Pitchfork

For a band sharing its name with the sci-fi flick that brought us the most famous exploding head scene ever, Scanners' music not only eschews blood and guts gore, it avoids even the slightest speck of dirt. Although the quartet rubs elbows with England's post-punk ilk, this ditty's rooted rather firmly in today's conventional, manner-minding indie pop. Skipping along on a baby Built to Spill riff, Sarah Daly backs up the Chrissie Hynde comparisons with an emotionally strong and confident delivery, and those majestic strings in the chorus only help enhance the Hynde likeness. As garden variety as this track is, 2006 hasn't seen too much straightforward indie done so effortlessly-- maybe that's why Daly sounds like she's howling "this is alone" over and over.