30.06.2024-ADMIRAL FALLOW Boots Met My Face (Lo-Five,2010)

 

INDIE POP

     Probably the best album of folk-goes-indie-with-a-Scottish-accent since The Great Eastern.

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

28.06.2024-POMPLAMOOSE Tribute To Famous People (Shadow Tree,2010)

 

INDIE POP

     Pomplamoose is a musical duo that gained popularity through their unique and creative approach to music. The duo, consisting of Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn, was formed in 2008 and quickly made a name for themselves in the music industry. Their success can be attributed to their innovative use of social media platforms and their ability to create catchy, original songs.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/iq34fq

24.06.2024-ASKING ALEXANDRIA Stand Up And Scream (Sumerian,2009)

 

METALCORE

     The nice thing about ASKING ALEXANDRIA is that they are not another ATTACK ATTACK! clone, despite the dance keyboards and many breakdowns. The guitar leads of the young Englishmen even have something to do with metal and are not just breakdown after breakdown. Now and then there is even a bit of a SKID ROW vibe (the band covered two of their songs on their "Life Gone Wild" EP). This is mainly due to the clear vocals, even if they sometimes sing quite scratchily.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/k4if5p

23.06.2024-GRACE POTTER Midnight (Hollywood,2015)

 

DANCE POP

     On Midnight, she goes for an even broader range of sounds, including (in order of least surprising to most) The Band-esque heartland stomp, vaguely twangy Southern rock, sensual new wave glide, and wiggly post-Pharrell funk. It’s a bold array, and the songs themselves are pretty bold, too, with multi-tracked choruses, erupting electric guitar riffs, and propulsive percussion. It’s a concise, hooky collection of songs with which the 32-year-old Potter has given herself chances to become bigger than ever as a solo name.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/m8eoap

22.06.2024-KANDLE In Flames (Dare To Care,2014)

 

INDIE ROCK

   Rather similar to the other albums. Dark, atmospheric, nicely dramatic. A bit calmer maybe than the others. And again, there's the same problem; the sound is awesome, but the songs aren't standing out.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/r10cxd

21.06.2024-GEORGIA RUTH Week Of Pines (Gwymon,2012)

 

INDIE FOLK

   There aren't a lot of harpists in pop. Transatlantic migrations took all sorts of instruments away from their European place of origin to become the building blocks of American music. But there was no sizeable Welsh diaspora so the harp stayed at home with its most diligent exponents. That places singer-songwriter-harpist Georgia Ruth in a musical tradition with deep roots but a less than broad reach.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/hiq2ad

18.06.2024-LOUIEN None Of My Words (Jensen,2019)

 

INDIE FOLK

     None of My Words is a bitter-sweet take on mourning and introspection brought about by the death of Solberg’s Father four years ago: “this album is probably more about the first phase of a grieving process – hopelessness, isolation, anxiety and depression,”. However, don’t let that give you the impression this is the musical equivalent of a misery memoir. I found it a more reflective record; someone trying to make sense of a fundamental emotional shift in their life.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/8oy5ce

16.06.2024-UNDER BYEN Alt Er Tabt (Paper Bag,2010)

 

POST ROCK

     Dark, tense record full of spartan arrangements and songs built more around moody atmosphere than melodic hooks.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/4fmqhd

15.06.2024-FOE Bad Dream Hotline (Vertigo,2012)

 

INDIE ROCK

     ‘Bad Dream Hotline’ carries a clear warning message about the dangers of the media and celebrity culture but sometimes this becomes too much of the focus and overshadows the instrumental. It’s packed full of pop culture references and Clark’s distinct vocals as she takes elements from her influencers - including Nirvana and PJ Harvey. All in all, a fine album from this 20-something Fleet-based musician who’s proved she’s in this industry for all the right reasons.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/5suk4a

14.06.2024-WASHINGTON Battflowers (Washington/Island,2020)

 

INDIE POP

     The Norah Jones-inspired number 'Kiss Me Like We're Gonna Die' rounds out the record, reminding listeners of Washington's past life as a jazz singer. It’s also a closing flourish that demonstrates her versatility, swinging easily between songs for the cosiest cabaret lounges and the grandest concert halls.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/s6hjf6

12.06.2024-FAYE WEBSTER I Know I'm Funny Haha (Secretly Canadian,2021)

 

AMERICANA

     Album four exudes a level of honesty that the singer-songwriter might previously have found alarming – and the sincerity suits her.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/94jlka

10.06.2024-NEW VILLAGER NewVillager (IAm Sound,2011)

 

ELECTRONIC / POP

   There is a fine line between concept album and pretentious crap, and luckily NewVillager manage to stay largely the right side. This is an album written with an artistic concept in mind – music is only one part of NewVillager’s very ambitious vision. So, think of this as a piece of art for just a minute. We might not even think it is actually art. But you’ve got to admit, there is something very intriguing about it.

