Bandicoot- Jurassic Warfare
8/10

“… Pearl fires insults into a twisted catch phrase, singing “so run along and act all snarky, super faggy and talk about art.” Reuben Winter’s guitar riffs blast like a cannon before erupting into a wall of spastic, wobbly noise and Daniel McBride’s drumming keeps the music in rhythm and stops it from falling apart.”

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 Bandicoot- Bitchface: MP3

Nice Birds- Swirly
6/10

“The parts are all there and when they’re executed well Nice Birds sound like a solid post-punk band. Unfortunately at times they become bogged down, lost in a mist that turns their defining instrumental parts into one big clump of mud.”

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 Nice Birds- F. Scott Fitzgerald Book Club: MP3

 Buy Both EPs at Muzai Records’ Online Shop

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Megasus- Megasus
7/10

“The band inherits Kyuss’s stoner noodling in the quiet intro to ‘Swords’ before building up to a tumbling metal ode. Elsewhere they derive Slayer’s stereotypical spiralling guitar squalls in a subtle manner (’Hexes/Szaadek’), all with trademark aggressive overdrive to give their sound a melodic unison.”

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Megasus- Megasus: MP3

Owen Pallett- Heartland
10/10

“It’s strikingly original, and an early contender for album of the year… Heartland is lyrically astonishing. Pallett has created a vivid world of true emotion with characters who struggle with their own identity. It explores themes of loyalty, religion, passion and understanding, and will have you hitting repeat to once again immerse yourself - Spectrum has place names, cultures, and medieval battles that you will long to explore.”

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Owen Pallett- Lewis Takes Action: MP3

Pantha Du Prince- Black Noise
4/10

 ”Twinkling, sparkling, dancing bells and bass pumps are limited in scope in Weber’s self-restricted constructions that incorporate little more than a few sounds at once. His sparse, magnetic sound pulls and pushes its different elements together in a tidal response to his goal, but it sounds undeniably mechanic apart from brief moments.”

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Pantha Du Prince- The Splendour: MP3

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 Songs- Songs
9/10

 ”Songs replenish the mid-era Flying Nun sound, echoing The Clean, The 3D’s and Bailter Space. Sparse and reflective of many of the ’90s decadent riffs and vocal melodies, Songs drive home a sound that’s both whimsical and upbeat, but dogged and rugged around the edges.” 

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 Songs- Different Light: MP3

Click to purchase the album at smokecds.com

Scalper- Flesh & Bones
8/10

“Lined with psychic jams blending many elements of continental hip-hop, from the rich emotive tones of trip-hop to the slower, wavier rhythms of Polynesian hip-hop, Shafi lays down lyrics that at times confront and challenge your mindset but never become overly aggressive in presenting its themes.”

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 Scalper- Myspace

Flesh & Bones will be released on February 8, 2010

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 The Gladeyes- Psychosis of Love
8/10

“The interplay of the band, consisting of Jade Farley and Gwen Norcliffe, and their charmingly coy and subtle singing style coupled with their insightful lyrics are the winning formula here.”

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 The Gladeyes- Monika: MP3

 Tyondai Braxton- Central Market
6/10

“While it can err on the annoying side, feeling at times overly indulgent and self serving, it is a joy to hear Braxton’s “unlearning” of tools acquired in Battles, and rediscovering his vision. Climbing inside his head in Central Market is dark and eerie, but certainly an adventure.“

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 Tyondai Braxton- Opening Bell: MP3

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 The Brunettes- Paper Dolls

 8/10

“There’s always an air of innocence and a dash of danger with The Brunettes, and the play off between Heather and Jonathan remains a powerful, playful force on Paper Dolls”

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The Brunettes- Red Rollerskates: MP3

His & Her Vanities- The Mighty Lunge

7/10

 “It’s wise to treat The Mighty Lunge as a rock album, even with its tendency to line up rather winsome melodies with abrasive, noisy guitar riffs”

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 His & Her Vanities- Hits Like Hail: MP3

Julian Casablancas- Phrazes For The Young

8/10

“Casablancas’ pedigree is in pop heart and hook, and this details and fleshes out and validates everything he puts out… Casablancas really knows how to utilise the technology he’s chosen and shows himself to be an incredibly progressive thinker”

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Julian Casablancas- 11th Dimension: MP3

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  Islands- Vapours

10/10

 ”Every single song feels like a highlight… All of Islands’ releases have been beautiful and impressive, but Vapours is the most fun and genuine feeling of all.”

