It's easy to write off indie-pop as an insular scene plagued by cutsiness, but then an album like Rocketship's reminds us what the genre can do. A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness takes sweet '60s-style pop (somewhat precious and cute, of course), and layers it with droning analog organs and waves of ringing guitars; Rocketship sounds nothing like Stereolab or My Bloody Valentine, but the feelings they evoke are similar. The album is one of the finest pieces of &bedroom music& to come from its scene, thanks to its bright, intensely happy sound and the great songwriting which works perfectly with it. -by Nitsuh Abebe