An Horse may be grammatically challenged, but singer-guitarist Kate Cooper and drummer Damon Cox sure know how to re-purpose two generations of girl-powered indie pop. The Australian duo's second disc recalls the trance-y college rock of Throwing Muses, the crisp strummings of Tegan and Sara, the Portlandia pump of Sleater-Kinney. Cooper's emotionally shadowy lyrics burrow into the personal tensions we try to forget but can't escape - from "Airport Death," about a botched meet-cute while traveling, to "Swallow the Sea," where her boyfriend's bedroom becomes a watery tomb. "I could give you grief about the divide that I face every night," she sings. And give she does, and gives and gives.

Listen to "Dressed Sharply":

Gallery: The Week's Hottest Live Shots

“Ambling Alp”

The "Ambling Alp" was the nickname of the six-and-a-half-foot-tall Primo Carnera. Though the song is named after the Italian-born 1930s heavyweight champion, Yeasayer are actually paying tribute to boxing legend Joe Louis with this first-person psychedelic dance-rock tune. “I was always interested in writing a song that had boxing mythology in it,” Yeasayer’s Chris Keating said. “It’s pretty fascinating: There were so many amazing characters, and it was so closely entwined with 20th century history.” Yeaseyer also invokes German champ Max Schmeling and hints at the historical significance placed on the historic bouts between the Nazi-era boxer and the African-American Louis.