Music Recommendation #11: Double Dan

Double Dan hails from Malmo Sweden. These days it’s remarkable seeing all the band names already in use, and that it is so hard putting together a band name unless you think “irony”. And irony there is, there is two Dan’s in this band, Dan E. and Dan L. Anyways now that we are through with the band name thing, let’s talk about their music. When I first heard this band a few years ago, I was not immediately aware they consisted of members whom have/are playing with Double Dan, Acid House Kings, and Starlet among others.

That fact was clearly a pleasant surprise. I liken their sound to a quality that is just as good as all three of those bands, and perhaps just a little better. Sadly it is not uncommon for “side projects” to slip through the cracks and achieve less notoriety, but an artist like Double Dan is more than just another “side project”, they are deserving of your ears attention. Purveyors of Swedish pop can expect to be wowed by this band.

Recommended if you like: The Honeydrips, We & Lisa, The Embassy, Club 8, Acid House Kings, SKWBN, Sambassadeur, Radio Dept, Felt, Field, Mice, Belle and Sebastian, Erlend Oye, Most Valuable Players, National Bank, Ivy, Junior Boys;

Check them out here: www.myspace.com/thedoubledan

Bamboo House "s/t"

Bamboo House hails from Annandale, New York. Some of the most interesting lyrics that I’ve heard in recent memory are conveyed within these songs. Though at times the lyrics appear to have a little gloom and doom feel to them which is reminiscent to Elliott Smith’s in some ways, some of the songs do have humor attached to them, which when thinking of some of the lyrics days later, can make you crack a smile or chuckle. There are many creative lyrical phrases within the songs of Bamboo House, many phrases which I’ve not quite heard before which is an extremely rare quality these days with a lot of music having excessive usage of derivatives.

The vocals surely evoke Erlend Oye and Jose Gonzalez which is an interesting combination. The melodies have a post modern Nick Drake feel to them, but with the way the vocals are displayed along with the melodies, that eerie feel you’d hear from Drake’s songs is nearly non existent.

Check them out here: www.myspace.com/bamboohousemusic

Music Recommendation #10: Malkovic

Malkovic hails from Moscow Russia. The group features prominently two members, Alesha and Sasha, both of which have an interest in creating sounds, as described by them as “indie-lounge”. Ever since I became aware of their music sometime in 2006, I’ve been a consistent fan of their work. Their most recent release “Little Estrada” is highly recommended by me, and to date is their sole full length album.

Little Estrada is a diverse album, which would most definitely appeal to fans of lounge, pop and bossa nova. Malkovic draws a lot of influence from such artists as The Free Design, Kings of Convenience, and The Notwist among others. There are a lot of great qualities to the music of Malkovic; I’ll name three such qualities: their lovely melodies, their lovely vocals, and the diversity of their sound. Another notable contribution behalf of Malkovic is they have songs written in English, Russian and French.

They do have some interesting videos to go along with their sound scapes, you may check them out here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Am2I9h7aAOA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_SrOv9Z9uU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWDowFwVNMM


The music of Malkovic is highly recommended for fans of the following:

The Free Design, Kings of Convenience, The Notwist, Ivy, Prefab Sprout, Acid House Kings, Stereolab, Anthony Rochester, Swedish Pop, Soviet Retro pop, Field Mice, Sondre Lerche, The High Llamas, Air France, Chamber Music, Bossa Nova, Lounge, Pop, etc.

Check them out here: http://www.myspace.com/malkovic

Music Recommendation #9: Mammoth Life

Mammoth Life hails from Lawrence Kansas. This “big” band includes synthesizer, violin, drums, keyboard, guitar, bass... along with soaring male and female vocals. Some of their most favorite artists include the Beach Boys and Devo. In their new song “Boy Blue, An American Lion”, their guitars evoke The Smiths’ “Meat Is Murder” and the vocals remind me a lot of the finest moments from Mew’s “Frengers” album. The genre of Mammoth Life is best described by them as Orchestral Western Pop, Kaleidoscopic Art Pop, and Western Pop.

