Listen Up: Valleyheart, Foster the People

By Jerry Shriver, Steve Jones and Brian Mansfield, USA TODAY

She Wants Revenge,Valleyheart (* * * DANCE-ROCK)

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  By Karl Walter,, Getty Images

  Mark Foster of Foster the People performs at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival April 17.

By Karl Walter,, Getty Images

Mark Foster of Foster the People performs at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival April 17.

Bravo to Justin Warfield and Adam Bravin for resisting the angst-y, jaded tendencies of so many of their peers and mentors and delivering an impassioned and danceable song cycle about lust and doomed love. Their sound draws on '80 dance/electronica and the urgent, chiming guitars and keyboards of contemporary alt-rock, but the subject matter is timeless. ? Jerry Shriver

>>Download:Take the World, Kiss Me, Must Be the One

Foster the People,Torches (* * * DANCE-POP)

The up-and-coming California rock-popsters often display a weird disconnect between their cool, chirpy, dance-floor-friendly melodies and their sometimes dark, angry and convoluted lyrics. It's as though leader Mark Foster intended to form a post-punk band but wound up in Maroon 5 or something. When the sentiments and execution are in sync, you can cruise through the night without a care in the world. ? Jerry Shriver

>>Download:Don't Stop (Color on the Walls), I Would Do Anything for You

Various artists,The Hangover Part II soundtrack (* *� ROCK/POP)

The music to the latest bachelor-party-gone-wrong film is a mishmash of rock, R&B and pop tracks. Despite the snippets of dialogue and heavy Billy Joel presence, they don't hang together out of context. Still, star Ed Helms' butchering of Allentown and Mike Tyson's pummeling of One Night in Bangkok are worth a few snickers. ? Steve Jones

>>Download: tracks mentioned above; Danzig's Black Hell

Journey,Eclipse (* * ROCK)

Journey fans who never really cared who the singer was will love Eclipse. The WalMart-exclusive album is a Neal Schon guitar-fest. Those who relished the singalong anthems and romantic ballads may not be so happy. Songs that recall the band's glory days have bridges and solos that pack more punch than the verses and choruses. ? Brian Mansfield

>>Download:City of Hope, Ritual

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