• Bark Hide And Horn - Trumpeter Swan
• The New Year - The Company I Can Get
• Dead Confederate - The Rat
• Leerone - To Fill The Void
• Mardeen - We’re Moving Eyes

Locksley - All Over Again
I like fresh baked goods. I like fresh baked goods quite a bit, actually. I would say that I am a fresh baked goods aficionado. Thus, I like Locksley an ample lot. What does being a fan of fresh baked goods have to do with enjoying a musical act? Well, silly, just like fresh baked goods, Locksley’s All Over Again is piping hot with a crunchy guitar exterior, crackling willingly and satisfyingly as you bite into it, revealing the lissome, yielding melody inside. The spryness hooks you completely, Theirs might even be somewhat of an international recipe, having a particular Britpop aroma to their instrumentation. Yummy.

Rainbow Arabia - Let Them Dance
The results of Rainbow Arabia’s Middle Eastern electronica fusion piece Let Them Dance wouldn’t be as remarkable as, say, one of those pseudo-enlightened Deep Forest songs, were it not for the roguish punk lip it revels in. Vocals squelch wildly amidst the song’s discordant instrumentation, invoking an acute, slicing edge which enchances the feeling of complete abandonment, slowly growing into an hedonistic, inhibition-stripping feast of dizzying withdrawal.

This one is far-out escapism, bred in the still-warm test tubes of 1960s pop, peppy and shimmering, light and fanciful, with sliding guitars streaming mellifluously, beach house drums smiling along, and even a windy flute to punctuate the lithe melody. But the song isn’t some “lay back and take in the sun” affair. No, there’s a sense of urgency which permeates the surfiness, an earnest desire to get into the benign atmosphere, pushed forward with such unflagging optimism it’s almost superhuman. It’s easy to be apologetic about such a shiny, not-a-care-in-the-world song, especially in the state of current world trends, but face it: we need this kind of woolgathering to help re-centre ourselves.

The two-man Italian ensemble pull out all the stops with this thrilling, exhilarating, powerhouse, dramatic, explosive, unrelenting, unforgiving, unstoppable, ear splitting, flesh overheating, brain rending, punchy frantic conqueror of a song. Straddled between a country barn burner and an Irish drinking song, this will be the closest you will get to the feeling of fleeing from a machete-waving lunatic. At least, I hope it will be. For your sake.

Spindrift - The New West
If the old west belonged to cowboys, prospectors, and 49ers, Spindrift is of the opinion that The New West is a phantomlike remnant of what it used to be, now claimed by the dissafected, the lost, and the drifters. Combining effected-out steel pedal guitars echoing the anthemic strains of western mystery with the gypsy hum of achingly menacing accordions, this pysched-out refrain will set you in the centre of a vast peyote-drenched land, the howls of singer Kirpatrick Thomas echoing hauntingly through the thick starry night.

Tim Williams - Tape Your Head
If things are looking up for Tim Williams, it’s not by complete fluke or chance occurrence. Here, it’s obvious that the man has a knack for coming up with excellent pop songs, of which Tape Your Head is of no exception. It’s a thorough and atmospheric song, richly arranged with layer upon layer of textures to give it an immense, stately demeanour. The execution is without fail and Williams’ heart is in the right place, keeping the song from just being a bland pizza with everything on top.

Well then, can one of these super-brained magpies recognize the undeniable impact and promise of Nova Scotia’s Mardeen? I mean, if they’re that smart an animal, then they will have no trouble siding with these guys and their energetic, vivid music. And aside from having an incredible album made up of power-pop tunes composed with un-minded force, the Mardeen boys were able to dig up the inspiration for an infectious anthem like We’re Moving Eyes. It showcases the band’s undeniable lust to achieve a perfect melody, and they achieve it with high-flying aerobatics of power-pop guitar crunches, which go from fuzzy to pristine in a flip, and earwiggishly spright vocals which sieze your attention for days on end. It’s a mood-shifter, straighforward and brimming one moment, explosive and elevating the next, from the marching drums of the opener to the supporting background horns, this is a song which even the lowliest of conscious life forms should get attached to.

Seriously, why wouldn’t I want to have her plodding away at the piano, filling my home with her indisputably winsome and surprisingly pensive chamber pop airs? Go ahead, give a listen to Into The Void and let it caress your inner ear. Let Leerone’s watery vocals burst with attentive delicacy as she softly conjures her consciousness-dripped lyricism into a doubting tune about one’s modern identity. Be surprised at the song’s lively, sing-a-long balladeering and its spirited, rich, and vivid melody, perhaps serving as the ultimate consecration of the song’s message. Take the time to feel the fecund sonic panorama, rich from her guiding piano chords, coddling drums, and a multitude of synth trills to space it out good and proper. It’s not quirky, it’s honest. It’s not cute, it’s captivating. It’s the equivalent of meeting a girl at an art exhibition instead of at a bar. And that’s why I’d take her home.

Of course, I didn’t tell my girlfriend that the 12 per cent life extension bonus is applicable only to men, but I’m sure she’ll still be good with that. Surely.

Joel Plaskett Emergency - Fashionable People
On one end of the spectrum, you have Stacy London and Clinton Kelly striving to the very end of their precious little knowledge to turn us all into fashionable people. Then, on the other side, you have Joel Plaskett who’s telling us that fashionable people are “doing questionable things” and that it’s the most natural thing they could be doing. So is becoming fashionable, in essence, dooming us infamy? I think I’ll just take Joel’s warnings to heart; his thrilling bombastic folk-rock is much more compelling than sweating over whether my pinstripe pants match with my argyle sweater.

Beaten By Them - The Asiatic Capital Vista
Right now, if anyone hears the words “asiatic” and “beaten by them” in the same sentence, they’ll immediately think of the Chinese gold medal monopoly at the Beijing games (even if you discount those gymnastics medals). But true believers will instead think of mystic, spacey, superbly paced music, such as composed by Beaten By Them. Their slow-grow, post-rock The Asiatic Capital Vista is a marvellous, esoteric vision, built upon impressionistic arrangements and melancholy violins. A great little journey to jump into.