Their music comes highly recommended by me, especially for fans of: The Beach Boys, Camera Obscura, Sondre Lerche, Belle and Sebastian, Thunder Power, sincerity and individuality.

Mammoth Life goes on tour June/July and will be playing over 3 weeks of shows in Midwest and West Coast of the USA.

See a Mammoth Life video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Loxn_ES4kII

For more info see:

www.mammothlife.net
www.myspace.com/officialmammothlife

Music Recommendation #8: The Odd Fiddler

The Odd Fiddler hails from Stockholm Sweden. Within his lyrics, main member Pell P. Arvidsson conveys charm, naivety, desperation, frustration, depression, love and death, among other things. What makes The Odd Fiddler unique is that his music is nearly incomparable to other artists, and the way in which he projects himself is a style that has allowed many listeners the ability to fall in love with the songs, or hate them to pieces. The obscurity in style is surely what attracts listeners to The Odd Fiddler, in addition to his charm and his overwhelming humor. See “The Odd Fiddler” video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B9BXSrXPHU

Check out The Odd Fiddler here: http://www.myspace.com/theoddfiddler

Check out Pell’s newest creations here: http://www.myspace.com/pellparvidsson

Normandie Wilson

Normandie Wilson hails from San Diego, California. Recently she mailed me a full length CDR of her songs, and I was pleasantly surprised. I had so much joy in hearing her songs that I allowed the album to be played a few times before I caught some sleep. The joy from listening took me back to a time when I discovered the sounds of Sondre Lerche.

The vocal styling reminds me a lot of standards’, the confidence within the vocals is nearly unmatched today. At other times her vocal styling reminds me of the youngsters/twins Miriam and Johanna, of which make up Taxi! Taxi!. The lyrics are very remarkable; at times they evoke Cole Porter. The piano playing reminds me a bit of Elliott Smith and Schroder from “The Peanuts”.

In all, everything from the percussion, the piano, the trumpets, etc. all appears in the right place. Normandie’s songs are all over the place musically most obvious the lounge and pop feel, but also at times perhaps borderline jazz? Anyways I’m very happy that my ears met them.

Hear more here: www.myspace.com/normandiewilson

Music Recommendation #7: Television Keeps Us Apart

Television Keeps Us Apart hails from Stockholm & Linköping Sweden. They make very “hip” sounding pop music with beats that one can easily dance to. I believe the main story lines to the songs are based on life, love & relationships. When I first heard them was a few years back, it was their song “Never Be Alone” that received the repeated attention of my ears.

The most recent release from Television Keeps Us Apart is their six song EP “A SLIGHT CHANGE OF LIGHT”, which you may download for free at their site here http://www.litdeparade.org/ via clicking their name. Cal and Axel, the sole members of Television Keeps Us Apart have been together for 4 years now, and will hopefully be around much longer.

Television Keeps Us Apart is very highly recommended to fans of many Swedish pop bands including: The Radio Dept, The LK, Oh! Custer, Suburban Kids With Biblical Names, Springfactory, Oh! Sweet Music, The Big Picture, among others…

Check them out here as well: http://www.myspace.com/televisionkeepsusapart

Artisokka “Sea Bed”

Artisokka hails from Helsinki Finland. They are a six piece band with arrangements of great maturity and complexity. Artisokka is clearly one of the best sounding followers of Nick Drake that I’ve ever heard. What I like most about this band is how eclectic their sound is, with perfect sounding elements of jazz and lounge in addition to their common folk and pop sounds.

When I put this album in a few months ago, the words “more horns please” came into my mind. I’d heavily recommend Artisokka to fans of Kings of Convenience, Sondre Lerche, Nick Drake, Poland, Jaga Jazzist, and Radiohead’s “Kid A” among others.

Check them out here: www.myspace.com/artisokkanet

Music Recommendation #6: The Argyle Wishlist

The Argyle Wishlist hails from Milwaukee Wisconsin. He’s been around for years making short and lovely indie pop songs. First Jesse Bell got his start with a garage pop combo in Michigan named the Keen and in 2004 began writing under his new moniker. He’s self released several EPs on his Pickupsticks label including some splits, and has appeared on compilations and has released some full lengths, his most recent being “My Thoughts Exactly”.

