Blitzen Trapper myspace/blitzentrapper
Black River Killer EP (Sub Pop/Rhymemethod)

Featured tracks: Black River Killer, Big Black Bird

One of the new school of Sub Pop bands. Portland, Oregon’s Blitzen Trapper make Indie Folk/Country firmly planted in the 1970’s school of Neil Young song creation. That said, the Black River Killer EP grabbed me straight away with a sure-fire sound of Retro Folk Rock that sounds as legit as Mr Young, or Mr Buckingham for that matter. For lead singer and songwriter E. Earley, this all seems effortless.
DJ LOTION

Japandroids myspace/japandroids
Post-Nothing (Unfamiliar/Polyvinyl)
Featured tracks: Young Hearts Spark Fire, Heart Sweats

These dudes don’t make short, spikey tracks like I expected – but they are totally pumped and high energy through each of their tracks. These dudes make anthems – the average song length is about 5 minutes (I suck at maths). So they sound kinda like No Age if they were covering The Black Parade – which sounds pretty cool actually.
MINTY FRESH

Pastels / Tenniscoats myspace/thepastels |myspace/tenniscoats
Two Sunsets (EMI)

Featured tracks: About Us, Sodane

Extensive American indie band with lengthy career and sporadic releases takes the opportunity to get something new on the board after a suggestion by cutesy Japanese pop purveyors to collaborate. Sparse, cute, a little bit cinematic (in a Woody Allen lovefest kinda way), there’s room in these little ditties to appreciate every piece of them, and maybe appreciate whatever you’re doing who whoever you’re with at the time of listening a little bit more too.
COURTNEY FLURO

Juice Aleem myspace/jerusalaam
Jerusalaam Come (Big Dada / Ninja Tune / Border)

Featured tracks: First Lesson, The Killer’s Tears

UK MC Juice Aleem is back with a new album unusually titled ‘Jerusalaam Come’. His collective New Flesh (formerly New Flesh For Old) alongside Roots Manuva; were at the forefront of the new wave of British Hip-Hop championed by Ninja Tunes (and subsequently Big Dada) in the early norty’s. This album is no different in that regard – cutting edge, lyrically slick and forward thinking beats. Refreshing bizzo in the commercially Kanye-soaked booty-bass hip-hop market of 2009.
DJ LOTION

Yo La Tengo myspace/yolatengo
Popular Songs (Rhymemethod)

Featured tracks: Avalon Or Somewhere Very Similar, If It’s True

Prolific indie band release millionth album to rave reviews and critical acclaim which his all totally deserved because almost everything this band does (the Condo Fucks ‘Fuck Book’ – taking the piss out of the press by trying to confuse them with a side project that they swore wasn’t them and was just a covers album anyway so it didn’t really matter – was questionable) is solid-as.
COURTNEY FLURO

Atlas Sound myspace/bradfordcox
Logos (Kranky/4AD)

Featured tracks: Walkabout (feat. Noah Lennox), My Halo

I listened to this album just before I started cruising on the Interislander. I was sitting down, the boat started, I got hungry, stood up and started walking and my mind and body hadn’t adjusted to the fact that we were on water and I had this trippy/buzzy experience. And basically that is a great metaphor for this album.
MINTY FRESH

Taken By Trees myspace/takenbytreesmusic
East Of Eden (Rough Trade / The Label)

Featured tracks: Anna, Day By Day

Victoria Bergsman is probably best known for her guest vocal on the Peter, Bjorn & John smash-hit Young Folks. She has also previously fronted Pop darlings The Concretes. But from her home in Sweden Victoria decided to try something out of her comfort zone. Recording under the name Taken By Trees using Asian musicians & influences – East Of Eden was born. A concept album of sorts, but more a truly international bite out of contemporary Pop music.
DJ LOTION

Popstrangers myspace/popstrangers
Popstrangers EP (Independent)

Featured tracks: 1000, Take Me to the Grave

WOAH – THESE DUDES MAY BE POPSTRANGERS, BUT THEY ARE NO STRANGERS TO POPSENSIBILITIES HAHAHAHA. OK pretend you are a fish, and this delicious things drops down in front of you from out of the blue. You like the look of it, you bite it and you realise OH MY GOD THIS IS CATCHY (geddit?). Next, imagine you are biting into a savoury twist from the bakery. You think you bought the one that’s just cheese and pastery and then you realise IT HAS BACON BITS – I love bands who squide 7 different songs into one. OK so there isn’t really cheese in this twist, but swap the cheese for whatever you think the Arctic Monkeys would be in food form.
MINTY FRESH

The Big Pink myspace/musicfromthebigpink
A Brief History Of Love (Domino / Rhymemethod)

Featured tracks: Velvet, Dominos

Gemma / Minty Fresh thinks that the single from this album is pitching itself to replace Oasis’s numerous number ones as official English soccer game anthem, and whenever it comes on up at Active she refuses to do work (impossible apparently) instead kicking a soccer ball round the studio. Not only does this provide amazing entertainment, but she could just be right. Which is weird, because the rest of this album really is quite intelligently expansive electronica, that is more at home in Shoreditch dives – well, maybe a slightly bigger venue, but only just – than at a Stadium. So we’re playing the single Dominos and my favourite from the rest of the album Velvet to show the comparison, and you can decide which version of this band you prefer.
COURTNEY FLURO

The Clean myspace/theclean
Mister Pop (Arch Hill Recordings)

Featured tracks:In the Dreamland U Need a Rubber Soul, Asleep in the Tunnel

It seems that when people reach a certain age with a band there is always the chance that they will either become really anal with their recordings, or they will soft cock out. Luckily, from a young age The Clean seem to have been taking vitamins or something cause they are as satisfying as ever! This dreamy, Dunedin pop will charm the pants off of you. It’s a mature but quirky poptart – and oh how I love a good gypo Clean guitar solo!
MINTY FRESH