On the face of it this beat beat/hip hop hybrid is far removed from what would normally nestle in my onion sack but good music is good music no matter the genre. Busdriver is the work of Regan Farquhar (hey, wouldn’t it have sat well on the Shrek soundtrack too!) from Los Angelus who has had hip-hop in his blood from the day he was born. Busdriver is characterised by his word tsunamis and on ‘Avantcore’ a wonderful circular piano riff and guest vocal that has just parachuted in from a little fluffy cloud underlines his message. The tune is universal with undoubted appeal all the way from little acorns to granny smiths. KD

Busdriver - Avantcore

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More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: [UK] Fear of a Black Tangent [US] Fear of a Black Tangent
Year: 2005

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If anyone reading this has ever wondered what became of Dublin band Revelino the answer comes in the least expected of places. Under the guise of the Beat Club, main man Brendan Tallon and drummer Shane Rafferty play to the most sussed of wedding crowds in the land. In the process the players probably earn more in one night that they earned in a year as Revelino. It’s a pity because over the course of 3 albums Revelino produced a wealth of indie gold. Taking their cues from the Byrds, Beatles and the Beach Boys meant that the produce was always laden with melody and the riffs thick with sucrose possibilities. ‘Happiness Is Mine’ is taken from their self-titled LP (which incidentally was recorded in 8 days and mixed in one long night!) and is characterised by its incandescent chorus and a reliance on predatory chords. It’s classic stuff, perfectly standalone, just biding its time for Sophia Coppola to pluck it from obscurity. KD

Revelino - Happiness Is Mine

More Info: Cyberspace has failed them.
Buy Album: [UK] Broadcaster [US] Broadcaster
Year: 1996

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With a chanteuse as enchanting and talented as Sarah Cracknell and Andrew Weatherall on production duties it seemed as if Dot Allison and One Dove had the world at their feet. Unfortunately the band would only record one album but Allison has remained steadily on the fringes of public consciousness with her solo career. ‘White Love’ with its cool electronica edges was the high point for One Dove, a song that was ahead of its time, a seemingly prophetic call to what would appear years later on the soundtrack to the ‘The Beach’. The production is lavish, Weatherall instilling a quirky danceability that he had previously conjured on Primal Scream's seminal ‘Screamadelica’. Allison for her part coos and purrs to ignite a thousand teenage boys imaginations. Amazingly the song has lost none of its sparkle despite its advancing years and remains an expertly crafted piece of transcendent pop. KD

One Dove - White Love

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More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: [UK] Morning Dove White [US] Morning Dove White
Year: 1993

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Up to this year I hadn’t come across an Argentinean artist that ruffled my features and now I have a pair of them. If you haven’t heard of Juana Molina by now you are truly missing out, her second album ‘Son’ is a near masterpiece. Not quite in the same league yet titillating in their own way are Purple Clouds from the city of Campana. Federico Bianchi is the ringleader and cites his influences as the Velvet Underground, the Stone Roses and My Bloody Valentine. Nothing that his band creates is particularly ground breaking but the amiable structures are never less than a pleasant background noise. ‘Sunshine’ is probably the pick of the bunch from the bands debut EP ‘Hollow’ with a gaggle of chugging riffs and swirling vocals that could fit neatly inside an Ambulance Ltd EP (once the editing was tidied a tad). Purple Clouds have a bit to go to nail a true classic but they are a promising outfit. KD

Purple Clouds - Sunshine

More Info: Official & Myspace
Year: 2006

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Music that flies by the seat of its pants can sometimes eclipse its more polished cousins for sheer excitement. And so it came to pass that ‘I’m No Lover’ by Antarctica Takes It! has gotten me into a lather over the last few days for its beat up vinyl stylings. By all accounts the Santa Cruz’s bands debut album ‘The Penguin League’ was recorded using some sort of analog device that was prevalent in the mid seventies. So, it might not sheen like a Beirut canvass but the brass and genuine mayhem in this 90-second wonder is enough to give palpitations of delight to those in awe of real music. ATI! are currently recording new material for a second album even though their debut only came out in mid summer. This time they’ve ditched the scratchy tape and upgraded their recording gear so let’s hope the studio tricks don’t destroy their inner treats. KD

Antarctica Takes It! - I'm No Lover

More Info: Myspace
Buy Album: The Penguin League
Year: 2006

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I’m all for music that creeps up on you but Can Joann take the notion a step further. I have been chipping away at their debut LP ‘Hurt People Hurt People’ for weeks now, all the while admiring their slightly camouflaged Strokes like forays, but it’s only in the last few days that the hidden extras have started to reveal themselves. ‘Hurt People Hurt People’ is superficially enjoyable but by extending your time together you’ll figure out that many more rewarding treats lay deeper inside its grooves. There’s the cracking jangle of instrumental ‘Endure En Vogue’ to be absorbed or the enticing exploration of ‘Wine Colored Casket’s vast melodic vaults to look forward to. ‘Thicker Skin’ is another gem that exposes Can Joann’s considerable array of strengths such as the shuddering rhythms, shimming riffs (Ryan Benjamin) and Joel Peck’s commanding yet vibrant vocals. All told this is another band to fall head over heels in love with. KD

Can Joann - Thicker Skin

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: Hurt People Hurt People
Year: 2006

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You can now buy this song on one of our Indiecater compilations here!