Recently Jesse from The Argyle Wishlist has collaborated at a distance with a French artist named Stephane, also known as Skittle Alley. Together they have penned several songs, some of which they plan to release on their imprint named The Postcard Music. Also within the last few months, Jesse has added members to The Argyle Wishlist band including Zach on bass guitar and Tim on the drums. Jesse Bell has also made some music videos including one for his song “More Midwestern” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql_QlRvK8Uc and also a video for Seattle’s favorite chamber pop band named Poland for their song “Your Sunday Book” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ5TpRlJuhY

The Argyle Wishlist has listed the following influences:
The Bats, The Beach Boys, Beat Happening, The Beatles, Beulah, Buddy Holly, Burt Bacharach, The Clash, The Clean, Elvis Costello, The Jam, The Kinks, The Lucksmiths, Matthew Sweet, XTC, The Zombies, etc.

Check out The Argyle Wishlist on MySpace here: http://www.myspace.com/theargylewishlist

Music Recommendation #5: Oh Sweet Music!

Oh Sweet Music! hails from Stockholm, Sweden. Although the name is only known by relatively few people, the whistling in their song “Four Long Years” is surely recognizable already to many. Recently their song “Four Long Years” was used in a major ad campaign to help others relearn life without smoking. See the commercial here (again) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_4iNXwG7Mc

Oh Sweet Music! is influenced by world politics, and the cheery Malmo Sweden music scene. His music is highly recommended by me for those that love short Swedish pop songs with emphasis on lovely melodies, vocals, humor and of course whistling. Also their music is highly recommended if you like artists such as Suburban Kids With Biblical Names, Tafra, Springfactory, Klas, Loney Dear, Oh! Custer, The Big Picture, Robert Church, The Sound of Arrows, and other great Swedish pop bands.

Magnus is the main man behind Oh Sweet Music! but also included in the songs are members Mackan, Riley, Amanda, Mathias, Mikael, Valdet and Wilhelm.

Check them out here: www.myspace.com/ohsweetmusic

Music Recommendation #4: Antony Harding of Ant/Lonely Boy

Antony Harding hails from Malmo Sweden, but also has former ties to the UK. I discovered his solo project “Ant” around 2005 through his album “A Long Way to Blow a Kiss” (2002). That album in particular struck my fancy the most. Before his solo project, Antony Harding was a drummer for the indie band named “Hefner” whom featured Darren Hayman on the vocals. Antony Harding later collaborated at a distance with poetry writer/ cartoon artist Eivind Kirkeby of Norway, and together they formed the music project known as “Lonely Boy” and released one album together which struck my fancy also.

The music of “Ant” and “Lonely Boy” is strongly recommended if you like heart felt acoustic songs with lovely vocals.

You may download (3) free and legal songs from “Lonely Boy” at this link http://indiepages.com/seriestwo/017.html

Check out Ant and Lonely Boy at MySpace

http://www.myspace.com/lonelyboyandothertragedies

http://www.myspace.com/antonyharding

Music Recommendation #3: Old Time Radio

Old Time Radio hails from Gdansk Poland. They are a three member band which formed initially almost 10 years ago. The band has a very eclectic sound which I’d associate with simplicity, obscurity and all out lovely. Together as a band, Old Time Radio has completed a few albums with their most recent offering being a long player of Christmas songs, all of which are written by the band.

Old Time Radio comes heavily recommended to fans of bands such as Kings of Convenience, Stereolab, Camera Obscura, Radio Dept, Warm Morning, Robert Church, The High Llamas and others.

The members of Old Time Radio are as follows: Tomasz Garstkowiak (vocals, guitars), Magda Szkudlarek (vocals, synthesizers) and Piotr Salewski (bass guitar).

