They took their time, thwarted by record label issues, but Autolux finally returned this year with their long-awaited second album, the haunting and cerebral Transit Transit. As The Alternate Side's Alisa Ali discovered, the Los Angeles trio has never sounded so good, as demonstrated by the taut quartet of songs they played for us, including "Supertoys" and "The Science of Imaginary Solutions."

Earlier this week Ben Kweller kicked off his first solo tour in eight years, accompanied only by acoustic guitar and piano.  Kweller, who is still working on his upcoming album Go Fly A Kite, will make his way to the New York City area on November 17 at  Maxwell's in Hoboken.

One of the standout bands of last month's CMJ Music Marathon was the UK's Allo Darlin', a crafty group of indie popsters who have released one of the best debut albums of the year. Their self-titled opus, out now on Fortuna POP!, features the ukulele talents and sweet crooning of Aussie-bred songwriter Elizabeth Morris who artfully manages to pen sweet, honest songs about Woody Allen, Henry Rollins and Polaroid photos. The Alternate Side caught up with Elizabeth and her bandmates Mikey Collins and Bill Bottling to learn more about one of London's brightest new bands.