The Field Mice were the quintessential indie band signed to the quintessential indie label Sarah Records. Their songs were fragile, honest, heart rending and twee. Over 3 short years they released some of the most precious singles ever. The singles themselves are long since deleted so all we’re left with is a compilation of their best moments. ‘If You Need Someone’ is certainly one of them; even if the programming is beginning to show some signs of aging there is no doubting the genius in the song writing. The guitars are lithe, timid efforts that shimmer effortlessly while Robert Wratten coaxes vocals like sighs from his lips. The result will have you standing still on the spot in goggled eye admiration. Beneath the layers of instrumentation the song engages through an appetite for cradling a relationship that may never happen. The fact that the surrounding fuss is so neat makes it all the more special. KD

The Field Mice - If You Need Someone

Album: Where'd You Learn to Kiss That Way?
Year: 1998
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Vince Caro may not have deviated that far from the lost book of how to write perfectly formed pieces of heart wrenching indiepop but it is hard to resist his dashing output. Basement Apartment released their full debut Transistor! last year and it's a joy to behold. How it slipped by unnoticed is hard to comprehend but Basement Apartment are the sort of act that could evolve into a huge success story with a little promotion. ‘No Dancing’ is one of the albums prime cuts with its slow rush of vocals, harmony and gentle guitar plucking performing the perfect tonic to the headaches of everyday life. Lovers of Belle & Sebastian, it’s time to have an affair. KD

Basement Apartment - No Dancing

Album: Transistor!
Year: 2004
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Just when did the string quartet become such a vital cog in the indie bands artillery? Picture Sigur Ros without the orchestra and you take away what makes them such a beautiful prospect. The Delgados used to play the same card with the result that their winning ideas could be rightfully heard in vibrant technicolor. The danger of course is that over usage could take away from the thrill. Lucky then that we have bands like the Coral Sea who find a seamless way to marry the classical with the more traditional approach. ‘Look At Her Face’ is a remarkable piece of music; the viola and tinkling guitar shimmer in unison while a punishing beat sends a pocket of energised air hurtling in your direction. This dramatic noise is hard to ignore, jammed tight with its own confidence and ready to point a disapproving finger at those willing to settle for limp chart fodder. As befits a band from a town named Santa Barbara there are even a few reindeer bells thrown in for good measure. KD

The Coral Sea - Look At Her Face

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Album: Volcano & Heart
Year: 2005
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You can now buy this song on one of our Indiecater compilations here!

There’s something about a jangling guitar that is hard to resist, combine said hand movement with a memorable vocal harmony and you’re ascending towards indiepop heaven. Finnish band Cats on Fire have the trick down to a T, even if their homemade efforts suggest that they don’t exactly have the music industry banging down their doors (http://www.catsonfire.tk/). One of their more memorable moments is ‘Higher Grounds’ which is wonderfully realised for a demo. There are echoes of Belle & Sebastian and the Field Mice in the grand tweeness but there is also wholesome feel to the way the song thunders along. The warm vocal harbours lots of pretty riffs and the action never falters for its whole duration. Impossible to dislike, easy to fall in love with, it’s surely only a matter of time before this band find a kindred label. KD

Cats On Fire - Higher Grounds

Album: The Seelonce Mayday Demo
Year: 2004
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With the silly season on the way maybe it’s time to get a bit silly. Mike Batt wrote the songs for the Wombles and despite their fluffy exterior they could certainly belt out an impressive tune. This is a b-side taken from the ‘Super Womble’ 7-inch single and comes to you complete with impressive vinyl crackles and near-skips. The words recount the tale of the Orinoco Kid whose passion in life seems to have predated our modern day litter wardens; his was a bold, brave, fearless quest to clean up the grime in every town he encountered. Despite the daft premise, there’s no doubting Batt’s lyrical skills (‘I was quick on the draw, As I tidied up the floor’!) as well as his gift for catchy melody. If the Monkees had ever decided to record this it would surely have been a number one. The low-end production could have perfectly snuck in on any pastiche of the Spaghetti Westerns and will delight the whole family as they try and deflate around the yuletide log. If you are a fan of the Wombles 'Wombling Merry Christmas' is on its way in December! KD