Check them out here: www.myspace.com/otradio

Royal Chord “The Good Fight”

The Royal Chord band hails from Melbourne Australia, with ties also in Guatemala and the UK. Among the many many bands/artists in Australia, Royal Chord is one of the most interesting that I’ve heard from that land since my introduction to artists such as Anthony Rochester and Agnes Kain. The lyrics to Royal Chord’s songs seem simple yet they are very meaningful. The vocals recall early Feist, early Cat Power, and the Dreamers. The backing music has certain uniqueness to it as it reminds me of what I would hear from early Beach House.

Royal Chord has been touring the world off and on throughout the last few years, would be good to make the effort to see them.

Check them out here: www.myspace.com/royalchordroyalchord

Tweefort

Tweefort is music and art collective which hails from New Haven Connecticut. Dan and Aileen started Tweefort in 2009 with a mission. That mission is to bring “pop” bands through New Haven to do live shows and to work hard in hopes of building a cohesive following around the music they promote. Recently they expanded their mission into also promoting artists via physical compilations which they have released on Tweefort. Tweefort has also started releasing free download net releases of singles and ep’s from bands which they like.

Everyone’s contribution to music is unique regardless of whether they are a fan, a promoter or contribute to a band. The theme of the compilation series is to showcase bands from Connecticut and abroad, with some of the bands already having played a show organized by Tweefort and some with hopes of doing so in the future. Tweefort has a new compilation coming forward in February, and certainly many singles, ep’s, etc. releases coming out this year as well.

Tweefort has a broad sense for the many sub genres of “pop” bands and welcomes those interesting in playing a show to contact them.

More info here: http://tweefort.com/about/

kissing party "the hate album"

Kissing Party hails from Denver Colorado. Their lyrics have certain sweetness to them and are presented with a natural sing along structure. The vocals are soft and lovely. Their melodies recall early Stills, early Strokes, Joy Division, and Hearts By Darts.

Although Kissing Party may not be very well known yet, these songs certainly provide a potential for far more. One important aspect of quality to note is that there are many indie/pop bands which haven’t quite made it as far in terms of progress and recording quality as Kissing Party has reached in their 4 years as a band. Recent trendoid bands like PAINS haven’t quite done it for me or much of anyone. Bands with a little more seasoning than PAINS such as Kissing Party are perfectly capable for filling the void from those feelings of disappointment.

Check them out here: www.myspace.com/thekissingparty

Best Kept Secret Tape Label's 13 years...

A good friend Alessandro has put to rest his life long labor of love. Below is a statement which he released regarding the demise of Best Kept Secret.

"January 2010: just a quick note to let you all know that twelve years and one-hundred and fifty-two releases (well, one-hundred and fifty, since a couple of them never actually happened, despite having been given a catalog number) later, Best Kept Secret is ceasing operations for good.

A number of circumstances (mostly personal) have left me without much of a choice and have thus led me to eventually make such a painful decision.

There are a million things I may write about how fun it was to run Best Kept Secret, the difference the label has made in my life since its early days and what the support of anyone I have come to know (and sometimes meet) and dealt with over the years has meant to me, but I believe that some things are better left unsaid, as I guess that everyone is aware of how it feels when factors we have no control over force us to give up on things, situations or people we really care for.

I will therefore go ahead and send out a big THANK YOU and just as big a HUG to anyone who has helped us with things we could not do ourselves, to all the bands/artists who have trusted us with their music and to anyone who has taken the time to write about our releases or has otherwise supported us along the way by buying or trading for our tapes or simply by showing appreciation and providing encouragement with a few kind words.

As for the back catalog, I will do my best to maintain availability of the releases that are currently not deleted already for some time (possibly through the end of the year). Both the main site and this page will also remain visible for a while yet.

And this is about it, I guess.

So long, everybody."

The Desks "The Same Mistakes"

The Desks are from Australia. It is a boy named Jeff and his guitar. Some of the songs are upbeat while others have the ability to tug on the heart strings quite a bit. A quality in songs that is very similar to early Bright Eyes or Teitur for example. One thing that sets The Desks so much apart from other songwriters of his kind is he can surely jam pack an album full of songs that seemingly fit together remarkably well.

