There's a look that passes between brothers Robert and Scott Cerny when I interview them. It's merely a glance, but in that split second, they've communicated which of them will answer the question.

That insular fraternal bond might explain why the two left their old band - Unburdened - and formed the techno-rock duo Planning the Rebellion. "Usually, we don't agree with other people," said younger brother Scott. But they're most definitely on the same page.

Grab a thick red marker and start making your summer plans to attend one (or several!) of America's premiere alternative-music festivals. Lollapalooza has signed a five-year deal with the city of Chicago, expanding the Grant Park lakeside location for the festival. This year it will be held the weekend of August 3 through 5. If getting back to the country better floats your boat, sunshine-baked Manchester, Tennessee, will host the sixth annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival from June 14 to 17.

Augie March, Moo, You Bloody Choir. Charting number-one singles on the Australian home front, it's shocking that Augie March achieved close to no notice in the States. Elegant in its simplicity, the band's brand of rock can be compared to post-alt-country-era Wilco, but with a definite Aussie influence - think elements of Midnight Oil, but more literate. Past albums saw Augie March rushing forth like a speeding train, but this time the songs are built around acoustic, rather than electric, guitar parts, so they have a more cautious and quiet path to their destinations. From pop anthems to grandiose ballads, singer-songwriter Glenn Richards uses lyrics as instruments strung together to shimmer like violin strings or crash into one another like cymbals. While Australian critics sing the band's praises, and fans sing their songs, one can't help but wonder if we Yanks are simply mooing in the wrong bloody choir.

Calling a CD Loose Ends is dangerous - with the implication that a band is emptying its junk drawer of songs - but for a local act that hasn't broken yet, it's downright lethal.

I had hoped that the third CD from Iowa City's Human Aftertaste would merely be misnamed, but Loose Ends is a perfectly appropriate title. There's an EP of good material on this collection, but at 45 minutes it's fatty and self-indulgent. Two versions of the cover "Goodbye Horses," a live track, and a mostly spoken-word piece drag it down, and much of the remainder is undistinguished.