In a world filled with pompous, no talent people willing to do just about anything to get attention, it is something like Clear Skies Over Black River, a touching and personal album given away for free, that really deserves our attention.

There are many reasons this album succeeds, but in the end it comes down to the fact that the band, like the xx, is doing more with less. In stripping all the fat, while leaving just the necessary components, Warpaint has created one of the best debut albums of this year.

For a band whose first album I really liked, Art Brut’s shtick has worn a little thin and exposed a band that’s seemingly repeating the same joke over and over.