Andrew Jackson Jihad/Cheap Girls/Dogbreth

Andrew Jackson Jihad bills itself as “weirdo indie troubadours” and that’s perhaps as apt a description as any for their zany tunes. Their new album, Christmas Island, features nasally vocals and distorted jangly guitars. “I bet you have something beautiful in mind,” frontman Sean Bonnette jubilantly sings in the jittery “Kokopelli Face Tattoo,” simultaneously recalling the Violent Femmes and the Flaming Lips. The band has certain pop sensibilities that come through in tunes such as “Deathlessness.” At a time when indie rock bands tend to mimic each other, AJJ deserves praise for having a unique sound. (Niesel)