Low to the Ground 

This band should have become a household name because of this album. It is awesome. Guitar-driven riffs, singalongable choruses, KILLER harmonies by Dominic Romano…this is one of my favorite albums of all time. Every track on here is great. Listen to "While You Spiral" and let it run right into "Fragile Girl". So good.

If you like Sloan, the Flashing lights, Matthew Sweet and other purveyors of great melodies over rough guitars, the waxwings are for you. Not too wussy, but catchy as all feck.

While this album in some ways seems just like everything everybody else is doing (its lo-fi, indie, guitarry, etc) there really aren't many bands who are using this exact mix. Few bands today harmonize the way they do in the context of a guitar band. As to the guitars, they don't blow you away, but they're just right for the song. They're a lot like the British band Gomez in that regard. The songwriting is regular indie pop fare, but its at the very top notch of indie pop. Ten O'Clock Your Time, Different Plane and It Comes In Waves are probably the best songs on the album, but there aren't any real bad songs. The real strength of the album is that it forms a cohesive album that conveys a cohesive feel. Even the "sadder" songs like the aforementioned different plane convey a sad but yet hopeful feel. The closest thing the album has to a rocker is the over 9 minute It Comes In Waves. Its a proper album closer, being nearly 3 times as long as any other song, it pretty much sums up the album. Moving from upbeat jangle rock, to a mellow, introspective chorus, to some of the most throughtful guitar playing on the album. Overall this is a very very good album that flew under the radar of most people early in the decade.