Sometimes certain songs make me feel as if I am partaking of a weekend break. That's the power of a good tune I guess, it can block out the banalities/pressures of ordinary life. While it plays your focus is set completely on the luxurious structure, on the individual parts that magically gel to form something bigger. For some people this form of escape can be achieved by poetry, others through a bout of heavenly knitting but for me music tends to be the best vehicle for indulging in a spot of relaxing mind yoga. And my mind carrier of choice this evening comes via Illinois man Henry Frayne (Lanterna) and his sumptous instrumental ‘Luminous’. Such a perfect name for a track that glides on an ocean of chiming edge-y riffs and volumious echoing reverb. If jangle be your bag then this may well be your suitcase. See what I mean about mini-holidays. KD

Lanterna - Luminous

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Lanterna
Year: 2008

It helps when you have an electric (or at least one that is prone to non-fatal electrocution) front woman, makes the job of selling the rest of the band a good deal easier. The fact that all 3 of your band are attractive on the eye is also a plus, and when you combine this with a natural tendency to record songs that could have appeared in the eighties you almost have a license to print money. The 80’s electroplasm of ‘People And Logistics’ bears more than a passing resemblance to Strawberry Switchblade, a comparison HOPUK will surely be exploiting when their album ‘For Life’ drops in the Autumn. And the funny thing is that it’s not all that remarkable, just a pleasant background noise that never seems to sound any less nice every time you visit. The mark of a goodie in my opinion and one that might charm daytime radio. These ladies could have hit on a neat formula. KD

Hearts Of Palm UK - People And Logistics

Watch The Video

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Hearts of Palm UK (soon)
Year: 2008

Fuck, this is beautiful. So sorry for the expletive but hearing music like this requires a strong response, something that bland non-profane wordage just can’t quite demonstrate. Quite how have the Innocence Mission have evaded the clutches of the world’s collective ear? I mean isn’t ‘Into Brooklyn, Early in the Morning’ the sound of falling snow and who in their right mind can resist that. Karen Peris’s vocals will undoubtedly be your first port of call but the band (Keris’s husband is in there on chiming chords) crouched all around her summon great swathes of gentle noise. So timid in fact that the 3-piece have nearly completely dispensed with drums over the years. Remarkably the band has been around since the mid-eighties with each new release peeling away another soft layer to reveal a more tender sense of melodious endeavour beneath. Start your collection with last year’s heartbreaking ‘We Walked In Song’. KD

The Innocence Mission - Into Brooklyn, Early in the Morning

Watch The Video To Morning Star

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: The Innoncence Mission
Year: 2007

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

Sunday evenings are even crueller when they arrive in the wake of a period of time off. The normal shudder becomes a numbing bodyshock and little if anything can rid one of the impending doom. A gentle audio relaxative works well for me and at just under 4 hours till bedtime Starfucker’s ‘German Love’ is performing an impressive job. Built on the simplest of premises it nonetheless temporarily sweeps all thoughts of the upcoming 9-5 horrors into a brain blindspot. The Portland trio’s eponymous debut won’t be out until September but if ‘German Love’ is an accurate snippet of things to come it should make for a really swell release. You may not even hear the handclaps enclosed such will be your own joyful palm fleshing. This is indie pop at its purest. KD

Starfucker - German Love

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Starfucker
Year: 2008

Do you like your long players to be cosily consistent? Nah, me neither. That’s why the hop, skip and jump nature of Blake/e/e/e’s (ah for feck’s sake, here’s to playing havoc with googlers the world over) debut ‘Border Radio’ is currently smoking up my hard drive. You see it is very difficult to pin down the blackguards, one minute they are introspective and thoughtful the next they are bursting out the traps like a highly-strung greyhound. Evidence of the dichotomy is particularly evident on the schizophrenic ‘New Millennium's Lack Of Self Explanation’. Now here’s a tune to wet your experimental hoarding receptors, a song that could only exist in a post Arcade Fire meltdown. Franklin Delano were an Italian act and two thirds of the ashes now make up the Chicago based Blake/e/e/e, seems that place just got a whole lot breezier. KD

