05.09.2026-MARIA MINERVA Will Happiness Find Me? (Not Not Fun,2012)

 

ELECTRONIC / LO-FI

   Maria Minerva, the Estonian singer-songwriter whose bedroom electropop somehow seems to effortlessly attach itself to some pretty erudite philosophical discourse, had quite a busy 2011. With no fewer than four releases, including a much-heralded cassette full-length (Tallinn at Dawn) and the nu-nu-age drifts of “Cabaret Cixous,” Minerva has quickly established herself as one of “the underground’s” most promising and prolific young talent. (Note: I am referring to a very specific portion of “the underground” here, one which aligns itself with the retro-not-retro musings of the Not Not Fun label and views “lo-fi” not so much as a stylistic choice but rather a necessity, a tool that can adapt itself to any number of interpretations, working either against or in concert with the music itself.)

     So she’s understandably taken some time off from releasing new material in 2012. 

https://www.sendspace.com/file/gnag0zsv

01.09.2026-SKRILLEX Quest For Fire (Owsla/Atlantic,2023)

 

DUBSTEP

   While this is technically only his second album, Skrillex has hardly been away from the spotlight. Quest for Fire shows us that he continuously expanded his sonic palette through his productions, remixes, and other work, particularly when it comes to finding beats. He wrangles a constellation of guest stars (from Four Tet to Missy Elliott). The British grime MC and producer Flowdan offers the most satisfying match for Skrillex’s world-swallowing beats; his low-slung voice towers over the ricocheting rhythm of the Fred again..-assisted “Rumble.” Like the mosh pits and dance floors that have thrilled to his music, Skrillex knows that perpetual motion is crucial.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/s5f0td5r

30.08.2026-LAURA VEIRS Found Light (Bella Union,2022)

 

FOLK

   Found Light is Laura Veirs’ 12th studio album, and in many ways, it marks a creative departure. Shortly after her 2020 release My Echo, which famously explores her painful separation from her longtime husband and producer Tucker Martine, Veirs announced a new album was already in the works without his involvement. Instead, she chose to take on for herself a side of songmaking that Martine, who also produced Veirs’ collaboration with Neko Case and k.d. lang, previously handled for her. Marking Veirs’ first-ever release with a production credit, Found Light represents a new step in not only Veirs’ personal life, but also her career at large, a turn that has led her to consider it a kind of debut.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/5nfy0l8u

27.08.2010-GAYNGS Relayted (Jagjaguwar,2010)

 

INDIE ROCK

   Gayngs represent a somewhat unlikely confluence of any number of recent musical trends, foremost amongst them the resurgence in hipness of such über-processed AOR acts as 10cc, Hall & Oates and Steely Dan. Indeed, producer Ryan Olson’s stated purpose when founding Gayngs (alongside Solid Gold’s Zack Coulter and Adam Hurlburt) was to create “a collection of drugged-up keyboards and slick bedroom production almost exclusively inspired by 10cc’s I’m Not in Love.” Relayted, Gayngs’ groaningly-titled debut album, shies away from actually covering said song, though the fact it includes a creepy cover of Godley & Creme’s saccharine enormo-hit Cry does make you wonder why they bothered being so coy.

     That’s not the whole story, though. Relayted is not without a scent of fromage, but it is, on the whole, artier, sexier and stranger than the output of Olson’s bemulleted heroes. It owes plenty to modern RnB production, and is certainly more leftfield in tone and taste than anything 10cc ever made.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/fme06e98

24.08.2026-FENNE LILY Big Picture (Dead Oceans,2023)

 

INDIE FOLK

   The singer-songwriter from Bristol has made a return with her third studio album Big Picture, and with it she continues her run of flawless albums. It differs slightly to her previous records, carrying a more jovial tone, but is definitely not without deep cuts.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/2ybrjr43

21.08.2026-BEACHES Blame My Ex (Self Released,2023)

 

ROCK

   Since emerging in 2013, sisters Jordan Miller (lead vocals and bass) and Kylie Miller (guitar), drummer Eliza Enman McDaniel, and keyboardist and guitarist Leandra Earl have continuously evolved their brand of pop-inflected rock, harnessing the vibrancy of their live shows and infusing their lyrics with a winking sense of humour. All of these ingredients are present on their latest offering, along with a sense of maturity that in no way makes the album feel less fun.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/0ehzhemk

18.08.2026-DEAD CONFEDERATE Sugar (The Artists Organization,2010)

 

ALTERNATIVE ROCK

   The 10 tunes on Sugar are more rock than ramshackle—still heavy on reverb and distorted, droning guitar—and they play like a who’s who of the band’s many influences. With its fuzzy guitar intro, opening track “In The Dark” nods to Sonic Youth, and “Mob Scene” (aside from frontman Hardy Morris’s Billy Corgan-esque vocals) could have been lifted from Led Zeppelin’s songbook, with Walker Howle’s proggy, wailing guitar and drummer Jason Scarboro’s thrashing beat.

   Lame lyrics aside, Sugar demonstrates Dead Confederate’s natural talent for grunge atmospherics, but they could use some songwriting workshops before tackling their third effort.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/wp7jh74s