Forget the pretentiousness of the title -- this is a great compilation of bands. In general, there are a lot of late 70s / early 80s references going on, especially sounds related to Joy Division. For better or worse, this suggests the trendy-ness of bands like Interpol. Nevertheless, highlights include My Favorite, Four Volts, Mommy and Daddy, Aerial Love Feed, and Bastion.
Sad indie: 19, 7, 8, 1
Rockin: 13, 5, 20, 3, 6, 15, 4

1. SEA RAY: dreamy midtempo indie pop song. voice a la Luna/Galaxie 500
2. THE FLESH: start/stop groove, like a hiphop beat. sexycool but not quite there
3. THE FEVER: hard pulsing groove, great late 70s punk voice. catchy.
4. AWEK: thick sound, dark with poppy edge. I’m feeling Interpol here.
5. *AERIAL LOVE FEED: dark, echoey 80s vocals. twangy guitar, builds niicely
6. MAZING VIDS: casio beat w/ punk attitude vocals and minimal guitar. not bad.
7. *FOUR VOLTS: sad and sweet female vox with dreamy indie accompaniment
8. *BASTION: like ian curtis singing for my bloody valentine (at end). awesome.
9. STELLASTARR: poppy 80s, kind of U2 meets talking heads. not my favorite
10. BLUE SPARKS: upbeat, epic 80s pop rock feel a la the jam
11. HOTSOCKY: catchy rock song, like tom petty. typical and mediocre.
12. THE INFLATABLEMEN: electro clash with catchy synth lines. decent.
13. *MOMMY & DADDY: nice fuzz bass, rockin’ punk voice. super catchy.
14. THE BOXES: rockin side of blondie. not bad at all.
15. ELEFANT: I feel guilty this is so catchy. poppy joy division, like interpol.
16. ROGERHUMANBEING: nice sloppy guitar sound, but bad chorus. sugar.
17. OXFORD COLLAPSE: pulsing, fuzzy pop riffs. catchy but somehow not great
18. SHOREBIRDS: 80s synth swirls meets the scene creamers (make-up)
19. *MY FAVORITE: sweet female vox, with a great feel, like the smiths
20. ELECTRO PUTAS: psych vocals, synth echoes, steady funky groove. great!