Blake/e/e/e - New Millennium's Lack Of Self Explanation

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Blake/e/e/e
Year: 2008

Some things are ugly, but there are others that are beautiful. The wonderful electrogaze shimmer that comes from My Milky Way Arms certainly falls into the latter category. I know it could conceivably fly over the heads of most people but given some patience songs like ‘Sunshine’ would surely be loved. Much like listening to M83 (& MBV before them) and other noise merchants of distinction the effect is dependent on the listeners ability to drift into ones own flight of fancy. And I’d imagine even the dullest would be cosying up to their own imaginative thoughts that spring from ‘Sunshine’s effervescent rays. It is taken from the Houston duo/trio’s self-titled debut, an inter-galactic swirl of noise and hard won melodic victories. This is truly unmistakable and utterly masterful. KD

My Milky Way Arms - Sunshine

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: My Milky Way Arms
Year: 2008

Melbourne may be far away but bands like Ancient Free Gardeners make it feel like it’s only down the road. A strange thing to write you might have thought but Ancient Free Gardeners produce a peculiarly western European sound. If I was to go out on a limb I’d say that they most remind me of I Am Kloot. James Milsom vocals are fairly unique; slightly hoarse they regularly emit a pleasing warmth that’s not entirely evident initially. The instrumentation holds its nerve expertly breaking into free flowing melody precisely when the mood set by the vocals dictate. The bands new single ‘Innards Out’ is a gem, a cunning piece of craft that will grow on you with the stealth of creeping damp on a winter outhouse. It may work in slow-mo but press your hand against your heart and listen to that raging pitter-patter. Check out the bands website for lots of other free goodies. KD

Ancient Free Gardeners - Innards Out

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Ancient Free Gardeners
Year: 2008

There are a couple of bands named Skirt but for the purposes of this review I am going to concentrate on the Minneapolis version. Seems this particular Skirt is made up of the rich pickings from several other local Minneapolis bands and what emerges has a nicely offbeat feel to it. ‘This Plane’ is taken from their new album ‘Heartbeat. A Flameout’ and could so easily have fallen flat on it face such is its lopsided staggering approach. Wasn’t sure at first what was going on but eventually a sweet lolloping melody emerged, the choppy guitars may appear a tad turgid but as soon as Linnea Mohn's vocals go gooey eyed they transform into something a lot slinkier. KD

Skirt - This Plane

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Skirt
Year: 2008

Don’t let this pass you by; it’s got plenty of canon in its pants. Hazily delivered and reminiscent of the Dandy Warhols (Portlanders too) it may be but Brian Coates should, if there be any justice in this industry, have several butlers vying to take off his jacket every time he walks through a gilded doorway in the near future. You see it doesn’t always have to hit you square between the eyes straight away, I find a gentle melodic gnaw more enjoyable in the long run. The Great Northwest have been working on their debut ‘The Widespread Reign of’ for a number of years and it is due to appear later this month amid what should be well thought and generally adulating praise. ‘Chief John’ is the lead single and cuts a wallowing, heavy-duty authority that demands repeated visits. Play it and watch dead meadows suddenly bloom into a kaleidoscope of nature’s vibrant colours. KD

The Great Northwest - Chief John

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: The Great Northwest
Year: 2008

You know the feeling when you leave a warm sunny holiday clime and your arrival back on home turf (literally) is greeted by 10 new ways to arrange the colour grey? Yep, we’ve left the cocktails behind us for puddles and grumpy taxi drivers. So why is my grin the size of the Ha'penny Bridge (upside down, in a smiley shape)? Well, one of my favourite new bands has written this rather fabulous new song about this blog, yes you read that correctly, it's about mp3hugger! Now I may be blinded by the realisation that a sunshine chorus could sound this effervescent and only use M-P-3-Hugger, but I am pretty sure that despite this I still would have fallen for its melodic homespun charms. If you think this sounds good then you’ll most likely be salivating from the ear when you hear the Very Most's new album ‘Congratulations Forever’. Stick it on and watch those putrid brown puddles turn into turquoise pools full of colourful marine life. KD

