heart-on-your-sleeve indie rock guilt-free has passed, but you’re not yet at the point when you listen to–actually I have no idea what I’m moving towards. What I do know is that I still like the thrill of an impassioned chorus, but I’m a bit warier of cheesiness than I was.

Here are few songs that I think straddle that divide quite well.

The Dismemberment Plan - The City

This song is something of a stand-out, even on an album as tight as Emergency & I. The Plan’s typical urgency is there, the melodies ushered along by a clenched-tight rhythm section. The light jangle of the guitar and the gentle analogue synth line introduce Travis Morrison’s almost bored-sounding vocals. Morrison’s detached delivery of the verses captures a man disillusioned with life. Then the full truth of the situation becomes clear as he builds up into an emo-ish yowl with the line “since you’ve been gone.” Kelly Clarkson should have delivered that line this well.

Asobi Seksu - It’s Too Late

I don’t think there are any bands quite like Asobi Seksu at the moment. Sure, there have been plenty that fused shoegazer squalls with delicate feminine voices, but few of them have been so defiantly, well, indie, as these NYC hipsters. Their complete embrace of the drama, the effects pedals and the relationship post-mortems of indie rock is refreshing. The effect of Yuki Chikudate’s wispy vocals floating over a foundation of tortured My Bloody Valentine guitars is truly cathartic.

Rogue Wave - Love’s Lost Guarantee

This song has an earnestness that sets off alarm bells for a cynic like me, but I am powerless to resist its charms. While there’s nothing particularly unique about it when you hold it up against the kind of anthemic pop Death Cab for Cutie included on their Photo Album, all criticisms seem petty when confronted with the bombastic-yet-sensitive chorus. There’s a lightness of touch in the arrangements that renders even the most calculatedly heart-rending moments perfect.

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