Mike Batt - The Orinoco Kid

Album: Super Womble 7-inch
Year: 1975
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As elegantly cool as an oversized cigarette hanging from the lips of a sixties supermodel dEUS possess all the elements for rampant creativity yet they mask the sweet spots behind a elaborately tailored smokescreen. This is great if you prefer your thrills to be slightly inaccessible, yet this characteristic has shielded the band from a less than inquisitive public. ‘Hotellounge’ is a case in point; it has the usual Velvet Underground references, unsettling undercurrents and a map that swings from tense scene setter to a cathartic dancehall full of musicians from purgatory. While such an apocalyptic description may seem alarming it’s hard not to be taken in by the boisterous playing that features an elastic bass, Sonic Youth feedback, slow/fast tempo and Tom Barman’s Oscar winning vocal performance. Don’t play this before the 9pm watershed. KD

dEUS - Hotellounge (Be The Death Of Me)

Album: Worst Case Scenario
Year: 1994
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While post-rock straddles the borders of public appeal there’s no doubting the undeniable power of the genre when it’s executed correctly. The likes of Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai and Godspeed You Black Emperor can summon fragmented works of genius just as easily as they can frolic about aimlessly on the spot. There are occasions when it all goes right, however, namely on ‘Earth is Not A Cold Dead Place’, ‘Ten Rapid’, ‘Storm’ and Do Make Say Think’s epic ‘Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn’. The latter is an unheralded classic from the peerless Canadian label Constellation Records. How this Toronto band contrived to rise so majestically from the admirable ashes of their previous efforts is one to debate at a later date. The album is awash with boundless guitar forays, looping rhythms and ever changing kaleidoscopes of sound. ‘Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!’ is possibly the way you’ll feel after the slopes and valleys of this nugget. The gentleness of the acoustic opening is only slightly tempered by racing car like reversing guitars. Then the percussion goes askew and the keyboards run out of batteries as if the backside is about to fall out of the tune. As is the norm with its neighbours on the album, however, there are close encounters of the chord kind at hand to iron out the seemingly endless list of anomalies. If you’d like to host a non-destructive tornado in your head for 6 minutes, hear you go. KD

Do Make Say Think - Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!

Album: Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn
Year: 2003
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The Paris Angels were completely of their time, melding the constituents of baggy; boys with guitars twinned with a propensity to add the necessary grooves to cock the ears of dance aficionados. They even borrowed from the Stone Roses penchant for headline grabbing graffiti (albeit, momentary) as ‘Sundew’s cover captures the moment when bright lasers emblazoned the bands name and album title across government buildings. The album went almost unnoticed at the time, which is a shame as it has plenty of worthwhile artefacts. The standout is undoubtedly ‘Perfume (All On You)’ an epic fusion of spurting beats, chunky keyboards and a trained indie sensibility delivering pinpoint chords and boy/girl harmonies. Despite its age the multi-textures still sound captivating, like Chapterhouse on E or the Happy Monday’s without. The finale bursts forward at will as the happy pulses struggle to get through the bottleneck that is your speakers. Your weekends may never be the same again. KD

Paris Angels - Perfume (All On You)

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Album: Sundew
Year: 1991
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Despite being overwhelmingly Scottish in its makeup there’s no doubting that the creative force behind the Reindeer Section is Irishman Gary Lightbody. The album was recorded at a time when it looked like his own band didn’t have a snowballs chance in hell of selling more than a couple of thousand records. ‘Y’all Get Scared Now, Ya Hear’ was a welcome retreat for the singer to indulge his undoubted talents with the help of over a dozen other musicians. For the most part the record was a timid offering, not in quality but in the laid-back compositions it unveiled. ‘Sting’ was a notable exception that rallied around a circular jangling riff. Lightbody’s voice sounds imperious as the backing singers coo in the distance and a Belle and Sebastian trumpeter adds the necessary finesse to seal what is one of 2001’s most impressive alt gem. KD

The Reindeer Section - Sting

Album: Y'all Get Scared Now, Ya Hear!
Year: 2001
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Even in terms of Space’s non-linear style ‘Female Of The Species’ is a bit of an oddity (a space oddity, ahem). These Liverpool lads had to wait until their second album, ‘Tin Planet’, before success arrived by way of a duet with a Welsh lass and some avenging angels. ‘Female Of The Species’ is their crowning achievement, however, its effect on the psyche is akin to the sight of a puff adder slithering from a clothesbasket in your bedroom. As you’d expect there are plenty of exotic influences at work, don’t be surprised to hear it as you browse the wares in the Souks of Marrakech. But for all its dramatic vibes only the double-jointed could seriously attempt to dance to it. The singing sounds like it emanates from an analogue line, there are electronic hisses, bumps and bruises along the way but be thankful you don’t have to deal with a certain lady who places Jekyll and Hyde at the back of the queue in the deadly stakes. KD