Check em out here: www.myspace.com/desks

Music Recommendation #2: Kevin Wright/The Party and the Guests

Kevin Wright is a musical genius who has been involved in music for nearly 30 years through various music projects including his solo “Mr Wright” and “The Dreamers”. Kevin Wright’s style is very unique and is described commonly by fans as lounge or bossa nova.

His influences are diverse and include some of the following: soundtrack music, Serge Gainsbourg, Joao Gilberto, Syd Barrett, Nat King Cole, Robert Wyatt, Avant Garde, etc.

His long awaited solo album “Diary of a Fool” was released in 2009 and was followed by an announcement that it would be his last solo album. Now, Kevin Wright is shifting a lot of attention towards his NEW music project called “The Party and the Guests” (pictured above with member Boll Bundy). Together with Boll Bundy, they have made an album of well crafted songs which should see a release sometime early on in 2010.

Here’s (3) free downloads from Kevin’s final solo album http://www.indiepages.com/seriestwo/063.html

Links to his music projects:

The Party and the Guests http://www.myspace.com/thepartyandtheguests

Mr Wright http://www.myspace.com/mrwrightandalways

The Dreamers http://www.myspace.com/thedreamersspace

Jonas Schwartz - Am I Even Close? (CD-R)

It seems that every blogger is like "oh man, sorry I haven't been posting lately", that is every blogger who is not getting paid. Many of the regularly updated blogs have an income and people do it as a job. It's our (I mean you too) responsibility to keep unpaid independent blogs up to keep people knowing about great new acts bands like Jonas Schwartz.

I just got a CD-R from this guy with a hand written track listing. No myspace plug, no contact info, no nothing! Which brings me back to a notion on an Asian indie pop compilation I got through Series Two, it said "Let us all share and enjoy music." I think that is a beautiful statement which Jonas personifies.

When I first put the CD on, I thought it was something my girl friend might like, well at least I would like to listen to in her company on a nice relaxed overcast afternoon. It sounds like a rainy day, but is beautiful in the same manner. The vocals kind of strain sometimes in an almost lo-fi way, but this is very much folk, with melodies reminiscent of some Alela Diane stuff. Anyway, if you are relaxed, visit his myspace (which I had to google!!)

http://www.myspace.com/jonasschwartz

Music Recommendation #1: Poland

The band Poland, hails from Seattle, Washington. I was first introduced to their music around late 2007. Their late 2008 release of "Most of Them Are Clockwork" would be found in many listings for albums of the decade, that is if the people that made such lists actually heard this album. In September of 2009 they quickly followed up with "Please Interstellar Policeman". With lyrics and melodies simply described as "poignant", this band is a must hear, especially for hardcore fans of The High Llamas, Testbild!, Ian Curtis, Todd Rundgren, and The Beatles.

If you ever have the chance to see their live performance, it is a must. I consider my experience seeing them at Nebraska Pop Festival in 2009 as the best that I've seen to date. They rocked the roof off the building.

Members of the band include: Mark Bombara (guitar) Mark Romanowski (guitar, voice) Shane Peck (drums, voice) Noah Wilson (bass) Lydia Nor (voice) Janet Utterback-Peck (violin) Karen Halliburton (violin) Brianna Atwell (viola).
In total the members of the band have over 100 years of music experience easily. With such a lifetime dedication towards music, you can't go wrong with this band.

Members of the band also appear in the following bands actively today: Laguna, Mr. and Mrs. Muffins, Pretty Abandoned, and others;

Total of (6) free and legal downloads here http://www.indiepages.com/seriestwo/040.html and here http://www.indiepages.com/seriestwo/085.html

Their MySpace is here: http://www.myspace.com/polandmusic

Joseph's End of the Year List

Hey guys,
I been so busy of late but with any luck I will be increasing (dramatically) my postings.
Instead of acknowledging the artists here, I will acknowledge the labels who I think have done consistently good things this year:

Badminton Bandit
These guys live around the corner from me. They are special, there is a loose relation to the Good Boys hip hop posse, who totally rock.

