Manchester Orchestra wunderkind Andy Hull crystallizes a moment when "indie rock" isn't afraid to shout its personal failings to the upper arena tiers (see also: Arcade Fire, My Morning Jacket). Simple Math is more intimate and more massive than Manchester's previous sets, as the Atlanta group supersizes the kitchen-sink approach of fellow Georgians in the Elephant 6 collective to depict a panoply of crises: spiritual, marital, chemical, whaddya got? "Virgin" uses a children's choir and steroided Salvation Army brass to parse lost trust; elsewhere, pop-metal guitar and prog-rock strings magnify the personal details. It's tough to look away.

Listen to "Simple Math": 

Gallery: Random Notes, Rock's Hottest Photos

“Is It True”

As the British Invasion reached its peak in 1964, Brenda Lee went from Nashville to London to record one of her hardest-rocking hits, her perky vocal backed by a stuttering, squalling guitar. That guitar was played by session musician Jimmy Page, yet to skyrocket to fame with first the Yardbirds and then Led Zeppelin. "She said to me, 'I've come here to make a record with the British sound,'" remembered producer Mickie Most. "She felt she wouldn't get the same sound in Nashville because they're only just catching up on the British beat group sound of about six months ago."