Funny that Venice is Sinking should originate from Athens, Georgia. Not funny ha-ha, more wry smilingly so since it was from that very spot that one of indie’s former champions arose. Karolyn Troupe and Daniel Lawson are the twin voices who propel ViS’s delightful chamber pop sound. On songs like ‘Pulaski Heights’ the band germ a floatilla of noises that approximate equal parts Frames/Arcade Fire without ever trespassing on either bands enviable patch. In fact the singing is ultimately what elevates ‘Pulaski Heights’ into the realms of greatness creating a quasi-religious experience that you can quaff copious amounts of alcohol to without ever feeling guilty. 'Undecided' occupies the other end of the spectrum, lithe and fireside cuddly it will sweep your lovers off their feet and make the job of dumping one of them all the more troublesome. Makes you wonder why you haven’t already splashed out on ViS’s mesmerising debut doesn’t it, well, fix that flat tyre and be on yer bike to the record store. KD

Venice Is Sinking - Undecided

Venice Is Sinking - Pulaski Heights


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More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: [UK] Sorry about the Flowers [US] Sorry about the Flowers
Year: 2006

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You’ll know his mug if you’ve been to a classic Mercury Rev show as Justin Russo played the keyboard parts to ‘Deserter Songs’ and ‘All Is Dream’. Not content with being a part of musical history Russo busied himself getting an army of musicians together and calling them the Silent League (sorta like a US version of Brakes with grasshoppers and euro police thrown in). What poured from the group’s loins is altogether magical as witnessed by the perfectly dreamy ‘Breathe’. The song bobs along as wave after wave of Russo’s Wilsonesque harmonies curl imaginatively inside your ear. ‘Breathe’ has a rich melodic tapestry, is inherently loveable and will doubtlessly be reached for whenever a lighter mood needs to be drawn. Majestic. KD

The Silent League - Breathe

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: [UK] The Orchestra, Sadly, Has Refused [US] The Orchestra, Sadly, Has Refused
Year: 2005

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As with much of God Is An Astronaut’s music ‘Tempus Horizon’ is not something that’ll you’ll readily pinpoint. You’ll shadow the piece searching in vain for the hook that’ll burn the fog and reveal the magical undergrowth. It’ll take repeated listens but the seemingly incomprehensible chord gestures do eventually form an aural sketchbook to endlessly marvel. GIAA have been enthralling audiences for several years now back home in Ireland yet their appeal will doubtlessly spread to anywhere on the globe that a Mogwai record is played. The latter have been stuttering of late so GIAA seem primed to step up to the mark. ‘Tempus Horizon’ is taken from Volume 2 of the impressive ‘Silent Ballet’ post-rock/instrumental series, which is available as a free download here. If you find this tune fanciable then a trip down GIAA’s ‘All Is Violent, All Is Bright’ is something you should do before they steal your hearing forever. KD

God Is An Astronaut - Tempus Horizon

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Buy Album: [UK] All Is Violent All Is Bright [US] All Is Violent, All Is Bright
Year: 2005

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In a typically atypical fashion Teenage Fanclub chose to call their 2002 retrospective collection ‘Four Thousand Seven Hundred And Sixty-Six Seconds’. Greatest Hits wouldn’t have rung true (they haven’t had many) and Best Of would have been a disservice to all the gilded gems they left out. Crafty entrepreneurs that they are Teenage Fanclub tacked on some extra tracks to the collection to attract the hopelessly devoted. In the normal scheme of things this often means one or two shoddy extra numbers, that often feel like afterthoughts or discarded b-sides. In this case, however, the Glaswegians pulled out all the stops and came up with a couple of stone cold classics. ‘Did I Say’ will make you cry, laugh and scratch your neck hairs until they bleed such are the honeyed harmonies and riffs. If you don’t know that Teenage Fanclub are perhaps the most undervalued band on the planet by now then get thee to a record store and buy up their precious back catalogue (start with ‘Grand Prix’). Hitching your carriage to their bandwagoneque will be the best decision you'll make all year.