Meupe
I don't know much about these guys, their releases are kind of dark, but I like their ethos. The Ambassador From Everywhere nights are really something to watch out for.

Tomlab
The first of two Canadian labels, kind of affiliated, love Mt Eerie, and LOVE the David Shrigley artwork usage.

Blocks Recording Club
I have been listening to a release that showcases their artists practically non-stop and the Picastro album is finally out!

Rainbow Quartz
For consistency and reliability in awesome indie pop.

Series Two
The most personally important of the bunch, because Christopher's heart and dedication are so strong, that anything Series Two does is worthwhile.

I hope everyone's New Year was great.

Series Two Chris' 2009 year end list

*Here is a listing of best albums introduced to the ears of “Series Two Chris” during the year 2009. The list prominently contains albums released during 2009 year but may also include a few from year(s) prior. Among the few hundred albums heard during 2009 by me, here below I present my list of albums I enjoyed the most.

BEST FULL LENGTHS:

1. Cleemann “45 Minutes Mostly About Caring”
2. Poland “Interstellar Policeman”
3. Minakumari “Rasa”
4. Homestories “Click-Click-Clack-Clack”
5. Mr. Wright “Diary of a Fool”
6. Nebraska Pop Festival mixtape
7. Kings of Convenience “Declaration of Dependence”
8. Malkovic “Little Estrada”
9. Spencer McGillicutty “Games”
10. Zanin’s Magic Crayon “S/T”
11. My Autumn Sons “Perfect”
12. Series Two Compilation: Volume 15 through Volume 23 (9 CD set)
13. Hearts By Darts “S/T”
14. Series Two Christmas Compilation
15. Chuck Morgan “Patchworks”
16. James & The Express “Are Your Tomatoes Safe?”
17. Mammoth Life “Kaleidoscopic Art Pop”
18. Brave Radar “A Building”
19. Pennyhawk “The Mystery Mines”
20. Artisokka “Sea Bed”
21. Argyle Wishlist “My Thoughts Exactly”
22. Tinycakes “The First Two Years”
23. Christopher Ostrom “Audio Loading…Please Wait…”
24. Mother Z’s “S/T”
25. Landerim “Shallow Draw”

Honorable Mentions (FULL LENGTHS):

Pretty Abandoned Quintet “Searchlights”
2 out of 3 rule “Really Elementary”
Andras Toth (his three long play CDRs)
We & Lisa “Dreams Within A Dream”

BEST EP’S/SINGLES:
1. Thunder Power “Love Yourself”
2. Mr. & Mrs. Muffins “S/T”
3. Transmittens (3 inch)
4. Jodi & the Morning Glory Parade “Every Morning We Must Say Good Morning”
5. Mari Shimamura “S/T”
6. Old Time Radio “Find the Difference”
7. Double Dan “At Dawn”
8. Cowboy Indian Bear “S/T”
9. Weak Ends “We”
10. Man From Another Place “The Loneliest Cowboy”
11. Astruval “S/T”
12. Robert Church and the Holy Community “Wizard On Fire”
13. Opaluc “Including Five Tracks”
14. Pedestrian Pets “Over”
15. French Woods “The TV Outlaws”

MOST ADMIRED PERSONALITIES (no particular order):

