The best of the month of October as chosen by Culture Bully contributors.

With the release of their new album, There Is No Enemy, Built To Spill have recaptured my attention with a record that is packed with guitars, melody, and emotion, while still throwing in enough musical surprises throughout to prove that the band is still growing and willing to try new things, even after 17 years in the business.

So, here are the facts: band’s aren’t machines. They change, have emotions, get confused, angry, sad, happy. Weezer may have shoegazy elements, and certain stylistic roots, but they’re just a rock band, and its members are just rock stars.

As St. Paul’s Private Dancer set out on its 16 date fall tour, the band’s Jesse Kwankenat took to the director’s chair and documented the trip from behind the lens. With the first 16 days in the bag, the band is now gearing up for the second leg of its tour which will kick off in Wisconsin and continue on for nine more dates throughout December. In the meantime Culture Bully is proud to present Private Dancer’s fall video journal.

The Raveonettes and the Black Angels both brought their dense, layered wall of sound to First Avenue on Monday night with spirited, incredibly loud sets by both bands, culminating in the Black Angels joining the Raveonettes for their last song of the night, in a celebratory sendoff on their last night of touring together.

Boy Meets World is more than a debut album; it’s a young man’s testament to the trials and tribulations of growing up.

When I found out that A Place To Bury Strangers’ Oliver Ackermann designed effects pedals, I decided to approach this interview a little differently than the norm. Ackermann was kind enough to answer a few questions for me about how his fascination with tone started, his first recording and modification experiments, the gear he’s using onstage, and the band’s new album Exploding Head.

1732 Overton Park is a strong collection of songs that masterfully displays the band’s connection with their roots by taking the best from its influences—not just sounds, but emotions alike.

Releasing the band’s sophomore album, Love and Terror, earlier this month via The Orchard, singer Scott Rinning and guitarist Larry Reid of the Cinematics recently took a few moments to answer a few questions for us. The Glaswegian duo talked to us about their new album, the music that shaped their sound, and meeting Jeff Buckley’s Mom at SXSW.

It doesn’t matter if you are a die hard fan or a first time listener however, Street Hop is a great album regardless of your exposure. This album is hotter than hell in every sense of the phrase; Royce spits lava on every track, and each producer provides the napalm needed to keep the fire ablaze.

The group, working with minimal parts that operated at extremely high levels of proficiencies, again reminded me why I like them so much and left an energetic Turf Club crowd in awe of their marvelous abilities.

Even though the new record is filled with some over-indulgent missteps, it still has an urgency and an exuberance to it that was lacking a bit on At War With The Mystics, and represents a strong return to form for a band that has now been making music together for over 26 years.