SECRETLY CANADIAN 'SC100'

(Secretly Canadian, 2007)

01 See(ing) Double - Nikki Sudden (covering a June Panic song from the album Baby's Breadth
02 The Last Bandit - Songs:Ohia (covering a Nikki Sudden song from the album Texas)
03 Structure:Necessity - Suzanne Langille (covering a Songs:Ohia song from the album Impala)
04 The Escape - Early Day Miners (covering a Suzanne Langille & Loren MazzaCane Connors song from The Enchanted Forest)
05 Upstate - Damien Jurado (covering an Early Day Miners song from the lp version of Let Us Garlands Bring)
06 Abilene - Dave Fischoff (covering a Damien Jurado song from Where Shall You Take Me?)
07 Propaganda For A Comic Strip - Danielson (covering a Dave Fischoff song from The Ox And The Rainbow)
08 Fruitful Weekend - June Panic (covering a Danielson song from Tri-Danielson!!!(Omega))
09 Soft Eventings - Ativin (covering a Marmoset song from the ep Mishawaka)
10 Lungs For The Race - Swearing At Motorists (covering a Havergal song from Lungs For The Race)
11 Riding And Roaming - Havergal (covering an Ativin song from the ep Summing The Approach)
12 The Real Thing - Racebannon (covering at Swearing At Motorists song from This Flag Signals Goodbye)
13 Clubber Lang - Cornelius Boots (covering a Racebannon song from In The Grips Of The Light)
14 Your Beat Kicks Back Like Death - Jens Lekman (covering a Scout Niblett song from I Am)
15 Sky Phenomenon - Marmoset (covering a Jens Lekman song from the ep Maple Leaves)
16 40 Years Of Our Family - The Impossible Shapes (covering a Japonize Elephants song from Bob's Bacon Barn)
17 Birds - The Panoply Academy (covering an Impossible Shapes song from We Like It Wild)
18 Highlight And Marginalia - The Japonize Elephants (covering a Panoply Academy song from No Dead Time)

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HARRIS NEWMAN 'DECORATED'

(Strange Attractors, 2007)

Harris Newman - acoustic & electric guitars, lapsteel guitar
Eric Craven - drums ("Thee Opera House Stomp")

01 Cavalcade of the Sightless
02 Anamnesis
03 Decorated
04 The Malarial Two-Step
05 Blues for Vilhelm
06 Golden Valleys as Seen From the East
07 Our Return to Black Wolf Mountain
08 Thee Opera House Stomp
09 I Need a Quarter to Call the Ambulance

"In contrast to the name of the album, Harris Newman opts for a somewhat stripped-down, almost minimalist approach to Decorated. Subtle and introspective, the first half of the album showcases Newman's brand of solo acoustic guitar. Mood and color take precedence, as Newman's fingerpicking weaves tonal spirals across each composition. Melodies bob and weave from alternate pacing, balanced between space and sound like strands of tinsel clinging to a tree. Marking a stylistic turning point in the album, "Blues for Vilhelm" is a humming incantation for lapsteel guitar, a minimalist sound pool rippling ever outwards. Following with the languid improvisation "Golden Valleys as Seen From the East", Newman stretches out and explores intoxicating themes, coaxing out melodies which quickly blossom and decay in slowly unfurling spools. Newman picks up the electric guitar with "Thee Opera House Stomp", and backed by the forward momentum of drummer Eric Craven, the song embarks from a country-blues riff headlong into serpentine trajectory reminiscent of the arty twang of Gastr del Sol."

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PICASTRO 'WHORE LUCK'

(Polyvinyl, 2007)

01. Hortur
02. Car Sleep
03. Friend of Mine
04. In The Weeds
05. All Erase
06. If You Have Ghosts
07. Towtruck
08. Stair Keeper
09. Albanis
10. Older Lover

Read reviews at: Pitchfork or Stylus Magazine.

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COCOON 'FROM PANDA MOUNTAINS'

(Sober & Gentle, 2007)

01 on my way
02 tell me
03 june
04 I don't give a shit
05 hummingbird

French indie-folk-pop.

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THE NEW AMSTERDAMS 'AT THE FOOT OF MY RIVAL'

(Elmar/Curb, 2007)

1. Revenge
   
2. Wait
   
3. Fountain Of Youth
   
4. This Day Is Done
   
5. Without A Sound (Eleanor)
   
6. Silver Lake
   
7. Lost Long Shot
   
8. Hughes
   
9. A Beacon In Beige
   
10. Story Like A Scar
    
11. Fortunate Fool
    
12. Lay On The Rails
    
13. Drunk Or Dead
    
14. The Blood On The Floor

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WINTERSLEEP 'WELCOME TO THE NIGHT SKY'

(Labwork, 2007)

01 tambourine
02 archaeologist
03 dead letter
04 hollow man
05 murderer
06 search party
07 astronaut
08 oblivion
09 lasers
10 yellow bellied

Read an interview with Wintersleep's drummer to get the full story behind their new album.

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THE ORANGES BAND 'THE WORLD AND EVERYTHING IN IT'

(Lookout Records, 2005)

1. Believe
2. Ride the Wild Wave
3. Open Air
4. White Ride
5. Ride the Nuclear Wave
6. The World & Everything in It
7. Mountain
8. I'll Never Be Alone
9. Drug City
10. Atmosphere
11. Evil's Where You Want it to Be

I had my MP3 player on random today and 'Ride The Nuclear Wave' popped up - leading me to remember how much I enjoyed this album. Browsing around for reviews, however, also reminded me how many people called this bland or boring. OK, it ain't gonna change the world, but if you fancy a brief, bouncy slice of indie that'll make you smile for 38 mins then be my guest!

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