Alt-J – An Awesome Wave

2012 was a great year for the UK. Between hosting the Olympics and the Queen’s Jubilee, British music outdid itself and really shone through while all eyes were on our little island. Alt-J’s debut album An Awesome Wave is an example of the UK’s indie scene innovating and advancing, with ‘Breezeblocks’ being one of the biggest tracks of the year.

Alt-J took the UK by storm last year by touring the festival circuit in the summer, including Reading/Leeds festival (Where I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of them!). They have recently announced a UK and North American

Goodman – Debut Album “What We Want”

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Young songwriter Michael Goodman, at 22, shows his craft is far beyond his years on the debut full length What We Want. The great collection of Power-Pop gems shows off Goodman’s competence for recreating the magic of those early dB’s and Elvis Costello albums while speaking for a new generation. He boasts that the album is for “nervous young people, tossing and turning because we don’t know just what we want,” and while that’s not so far off, I feel that his appeal is much broader than he accounts for. The arrangements are simple but effective and well executed and the melodies are instantly memorable. The album is as fun as it is melancholic and contemplative, and in the midst of the great year for Power-Pop that was 2012, What We Want calls attention to itself by relying more on his song-writing chops than on the production style.

Free Download: Glimpse Trio EP

Glimpse Trio

San Leandro band Glimpse Trio reminds us all how powerful and dynamic a rock trio can be. On their self-released EP, the band covers everything from frenzied Zappa-esque fusion tracks to bluesey acoustic rock songs. That they do this while always sounding like themselves is no small feat. Guitarist Mike Sopko, Bassist Chris Lopes, and Drummer Hamir Atwal all have such distinct playing styles that they can’t help but sound like themselves whether they’re playing the raucous punk track Holiday or the post-rock textures of Cogan (Song For

Terra Terra Terra- The Space We Create

The Space We Create

Terra Terra Terra, a Florida-based Pop-Rock band is gearing up to release their sophomore album on Round Kid Records. The Space We Create is a collection of big anthems and intimate lyrics. Soaring over heavy guitars and powerful drums, every melody on The Space We Create is so catchy that on repeated listens, I feel like I’ve been listening to this album for years.

Death Of The Neighbourhood- DOTN Redux

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After releasing the 2-disc, 32-track Self-Titled debut, Death Of The Neighbourhood, and record label ATIC Records decided to slim things down by releasing DOTN Redux, a collection of remastered songs picked from DOTN’s earlier releases along with 4 new songs. The collection is a beautiful mix of ambient textures, indie hip-hop beats, and haunting vocals all presented in a wide-lens cinematic scope.

Stephen Jones, formerly of Babybird, the UK group known for their 1996 hit, You’re Gorgeous, finds himself exploring simple lyrical themes that, in his unique frail

The Cold Napoleons- ‘Adversaries’ Song by Song

The young Pop mastermind Ryan DeRobertis has been on my radar for a while now, intermittently releasing awesome singles, amazing remixes, and popular mashups, but this weekend, he has released his first full length album of original material. Adversaries is collection of 10 songs featuring amazing pop writing mixed with chill-wave beats and indie-rock production.

You can get the album here on bandcamp.

Sky Ferreira- Ghost EP

Since 2010, Sky Ferreira has been buzzing around the indie-pop scene, dropping phenomenal singles, and postponing a full album. After her first EP As If! in 2011, Ferreira continues to experiment to find the right sound for her impending album, I’m Not Alright. In the meantime, Capitol Records has released another EP, Ghost. This time around, Ferreira seems to grow impatient with just being the ‘indie-synthpop girl’, and tries on a few different styles. Working with producers like Greg KurstinJon Brion, and Ariel Rechtshaid, Sky shows her versatility and vocal prowess. Each of the

Diamond Rings- Free Dimensional

Beginning his career as the front man for the post-punk band The D’Urbervilles, multi-instrumentalist John O began his Solo career as Diamond Rings back in 2008. After releasing his first album Special Affections to much acclaim, he was signed to Astrelwerks record label in New York.

For his follow up album Free Dimensional, to be released October 22nd, Diamond Rings continues his androgynous character and sophisticated synth pop style. Gender identity was the primary focus on Special Affections, and while the issues are still present on Free Dimensional, O’Regan feels nothing but comfortable in his skin.

What sets this album apart from