Space - Female Of The Species

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Space Info: Official
Buy Album: [UK] Spiders [US] Spiders
Year: 1996

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You know it’s quite likely you’ve heard Clinic on the TV, it seems they have a knack for getting the marketing men to come with a begging bowl to their door (Levi’s, Heineken). It’s easy to see why because Clinic conjure aural backdrops that are breathtakingly unique. Central to their cause are heavy-duty organs that run riot throughout their albums. Combine this with the unfettered abandonment of some surging guitars and what you get is a melting pot to catch the attention of even the most casual of ears. ‘Distortions’ is a rare example of the Scousers concentrating on the melody even if the main thrust of the song comes from a pre-programmed drum machine and a lingering synth. The lyrics are uniformly dark (‘You never now how often, I’ve pictured you in coffins, My baby in a coffin. But I love it when you blink your eyes’…come back Guy Garvey, all is forgiven) yet this is essentially a tale of love. The coup de grace arrives when the machines get excited, scuttling about like insects that have been freshly released from a jar. This is so clever you could wet your hair and it’d wash it for you. KD

Clinic - Distortions

Album: Internal Wrangler
Year: 2000
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Aside from the odd slice of craft (check out the nimble guitar turns on ‘Oh No, Won’t Do’) Cud never really matured into enough of a prospect to produce a classic album. That said they did leave us with several pieces of sonic cotton wool. ‘Once Again’ is one such; supplying several minutes of tenderness through the gentlest of instrumentations and a vocal that is as effective as a head massage. The intricate playing is transparent enough to pick out the finger movements during the chord changes lending an added intimacy to the recording. Aside from the odd charged riff it’s the acoustics that drive the tune, a brief burst of strings is the only thing that raises the pulse of this even-tempered piece. Imagine a clear frosty morning where the birds have been replaced by a group of hushed players and you’ll get the drift. KD

Cud - Once Again

Album: Asquarius
Year: 1992
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You won’t be playing this at your grandfathers 90th birthday party yet ‘Early Whitney’s grumpy stance might sit well with him the next day as he suffers his over indulgence. Yoni Wolf runs the Why? show, a one man creative force that has fleshed into a full band in recent times. ‘Early Whitney’ sways back and forth with little or no consequence but there’s drama in spades. The twinkling guitars sound as if they are half cut, almost demo like but that’s what makes the descent into polished chaos all the more satisfying. ‘Early Whitney’ takes a cynical view of the world (‘that ain't no god it's just a burning bush’), throwing observed vignettes at a world/girlfriend not prepared to listen. It all culminates in a buffet of noise as the singers’ exasperation manifests itself through bashed drums, snares masquerading as rattlesnakes and a southern drawl that borders on invective. Turn up your hearing aid and let the younger ones have a moan for a change. KD

Why? - Early Whitney

Album: Early Whitney EP
Year: 2003
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Souless self-promotion doesn’t seem to be in Wheat’s handbook; in fact if ever there was a band that let the music talking this would be it. They now have 3 albums behind them and each release sees them getting progressively more ambitious. ‘Be Brave’ comes from the middle album ‘Hope & Adams’ and beautifully exhibits Wheat’s intentions. The opening straddles a fine line between low-key feedback and rising intensity until inevitably it engineers a thundering montage of lashing drums and lacy guitars. At intervals Scott Levesque voice breaks the door down delivering a single refrain only ‘standing on high facing love try what are you going to do’. Together he and his band portray the chaotic and often awkward situations experienced on the way to happiness. With Dave Fridman (Mercury Rev, The Flaming Lips) on production was it ever gonna be any other way? KD

Wheat - Be Brave

Album: Hope & Adams
Year: 1999
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No, not a cover from the small balding buster’s back catalogue, this is something altogether more interesting. This and its ilk are the reason why Scandinavia is becoming Europe’s most prestigious hub for fresh talent. The Concretes create ostensibly happy music and ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’ is no exception. The song is driven by the bands flighty horns that scuttle about with flavoursome abandon. Victoria Bergsman takes a trip to Motown, the distorted guitar chugs are a box of energetic puppies and the korg is given a workout worthy of Robby Krieger. Not a bad way to spend less than 2 minutes then. Hey, it that a unicorn outside the door? Yeah there’s definitely something in the air tonight. KD

