“This list is not meant to be comprehensive — it couldn’t be. How could we reckon with every single great song released this year? Instead, it’s a list of great songs that do what great songs have always done: illustrate the way we feel about the world and how we move through it. There’s joy here, but there’s bitterness and introspection and sadness too — taken together, it says something about what it feels like to live in the world in 2017.” vulture.com

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0R4RUsspnNqfcheTlMw2aX?si=QRAikwtLSFesnj6ILpwr5A

Alvvays – Dreams Tonite “For every song that asks the question, “What might have been?” there exists an equally stark reality, of “What wasn’t.”… “Dreams Tonite” looks at the liminal space between those two frames of mind, questioning the forces that separate lovers, be they self-made or circumstantial…. As stoic as Rankin keeps her voice throughout most of the song, her vocals wrench near the end. She lets the mask fall and her pain momentarily shimmers forth, capturing the euphoria and torment of discovering a spark, only to watch it quickly fade.” pitchfork

Diet Cig – Maid of the Mist the video’s director Emily Dubin says: “My goal with the Maid of the Mist video was to take the stereotype of the “emotional girl” and lean into it as hard as possible. Often times, women who exhibit any sort of emotional reaction to anything are labelled over-sensitive and are told to essentially “get over it.” We rarely are given control, and when we do exercise control, we’re labelled as domineering or a bitch. The idea that a group of witches set up this whole ritual and do this extravagant spell just so they can make sure to kiss the boy they want during spin the bottle is meant to be a melodramatic reflection of the way men perceive women: always extra, always emotional, always plotting.

Girl Ray – Stupid Things “nods to the balladry of Carole King and Carly Simon, yet feels slightly off-kilter—less an homage to these 1970s stars than a rethinking of their classic sound. Singer/guitarist Poppy Hankin has an alluring, peculiar singing voice; her tone is at once lulling yet high and boyish, relaxing yet tense. Here, she he channels it into downtrodden whispers (“It was just to feel close to you/I’ve never done so many stupid things”) against a loose, groovy bassline, playing with her pitch until it’s dissonant against the slinky melody. In this contrast, Girl Ray captures how fleeting, heart-wrenching, and ultimately self-deprecating young love can be.” pitchfork

Lean Year – Come and See “The accompanying press shot for Lean Year is instantly noticeable, a weird snapshot of the trio that feels completely out of time, or perhaps just timeless. Part sepia-stained mugshot, part wild west caricature, it’s a striking image that begins to take on more clarity as the opening track from their new album quietly broods in to life. Equally detached from modernity, the song itself seems to exist in a world all of its own creation, cracked and compelling like weather out of context, like untouched land as far as the eye can see.” goldflakepaint

The Hayman Kupa Band – No More Bombs “While it might be that burgeoning friendship underpinning the record the songs lean far more toward the thrill, the longing, and the heartbreak of romantic love. Sweet and beautiful, this is a tender album but one which is also emotionally raw in parts, the melody soothes while words cut deep.” circuitsweet

Jens Lekman – Evening Prayer “As the chorus breaks in, the song quickly turns toward its true subject: “It’s been a long, hard year,” Lekman sings. Soon, he reveals that he’s not singing about the cancer survivor’s woe, but, rather, the narrator’s inability to express his feelings for a male friend (“For a friend who’s not sure if he’s close enough / To be allowed to care or just be there”). As Lekman told NPR: “I think it’s pretty deeply ingrained in me and a lot of people…that it feels weird to express love or be vulnerable around another male friend.” Like few others can, Lekman strikes the balance between these two stories with stunning sensitivity. Such is the power of toxic masculinity that, years into a career of confectionary pop songs laced with twinges of sadness, a songwriter like Lekman still struggles with its weight.” pitchfork

Pale Waves – Theres a Honey “the song’s subject matter is strikingly intimate and relatable (“I would give you my body, but am I sure that you want me?“), but is packaged into a chorus that’s so catchy, you wonder how it hasn’t been written before.” nme