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Islands- No You Don’t: MP3

Radio Over Moscow- Battletech

7/10

“Sprouting multiple seeds of futuristic punk, alien grunge, contorted new-wave and geographically nondescript Brit-pop, Battletech provides a moderately eclectic genre fix”

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Radio Over Moscow- The Purpose Of Man: MP3

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 Jookabox- Dead Zone Boys

9/10

“It’s a colourful mess, but it’s also one of the most beautiful musical fusions of recent time.”

Jookabox- Phantom Don’t Go: MP3

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Kurt Vile- Childish Prodigy

7/10

“At once soothing and discomforting, familiar and inhuman, classic and ahead of its time, Childish Prodigy is undeniably inventive but can drag if you concentrate on it; it’s definitely more of a background burner.”

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Kurt Vile- Dead Alive: MP3

Taken By Trees- East Of Eden

8/10

“Weaving an open cast spell through a mine of pan flutes, native string instruments, percussion and bells, East Of Eden is a unique collaboration between two colliding worlds.”

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Taken By Trees- Watch The Waves: MP3

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The Fruit Bats- The Ruminant Band
7/10

“… Johnson’s ability to sound like John Lennon (post-Beatles) one moment and Paul McCartney (Think ’70s Wings)  the next, coupled with the band’s channelling of The Beatles’ pop, Allman Brothers’ hippy crop-rock and Yeasayer’s wallowing firecracker country makes for an entertaining night around the camp fire…”- Nick

The Fruit Bats- The Ruminant Band: MP3

The Fruit Bats- Myspace

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 Kid Harpoon- Once
4/10

“… Hull is a storyteller from the Donovan school of Barabajagal weirdness, tailoring his voice into different characters and sniffing out his subjects with a confused sense of curiosity… Unfortunately the tired cheesy songs outweigh the more interesting moments…”- Nick

 Kid Harpoon- Myspace

Read The Full Review

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Dylan Storey- Out Of The Soup
8/10

“… Dabbling in lyrical philosophy, songs like ‘Sartre’s Hell’ see the poet produce a mature outlook with his impeccably constructed songs. The players bring session-quality grandeur to the table, with bass and drums particularly flourishing and backing vocals adding a wispy prettiness to the strong and fearless songs…” - Sarah

 Dylan Storey- Myspace

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Frayden- Ghost Crash
7/10

“… Built solidly around the band’s instrumental ability and recorded expertly by Bob Frisbee, the album relies heavily on stringing together the instrumental parts; vocals almost seem like an after thought… Structured in a similar way to Jay Reatard’s recent Watch Me Fall, Frayden’s Ghost Crash sadly goes from a very strong beginning to a less inspiring conclusion.” - Nick

 Frayden- Legion Of Ants: MP3

 Frayden- Myspace

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 The XX- XX
8/10

“… Clearly influenced by Bristol’s dark suicidal trip-hop, The XX centre their sound around the bedded sexual tones, but instead use perfectly timed guitar notes to elevate their music and pressure themselves to enter a new era, post-’90s Bristol and infused with elements of jazz and indie pop…” - Nick

The XX- Crystalised: MP3

 The XX- Myspace

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Math The Band- Don’t Worry
8/10

“… Don’t Worry is hyperactive, intense electronic pop for speed freaks that threatens to send its listeners into intensive care for the sheer speed of its songs. Frequent chant-alongs, crescendos and spiralling madness are met with recurrent gong sounds at the end of each track, explained by the artists as their “signature”, likened to a painter’s scribe…” - Sarah

Math The Band- Why Didn’t You Get A Haircut?: MP3

Math The Band- Myspace

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Ape School- Ape School
8/10

 ”… All of Johnson’s experience comes through on this record; weaving a complex configuration of fuzzy pop and Californian surf into a futuristic sounding trickle, dripping from sub-pop’s leaky tap…” - Nick

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Ape School- Wail To God: MP3

Crocodiles- Summer of Hate
9/10

“…Starting off with a warped tape loop and seguing into the tryptich radio single ‘I Wanna Kill’, every song shimmies with original post punk bliss… Scarcely used effects sharpen the edges and brighten the corners of these square, slightly funky, but very fresh sounding songs…” - Sarah

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 Crocodiles- I Wanna Kill: MP3

 Read More Reviews, including 1995, William Fitzsimmons and Kasabian

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