Howler – This One’s Different
From the label that gave you The Libertines and The Strokes, here's another young and disaffected indie guitar band.
Kaki King – Mexican Teenagers EP
Diminutive guitar goddess Kaki King gets caught up with the wrong crowd on Mexican Teenagers.
Cat Power – Dark End Of The Street
A christmas gift from Chan Marshall aka Cat Power. You might want to keep the receipt...
The Organ – Thieves
Mint Records, 2008 [9/10] Vancouver's The Organ shared that same shadowy intellectual existence that made them sound like a darker version of The Smiths, without Johnny Marr's trademark flair and Morrissey's veiled humour. Helmed by singer/lyricist Katie Sketch, they created a delicate sound that brooded and pined, Sketch's lyrics reading like private diary entries turned
The Radio Dept. – Freddie and the Trojan Horse
Labrador, 2008 [8/10] It was not the lyrics that got me hooked on The Radio Dept but rather their gentle, dreamy melodies. The vocals of Johan Duncanson are an integral part of the band's sound but the words often blend into the background and set the mood rather then tell stories. The first single from
Steven Heath – The Airport Fire
Peak Plasma Conc., 2008 [6/10] "A soundtrack for driving around the city at night" is how Australia's Steven Heath depicts his latest release and it's not a far fetched description; the overall feeling that it leaves behind is that of cold, lonely nights with the radio as your only companion. Recorded in a friend's spare
Detektivbyrån – Hemvägen
Danarkia, 2006 [8/10] With glockenspiel, accordion and toy-piano Detektivbyrån (Dee-tek-teeve-bu-ron, "The Detective Agency") take their audience on an imaginative musical journey through the urban streets of Paris and the forests of Värmland, the Swedish province where the band originate from. By now Anders Flanders, Jon Ekström and Martin Molin, the members of Detektivbyrån, must be