Teenage Fanclub - Did I Say


Update: Thanks to Andy Sweet for this rare demo of 'Did I Say'. And you thought things couldn't get much better than the original, ignore the missed notes, bathe in the luscious harmonies. KD

Teenage Fanclub - Did I Say (Demo Version)


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Buy Album: [UK] Grand Prix [US] Grand Prix
Year: 1995

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Think it's all wrapped up folks, can’t see how any other song can match Sunny Day Sets Fire’s ‘Wilderness’ for the joy its brought me this year (such is my infatuation I bought it on 7-inch single for chrissakes). So it’s with great trepidation that I approach any new songs from the London based collective. How to maintain such toxic levels of love for a band while somehow discovering if the well of talent is as deep as I hope it is. The thing about SDSF is that they are as prolific as Thierry Henry, everytime I log onto their myspace site there’s a flippin new song to be savoured. So far ‘Lack of View’ is the peachiest, containing moments of lullaby loveliness and quirky avenues of wispy harmonies. SDSF have released 2 vinyl singles to date but a new EP is to be released later this month out stateside way on I Am Sound Records. So ‘Wilderness’ may still have some competition for those coveted end of year hugger 'best of' laurels. KD

Sunny Day Sets Fire - Lack Of View

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Year: 2006

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It was no accident that Revolver were signed to Verve’s (the ‘the’ only came later) label Hut who in the early nineties tended to specialise in swirling dreampop wonders. The trio were formed in Winchester in 1990 and were closely aligned to the sound Ride were blueprinting. They released a clutch of impressive singles (‘Crimson’, ‘Heaven Sent An Angel’) and one very good album called ‘Cold Water Flat’. The album was awash with shimmering chords and Mat Flint’s ever so fey vocals. The closer was ‘Wave’, an epic shoegaze wigout that seems to have been unfairly lost in the mists of time. The dynamics while never intense, pulse with frenetic glee as layer after layer of guitar burst into life. Revolver broke up in 1993 with Flint enlisting as the bass player with electronic whizz kids Death In Vegas as well as fronting his own project Deep Cut. KD

Revolver - Wave

More Info: Cold Water Flat
Buy Album: [UK] Cold Water Flat [US] Cold Water Flat
Year: 1993

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From where I’m sitting you can draw neat parallels between the twin underachievers the Wrens and Wheat. Both have been bubbling underneath the radar for years despite obliging with a succession of brilliant albums. The music is intricate, soulful and impressed with endless longevity. Sadly both remain a distant revelation, beings that a future generation will laud with feverish adulation. All is not lost for Wheat at least with strong indications that a new album is on the way titled ‘Everyday I Said A Prayer For Kathy and Made A One Inch Square’. ‘This Rough Magic’ is taken from the bands last album ‘Per Second, Per Second…’ and sketches their scattershot brilliance. Always gentle and alluring ‘This Rough Magic’ unwraps several plots over its 5 minutes, each is as intriguing as the next. Dave Fridmann sat in on production and the exotic twists are nothing less than you’d expect from the Mercury Rev man. KD

Wheat - This Rough Magic

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More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: [UK] Per Second Per Second... [US] Per Second, Per Second, Per Second... Every Second
Year: 2003

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Softly textured and deliberately tagged to appeal to its audience ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Mind’ is an accomplished piece of dreampop. Its maker Phaser come from Washington and have been around for almost a decade. So far they have a debut album (‘Sway’, 2003) and several EP’s to their name. The opening sequences and much of verse of ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Mind’ is quite doom laden (nearly off-putting) but the chorus is so delicately melodic it is hard not to swoon (think Ride/January/Jennifers). Reserve this for a moments break in the garden shed on December 27th when all the toys have started to malfunction. KD

Phaser - Can't Get You Out Of My Mind

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: [UK] Sway [US] Sway
Year: 2003

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Cruising myspace for another band to fall in love with can often be a lonesome experience. But, all the moments of dross dressed as three chord wonders are worth it when something as lovesome as the Diableros jump into view. Looks like this Toronto band don’t even have an offical site, the distribution of their record also looks decidedly threadbare yet half an hour spent carousing their wares is nothing less than a rapturous affair. They’ve left all 4 tracks open for distribution so the word should spread with the ferocity of an Australian bush fire if there's any justice. Frenetic yet also prone to ecstatic moments of clarity, Pete Carmichael could yet prove to be this years most interesting frontman. And its not only his schizophrenic vocal style that transfixes, the band churn their instruments in such a hypnotic way it’d be easy to lose several days behind drawn curtains basking in the wholesome buzz. Included here is the contemplative pit bull illusion that is ‘Sugar Laced Soul’, quite the perfect introduction to one of 2006’s most promising newbies. KD

The Diableros - Sugar Laced Soul

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More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Album: [UK] Working Out Words [7" VINYL] [US] You Can't Break the Strings in Our Olympic Hearts
Year: 2006

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