I discovered all three of these bands last year. I liked them so much I was a little worried about listening to their 2007 releases -- I was afraid they might not live up to my expectations, since my expectations were so high. But I think they're all really good.

Get Him Eat Him, Arms Down (Absolutely Kosher)
I've really been amazed at the quality and diversity of bands out of Providence RI these days. This outfit is probably my second favorite Providence act (after The Brother Kite). GHEH is a little hard for me to pin down. Are they an indie rock that's not afraid of songs with nothing spiky or weird in them, or are they an indie pop band that's not afraid of sometimes being a little abrasive? Either way, I like it an awful lot. It's definitely not a big money production; that doesn't bother me at all; ymmv.

Parts & Labor, Mapmaker (Jagjaguwar)
Once upon a time Andy Partridge of XTC released a remix album called Take Away/The Lure of Salvage. On it was a track called "Steam Fist Futurist," in which drum loops and God knows what found and repurposed sounds were tweaked until they sounded like a bunch of retro automatons running amok in a power plant. In my imagination, Parts & Labor's musical vocabulary was profoundly influenced by "Steam Fist Futurist," but they also love pop hooks. Like last year's Stay Afraid, Mapmaker's sound is hissy and trebly, but the band excavates surprisingly catchy melodies from the noise. They sound nothing like the first Jesus and Mary Chain album, but the relationship of noise to hooks might be similar. Or that might be stressing a metaphor. Anyway, this album roolz.

Voxtrot, Voxtrot (Playloud)
After three terrific EPs over the past few years, I was worried that the debut longplayer would be subject to a built-in sophomore slump factor. These folks seem awfully pretentious, if not downright florid, but somehow they sell their excesses to me very effectively. The bouyant melodies help make it work, but the intricate arrangements, with lots of shading and color give them a canvas broad enough that their drama doesn't overwhelm it.