Chronogram managed to obtain a copy of Mercury Rev's new album five months before its US release date in May. By the time I received it, it had debuted at #5 on the Irish charts and was generating good reviews online.  Although it doesn't break new ground for a band that made its early living breaking new ground, fans of the Kingston-based psych-art-rock band will be satisfied by another effort consistent with their previous two. This sixth album completes their evolution from experimental noise rock to polished art rock spiked with bombast.

Jonathan Donahue delivers self-penned vocals in a timid half-falsetto that producer Dave Fridmann juxtaposes over layers of swirling guitars (Grasshopper), crashing cymbals (Jeff Mercel), ethereal keys, and sweeping piano melodies. It's dreamy, dramatic, and definitely an acquired taste. Although the band only has a fringe following in the US, The Secret Migration will cement Mercury Rev as a major player internationally. www.mercuryrev.com.

It's been said, "You're born. You die." If you're lucky, you learn to walk upright, keep the Devil interested but waiting, and gasp in wonderment at Dave's True Story's new album, Nature.

Guitarist/songwriter Dave Cantor's ironic, wise lyrics arrive on a cloud of audience-friendly, mid-tempo Latin and rock rhythms, heart-tugging chord progressions, and small group pop-jazz arrangements. Producer/bassist Jeff Eyrich's sound is low-key, after-hours intimacy, and truth telling—the players know less is more and make every note count. Vocalist Kelly Flint's humid breeze of a voice aurally conveys the arched eyebrow and pouting lips necessary for post-midnight ennui. Throughout, Flint aptly portrays the coolly sighing heroine of romance-ravaged intelligence struggling to make sense of the senseless. Call it Think Jazz, if you will.

Nothing beats the masterful snarling sorrow of the future standard, "Small Black Heart," a breakup ballad polished to perfection with love-lost sax solo. And the smile-in-the-face-of-adversity transcendentalism of "Everlasting No" is sure to tap the toe of even the most red-stated cynic. Nature, in Cantor's world, is mischievous and accident-prone, but, to humanity's eternal sorrow and joy, inescapably tempting...and so is Nature. www.davestruestory.com.

Hamden, CT combo Mighty Purple has a new album that's a richly textured, multi-layered tapestry of indie pop,  both refined and quirky. Together for more than a decade, they've notably opened for Dave Matthews Band and Bare Naked Ladies, put out seven albums, and claim to have performed over 2,500 shows.

Prefables kicks off with the catchy, hook-filled "Breaking Up." There are a variety of gems here, from the lovely, latent alt-country sensibility of "I Choose You," the surreal late night truck stop air of "Must Be Strong," and the buoyant NRBQ feel of "Patience," to the freewheeling "Not Coming Back."

Scott Amore's clever, charming production really pulls this project up a notch, but it's the complex, intricate tunes that are the real stars. Tales of desire, desperation, and spiritual bankruptcy give way in the end to hints of hope and redemption. And while these songs can be weighty at times, they're also hopelessly infectious. Mighty Purple can offer plenty to enjoy on many levels with this exquisite record. www.mightypurple.com.