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

09.06.2020-ERIKA WENNERSTROM Sweet Unknown (Partisan,2018)

 

COUNTRY ROCK

   After five albums together, heartland garage rockers Heartless Bastards decided to go on hiatus in 2016. Lead singer Erika Wennerstrom used the break to take a breather before beginning work on her own solo material. The result of these solitary writing and recording sessions is her solo debut, Sweet Unknown.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/yru8u3

08.06.2024-ZINNIA BLUE The Garden (Not On Label,2020)

 

ALTERNATIVE COUNTRY

   A genuine labour of love, the eleven track long player features an eclectic set of original songs and two haunting cover songs from Melbourne's own Jordie Lane and Tracy McNeil, and famed American singer-songwriter Jason Isbell. Showcasing lush but subtle layers of instrumentation, each song has been arranged to accentuate its particular mood and style. The album journeys through diverse genres of country, bluegrass, folk, blues, and pop, but plants its feet firmly in Americana soil, with an organic Melbournian twist.

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

07.06.2024-AUSTRA Hirudin (Domino,2020)

 

ELECTRONIC

     On AUSTRA's poignant fourth album HiRUDiN, Katie Stelmanis traces a deeply personal journey of growth, queerness and toxic relationships. Named after the anticoagulant released by leeches, HiRUDiN fittingly explores the parasitic nature of toxicity and the healing that it can call forth.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/ckj3bh

05.06.2024-NICOLAS JAAR Cenizas (Other People,2020)

 

AMBIENT / ELECTRONIC

     On Cenizas, Nicolas Jaar unveils a static but emotional masterpiece, an album that doesn't challenge the listener as much as it invites them into his alien, meditative, astonishing world.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/n37085

04.06.2024-DELILAH From The Roots Up (Atlantic,2012)

NEO SOUL

     It is a small gripe to be frustrated because a talented artist has been stifled from reaching their fullest potential on their first album. Delilah is stupidly young, stupidly talented and no doubt has a long career ahead of her. No one is fully realised at the age of 22 and nor should they be expected to be. ‘From The Roots Up’ is a great showcase of Delilah’s immense promise and a willingness to rise to the challenge of reinvigorating a genre in need of it. But if this flower is going to reach its fullest, healthiest bloom, it needs to be treated differently to other flowers because it, in and of itself, is special and is destined to grow into something else entirely.

https://www.mediafire.com/file/9oenjfcxrwg3ida/DLRoots.zip/file

 

03.06.2024-SHANNON LAY All This Life Going Down (Do Not Disturb,2017)

 

INDIE FOLK

     One of the most beautifully delicate bedroom-pop albums one might hope to hear.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/5kuc94

02.06.2024-TIM & JEAN Like What (Mercury,2011)

 

INDIE POP / SYNTHPOP

     Anyone can be a bedroom producer these days, but very rarely do the results sound as assured, elaborate and downright infectious as Like What, the debut album from Tim & Jean. Careening exuberantly through its ten songs, it’s a record that effortlessly captures the euphoria of a damn good party whilst applying the sheen of sun-bleached nostalgia.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/g0ak56

01.06.2024-CAITLIN SHERMAN Death To The Damsel (Small Batch,2020)

 

AMERICANA

     This diverse ten-track collection ranges from blues-tinged rock and expansive daydreamy ballads to reflective psych-rock and ‘60s garage pop. For the recording of the LP, Sherman rounded-up a band of Seattle mainstays including: bassist Jesse Harmonson (The Crying Shame), percussionist Jason Merculief (Jesse Sykes, Loose Wing), guitarist Bill Patton (Fleet Foxes, Jesse Sykes, J. Tillman), and organist Ben Strehle (Brent Amaker and The Rodeo). Standout tracks include: the piano-driven opening ballad “Find me a Fire”; the slow-burning “If Not the Man”; the country rocker “War For You”; the liberating lament “Up The Street, Diving Down”; the jangly yet biting title-track; the contemplative “Mother’s Daughter”; and the drifting cosmic in country-tinged track “Cosmic Or Chaos.” Caitlin Sherman’s Death to the Damsel is a great listen and showcases her impressive vocals and polished songwriting alongside a great band. 

https://www.sendspace.com/file/9yod2g