Comet Gain
Howl of the Lonely Crowd
(What’s Your Rupture?)

Partially produced by fellow British cult favorites Edwyn Collins (Orange Juice) and Ryan Jarman (The Cribs), the latest by these underrated indie rock veterans is a pleasant return to the distorted guitar pop last rendered on 2005’s City Fallen Leaves. The new release shows the band losing precious little momentum despite six years passing, especially with the one-two punch of opening tracks “Clang of the Concrete Swans” and “The Weekend Dreams.” Led by songwriter David Feck, the now seven-piece group also features the charming vocals of singer Rachel Evans. And even producer/fan Jarman gets in on the act by contributing some violent violin work to “An Arcade From the Warm Rain That Falls.” While clearly adept at crafting garage-worthy nuggets like “Working Class Explosive,” the group saves its real genius for the wistful strummer “After Midnite, After It’s All Gone Wrong.”  —Michael Cimaomo

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The Rolling Stones
Some Girls (Deluxe Version)
(Universal Republic)

All the veteran rockers seem to be cashing in this Christmas season with enhanced versions of their classic albums. Not to be outdone, the Rolling Stones have re-released their righteously raunchy Some Girls (1977), and it comes with a whole extra album’s worth of ripe and juicy material: 12 slices of loose and smarmy blues, topped with a healthy dollop of country twang. As with last year’s reissue of Exile on Main Street, these are unfinished tracks unearthed from the period archives. Some are presented almost as-is, some needed remixing, and some had new lyrics and guitar parts added. John Fogerty jams along in all his jangly splendor on “Tallahassee Lassie.” These tracks feel less fucked with than Exile’s bonus tracks. Not so much seasoning, more raw fun. The rocking “So Young” and “Claudine” are standouts, as is Jagger’s solo “Petrol Blues.” Merry Christmas.  —Mark Roessler

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Various Artists
Batman: Arkham City (The Album)
(Warner Bros.)

It’s unclear when video games started releasing their own soundtrack albums, but considering that titles like Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto now routinely gross far more than Hollywood blockbuster movies, I suppose it follows logically. Though headlined with tracks by names like Panic at the Disco, Daughtry and The Raveonettes, some of the gems here come from lesser-knowns, such as “Creature,” by Brit band The Duke Spirit and “The Years,” by Deftones’ Chino Moreno’s side project (Crosses). The Damned Things’ “Trophy Widow” kind of rocks, too. The video game, incidentally, looks pretty badass for anyone who owns a PC, Playstation 3 or Xbox 360. It’s set in a vast section of Gotham City that’s been essentially absorbed into the Arkham Asylum prison, and features a critically acclaimed voice role by Mark Hamill as The Joker. —Tom Sturm