Berated

Justin Vernon has his work cut out for him. The incredible For Emma, Forever Ago, released in 2007 under the moniker Bon Iver (one of many winter references), showed what Vernon was capable of; it was full of emotionally jarring, deeply personal, and overtly rustic songs that worked beautifully to convey Vernon’s dark sentiments. That debut [...]

Junior Boys’ grasp of electronica is the farthest thing from linear, as has been shown from day one with their 2004 debut Last Exit. Dance-ready, electro-pop gems like “High Come Down” and Birthday” incorporated seamlessly alongside darkly brooding retrospectives like “More Than Real” and “Teach Me How to Fight”, helping turn Last Exit into one [...]

The Elliots evade traditional Swedish pop stereotyping, exchanging key-led twinkles and exuberant string-soaked choruses for moody ambience. The strings and keys remain, as seem the Swedish custom, but are presented with bleaker and darker tones that rely more on evolving moods than receptive hooks. On their new album Love|Decay, producer Charles Storm helped the Gothenburg-based [...]

Being billed as the UK’s answer to Kings of Leon immediately lumps a rather large weight on the shoulders of London trio Them Changes. But nevertheless, that seems to be the word about town. Not bad for an act that started its life as Michael Kiwanuka’s backing band. They eventually decided to form their own [...]

The most popular act of all-time (in a certain country) does not really coincide with what this site usually features, but Southern All Stars remains overlooked by western audiences regardless. The exposure here seems useful in that sense. After listening to their top songs, any fan of quality pop music would agree. The group’s frontman [...]

The completely unknown Canopies will not remain elusive for long. That much is easy to predict when listening to “Rebels”, a track that is bound to explode in the music blogosphere.  On their name-your-price EP (download it here), the Milwaukee-based trio have incorporated their love for ’80s synth-pop with recent indie-rock innovations, resulting in an [...]

The first time I saw Pete Lawrie live, he toddled on stage nervously and, perched on the edge of it, said “I get a bit nervous when I perform, so I think this is the best way to break the ice…” He then, without being in front of the microphone, began tearing into his acoustic [...]

There were some great new breakthroughs this month. Bands like Skeletons, The Wandas, and Art Imperial turned in solid work that should propel their status significantly. As far as more familiar names go, Man Man and My Morning Jacket provided an equal dose of hook-filled rock and trademark experimentation, while other familiar names like Black [...]