The Concretes - You Can't Hurry Love

Album: The Concretes
Year: 2004
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Joy Zipper can take depressing subjects but all it takes is a simple spin from their collective sun drenched harmonies to mask the potential unpleasantness. In fact, the guise is so good that their music is best enjoyed on a balcony in the Balearics at sunset. ‘Dosed & Become Invisible’ apes My Bloody Valentine in their more reflective moments and its impact is no less dramatic. It opens eerily with a mock quartet practising before the curtain falls, the twist occurs when Vincent Cafiso appears like Jason Spaceman on a flotilla of hushed aural aroma’s. There are guitars, strings, flutes and a pinch of bass yet the blend is so fine it is difficult to pick out where each makes its contribution. But it’s Cafiso stoned delivery that steals the show, appearing like a hot current of air on a balmy evening it is totally unassuming yet intensely appealing. As the brass sinks in and out of the mix you can’t help feel that some day there will no such thing as work or Alzheimer’s. KD

Joy Zipper - Dosed & Become Invisible

Album: American Whip
Year: 2003
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It’s near impossible to describe Sigur Ros without resorting to all things Polar or Heavenly but let’s give it a go. For a decade now the Icelandic band have cut a deep impression, standing apart from their peers in the sheer scale of their music. The words they expel are often indecipherable but it’s the atmospherics that are created from all manner of quirky instrumentation that creates the spellbinding magic. ‘Olsen Olsen’ is taken from their sophomore album ‘Agaetis Byrjun’ that so cast their legend. The bulbous bass is initially what catches the attention but it is soon surpassed by the ghostly singing that appears out of nowhere from a distant snow-capped mountain range (see what I mean!). ‘Olsen Olsen’ also boasts one of Sigur Ros’ most expansive orchestral forays; as the song appears to tail off it is suddenly kicked into life by a series of slalom strings, a host of brass and a cast of thousands. With the season of goodwill on its way why not wrap this in a bow and send it to a forgotten friend. KD

Sigur Ros - Olsen Olsen

Album: Agaetis Byrjun
Year: 1999
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New Yorkers Panda Bear and Avey Tare aint your average duo, you can probably deduce that from their names alone. Signed on the deliciously appropriate Fat Cat label they are on a mission to record the sound of the schoolyard in dolby stereo. Their compositions are generally as dysfunctional as a family at Christmas yet the cobbled together mess can quite often breach even the hardest of hearts. Take ‘Winters Love’ for example that for the longest time scratches about in the back garden, voices hum in no particular pattern and the acoustics are as shaky as a freshly potted sprig. The change of direction in the middle is far more discernible as the celebrating Apaches clasp hands and sway around the mock fireplace. Animal Collective will likely flabbergast most, 10 seconds can often be enough to have the impatient running for a polished Chris Martin vignette. But, why would you deny yourself the chance to look through the portal that leads back to your childhood. These might be the boys least likely to but along the way they will lift the souls of many of the disenchanted. KD

Animal Collective - Winters Love

Album: Sung Tongs
Year: 2004
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It’s about time you discovered one of the most promising urban poets of our time. Conor Oberst may be only be 24 but his album ‘I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning’ is destined for greatness. While his trademark compositions lie in gentle brooding masterpieces ‘Road To Joy’ is about as lively as a double-saddled rodeo horse. This is a song in 2 parts; the first is restrained, calculated and tuneful. Oberst lashes out the wry couplets at a breathtaking pace so toe tapping will be tempered by a studious ear. Then as the listener enters the comfort zone, all hell breaks loose, brass sections flit about with gay abandon and the rest of the playing becomes as uneven as a silicon implant. When this boy decides to make some noise you'd better sit up and listen. KD

Bright Eyes - Road To Joy

Album: I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
Year: 2005
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Her voice is like an icicle, cool, detached and sharp yet always alluring. She comes from Sweden and was announced to the world by way of a little star that barely twinkled such was its demur attitude. ‘Something Nice’ comes from the same album and bears all the hallmarks of a great Stina Nordenstam record. The music is unhurried and hushed to the point that you could be at max volume before all of its subtleties are unveiled. There is a childlike quality to the singing, a purity that only Bjork can match. The playing is sparse; a guitar is plucked delicately while a steady trumpet swerves into view at opportune moments. To the uninitiated the whole thing can seem a little odd. This is a world away from the mainstream diet of polished mediocrity, Stina Nordenstam is a singular talent doing something different and doing it with sumptuous verve. KD

Stina Nordenstam - Something Nice

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: Stina Nordenstam
Year: 1994