Cesar (Zanin’s Magic Crayon/UK)
Dereck (Cleemann/Son Ambulance/NEBRASKA)
Gunnar, Jeanne and Michael (Cleemann/DENMARK)
Hiroho (Hiroho’s Music Friends/JAPAN)
Edward (Workerbee Records/IOWA)
Bibo (Cuddle Pop/INDONESIA)
Matt (Electric Needle Room/Mav Radio/NEBRASKA)
Will (Thunder Power/City Weekly/NEBRASKA)
Jef (Barley Street/NEBRASKA)
Nate (Ames Progressive/IOWA)
James (Tinycakes/ILLINOIS)
Andrew (Fensepost/WASHINGTON)
Yves (Hands & Arms/FRANCE)
Jesse (Argyle Wishlist/Postcard Music/WISCONSIN)
Danny (Tweefort/CONNECTICUT)
Joseph (EIF blog + very good man/AUSTRALIA)
JuanCar (Toxicosmos/SPAIN)
Javi (Shake Finger Pop/SPAIN)
Tomohiro (Flannel/JAPAN)
Matt + Chris (Charlie Big Time/UK)
Sergio (A Pleasant Dream/SPAIN)
Eike (Das Klienicum/GERMANY)
Thomas (Pigeon Lane/GERMANY)
Shane, Mark B & R, “Brian”, Noah, Nanda, Janet, Karen; (Poland/WASHINGTON)
Anders (My Autumn Sons/SWEDEN)
Kevin (Mr. Wright/UK)
Andy & Becca (Mother Z’s/ILLINOIS)
Casey (MAV RADIO/NEBRASKA)

Honorable mentions: Special thanks to all that make “Series Two” what it is today. And to all that ever supported the bands and all the projects I’ve worked so hard for.

Hugs,
Christopher

Best of 2009

Top 10:
1. The Mary Onettes - "Islands"
2. Afternoon Naps - "Parade"
3. Cheap Red - "Cheap Red"
4. Burning Hearts - "Aboa Sleeping"
5. The Besties - “Home Free”
6. A Sunny Day In Glasgow - "Ashes Grammar"
7. Camera Obscura - "My Maudlin Career"
8. Dream Date - "Patience"
9. The Drums - "The Drums EP"
10. Summer Cats - "Songs For Tuesdays"

Honorable Mention:
11. The Lovely Eggs - "If You Were Fruit"
12. Bricolage - "Bricolage"
13. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart"
14. Let's Wrestle - "In The Court of The Wrestling Let's"
15. Hiawata! - "These Boys and This Band is All I Know"
16. Brilliant Colors - "Introducing"
17. Cats On Fire – “Our Temperance Movement”
18. The Raveonettes - "In and Out of Control"
19. The Legends - "Over and Over"
20. Very Truly Yours – “Reminders” EP

Worth a listen:
21. Suburban Kids With Biblical Names – #4 EP
22. Bad Lieutenant - "Never Cry Another Tear"
23. Dum Dum Girls - "Dum Dum Girls"
24. The Pastels & Tenniscoats - "Two Sunsets"
25. God Help The Girl - "God Help The Girl"

Haunted Stereo-Cross The Sea EP

Haunted Stereo is a 5+ piece "folk/pop" group from Southampton in the United Kingdom. "Cross The Sea" is their most recent release, an 8 song EP. This all may be true, but there is much, much more to be said about this group and this release. I'll focus on "Cross The Sea" which has been released as an EP but plays more like a LP. Listening to the 30 minute disc you hear both female and male vocals, guitar, bass, drums, violin, piano, melodica, accordion...and more. Though it never feels cluttered or forced. Everything falls into place beautifully. Each song stands wonderfully on it's own, yet I get the feeling that none of them could exist without the others (or I'm glad they don't). This is what I mean by it playing more like an LP, each song flows perfectly into the next. "Cross The Sea" is a very charming, passionate and sincere record with no wasted moments, it is wonderfully paced and has a rather timeless quality. It will certainly be getting repeated plays on my stereo.

To find out more about Haunted Stereo please visit: http://www.myspace.com/hauntedstereomusic or
http://hauntedstereo.co.uk/

Mr. and Mrs. Muffins "s/t" ep

MR. & MRS. MUFFINS is a true story of two muffins united in love in Jakarta. Now the Muffins reside in Seattle. Together they share lovely melodies, whistles, and of course lots of love in their songs. My most favorite muffin creation has to be “The Ladybird’s Theme” which is a song that sports some of the most lovely vocals I have ever heard. Looking forward to more fully baked creations coming from them soon I hope.

Check em out here: www.myspace.com/mrandmrsmuffins