The Very Most - mp3hugger

More Info: Myspace
Buy Songs: The Very Most
Year: 2008

You can kiss these ones. KD

Ozark Cousins - Ozark Cousins

More Info: Official
Download For Free: Ozark Cousins
Year: 2008

Release your inner glow stick. KD

Storkboy Choons - Bells For Laura

More Info: Official
Buy Songs: Storkboy Choons
Year: 2008

So do your bit and offer up your love. KD

It Hugs Back - Other Cars Go

More Info: Official
Buy Songs: It Hugs Back
Year: 2008

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

No longer can the seventies come back to haunt us. KD

AM Syndicate - To The Peasants Of The Emperor

More Info: Official
Buy Songs: AM Syndicate
Year: 2007

Shrapnel made from feathers. KD

Canon Blue - Avatar Furr

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Buy Songs: Canon Blue
Year: 2007

Solid gold and breaking records. KD

Stars Of Track And Field - Fantastic

More Info: Official
Buy Songs: Stars Of Track And Field
Year: 2006

Scratchy and itchy for more. KD

Banjo Or Freakout - Mr No

More Info: Official
Buy Songs: Banjo Or Freakout
Year: 2008

Holiday time again so the wordage on these pages will become distinctly threadbare over the next week or so. In an effort to hold onto my 3 regular readers (hi Mam, Dad, web sheriff) you can be assured that a well turned out tune will magically appear here daily at 4.42pm GMT thanks to the wonder of blogger's new future scheduling capability. So while I sip on another sucrose laden beverage you will hopefully have the ammunition to give your toes a damn good tapping to. In a rather tame effort to foster the holiday spirit here is an excellent track from Hrishikesh Hirway as the One AM Radio. Bath in the hush and let the relaxing melodies make like soft silken white sand on your lobes. Kalinihta. KD

The One AM Radio - The Echoing Airports

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: The One AM Radio
Year: 2007

Before the advent of the internet you were often stuck with the aural signposts delivered via the print media. Alas this lead to a diet consisting solely of Anglo/American acts. At the time it hardly seemed to matter because we didn’t know any better. Now, however there are no limitations as you freely meander a mazy path through myspace or hook up with dozens of recommendations from like eared souls on last.fm. Owing to their geographical spread music blogs are also an increasingly useful beacon into as yet untouched corners of the world (he says sorta winkingly). How else can you explain the emergence of Yuppie Flu at increasingly lofty positions in listener’s charts well beyond their Italian base of Bologna? The band have over half a dozen albums to their name and their latest ‘Fragile Forest’ is being given the ‘pay as little as you want’ treatment on their website. If it were a fair world the average donation would breach double figures because indie pop as slinky as this deserves ample reward. KD

Yuppie Flu - Fragile Forest

Watch The Video For Spring To Downcomers

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Yuppie Flu
Year: 2008

If you remember Verve from the 1st time around then you’ll more than likely know the inspiration behind Get Well Now’s Underworld cover. ‘Born Slippy’ was the trio’s biggest hit, undoubtedly helped on its way by the song’s inclusion on the ‘Trainspotting’ soundtrack. If any one tune encapsulated the lad culture and general mayhem of the mid-nineties it was this one. The Nuxx appendage refers to the version with Karl Hyde on vocals, which appeared as a b-side to the full instrumental ‘Born Slippy’ original. 12 years on and it has taken a pan European collective (which includes Dubliner Paul Kenny on drums) to recreate the majesty, albeit in a much more reserved manner. Led by the Berlin based Konstantin Gropper Get Well Soon recently released their debut album ‘Rest Now, Weary Head! You Will Get Well Soon’ to notable acclaim. It is one of 2008’s finest albums and in ‘I Sold My Hands For Food So Please Feed Me’ it possesses one of the year’s most exhilarating tunes. KD

Get Well Soon - I Sold My Hands For Food So Please Feed Me

Watch A Video For Drinking Lager To

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Get Well Soon
Year: 2008