Category: indie rock
The Dead Heads – When I’m Dead
Were it not for the enthusiasm and graft of the Jeffrey siblings this Sydney band would never have stood a chance. I can see them now, neighbours banging down the walls as the two (and assorted comrades) strip the paint […]
Doves – The Sulphur Man
If only Doves had kept up the quality that they had fashioned on their first 2 albums. We’d be talking about one of the biggest bands in the world I fancy, sorta Elbowesque, with anthems aplenty but with enough morose […]
The Bell – Whatever Did You Say
While I am prone to a tearful outburst at the oddest of events I can’t say there was much in the way of moisture aggregation at the announcement of iTunes 10th birthday. Still completely mind boggled at how Apple have […]
Cayucas – High School Lover
Cayucas used to be called Oregon Bike Trails (who had a song called ‘Cayucas’) and the change of state (Cayucas is a small coastal town in California) has really served them well given the drop dead addictive nature of ‘High […]
Male Bonding – Bones
Just as long as there are bands like Male Bonding doing the rounds we can safely say that guitar music is not dead. Nor going to die anytime soon as it appears that the London lads (still don’t know how […]
Team Me – Dear Sister
Trondheim’s Team Me sure caught our attention last year with their splendid ‘Show Me’ single. In the end it easily made the cut for our best songs of 2012 and had we heard of them in 2011 I’m sure ‘Dear […]
Dinosaur Jr. – Watch The Corners
They appeared before Nirvana and Pearl Jam but I’ve always associated Dinosaur Jr. with that clutch of bands that so defined the early 90′s. In truth their influence has never reached the seismic levels achieved by those other bands but […]
Bouts – We Tried
Jaysus these lads are great, a Dublin 4-piece with genuine balls. Not something you come across very often and we’re scratching our heads wondering how they could have bypassed us for 2 EP’s and 1 whole LP. ‘We Tried’ comes […]
Dizzy Eyes – Let’s Break Up The Band
This may owe a mighty debt to the Pixies (and the Strokes circa the turn of the century) but even the most ardent fan of that game changing 90′s act would have to tip their hat to ‘Let’s Break Up […]
Danielson – Grow Up
Danielson, not he of the Karate Kid franchise I might add, is his usual contrarian self offering a delicious brand of off-kilter pop. This is a song of several parts that are seamlessly stitched into a coherent whole. So before […]
Wave Sleep Wave – Hey…What?
‘Hey…What?’ is a raw and dexterous piece of invention from New York’s Wave Sleep Wave. The sort of stuff that used to fill my 8 to 10pm listening berths when those slots were easily my favourite part of the day. […]
Harper Simon – Bonnie Brae
Harper Simon’s new LP is called ‘Division Street’ and for a minute I thought I’d spotted the primary influence in it’s naming. With receding braincells but a sprightly search engine technique I was soon to discover that Elliott Smith’s song […]