Cigarettes After Sex – Young and Dumb “a tune as beautiful as its lyrics are teeth-gritting. It subsequently refers to the object of his desires as “The Patron Saint of Sucking Cock”: listening to it, you do find yourself struggling to think of a circumstance in which a man referring to a woman using that particular nomenclature wouldn’t seem appalling. Perhaps it’s a pet name which the aforementioned Senorita finds delightful: “I know it’s a bit slushy, but I call him Snufflewuff and he calls me the Patron Saint of Sucking Cock.” theguardian

The Luxembourg Signal – Laura Palmer “In my mind, I see shadow figures dipping and weaving on the dance floor as this tune unwinds.” whenthesunhitsblog

Elva – Tailwind “the type of song that draws you in further and further the more you listen to it, a piece of music that you feel privileged to have listened to. However it all clicks into a different gear come the song’s chorus. Sparkling keyboards dominate while an arms aloft chorus of “But there is a deeper higher meaning to our place on the planet…” ensues. It’s a moment of clarity and excitement merging — a song that makes you appreciate the color of leaves, and the little things that make life worthwhile.” thegreyestates

Sea Blite  – Cerulean “f you like 90s-ish indiepop of the jangly kind (Heavenly, Dressy Bessy, Tiger Trap etc), you will love this. I’m pretty sure you will love it even if you don’t like 90s-ish indiepop too, because this is really good pop music.” eardrumsmusic

Desperate Journalist – Be Kind ‘Be Kind’ also seems to be nodding – this time to Nirvana’s ‘All Apologies’ in the verses – with a chorus that demonstrates a musical cunning that’s all their own. It takes a certain amount of confidence to cling to the same chord for dear life, and by the time it resolves and the bridge arrives, your heart bursts into a pulpy mess. There’s a little bit of, dare I say it, Gene in there too, though Gene were at times majestic, and they share the same doomed ambition as Desperate Journalist.” thequietus

Aldous Harding – Imagining My Man “While she can move from forceful, expressive howling to a raspy, somewhat detached croon within a span of seconds, some playful embellishments like a high-pitched “hey,” are just a touch saccharine” pitchfork

Honeychain – Crushed “shimmering choruses and unrestrained 60s garage finesse” longbeachloathing

Cattle – Sherbert “I’ll admit that we spent some time here at WYMA headquarters discussing why a band from Japan would call themselves Cattle, but like we do with most tough questions, we gave up and ordered pizza when an acceptable answer wasn’t readily forthcoming” whenyoumotoraway

St Vincent – New York “unlike any other ballad in Clark’s catalogue—the scrambled inner compass and sense of being so close, yet so far, is a jarring sentiment from someone who always seems so supremely herself.” pitchfork

Patience – White of an eye “Perfectly formed synth pop, Patience somehow managed to be both downcast and wholly inspired.  “I haven’t seen it in a while,” she sings, “a reflection of myself in your eyes…” clashmusic “This one’s about the push-pull feeling of leaving the past behind, remembering the feel of an old shirt one last time, and letting those memories go” thefader

Arcade Fire – Everything Now “Sounds Like: The Flaming Lips trying to cover an ABBA song but getting interrupted, continually and fruitfully, by a rogue faction of the Polyphonic Spree.” consequenceofsound

The National – Guilty Party “frontman Matt Berninger focusing on the pain of a marriage falling apart for no particular reason, and how time can be allowed to pass without reconciliation.  “Another year gets away,” he sings. “Another summer of love. “I don’t know why I care. We miss it every summer.” independent

Rat Columns – She Loves The Rain “you can hear the almost decades worth of history etched in to its skin of latest track “She Loves The Rain“; the unhurriedness of it all, the elegance that it permeates.” goldflakepaint

Agent blå – Rote Learning “dense, distorted and centered around frontwoman Emelie Alatalo’s descending cry: “What the f** are we doing?” It feels more like a demand than a question.” npr.org

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Falling Apart So Slow “much of Pleasure was recorded just at the onset of Berman’s wife’s third trimester, the point at which shit tends to get particularly real. From the initial rush to the all-too-familiar crash, the Pains have spent the better part of a decade charting the highs and lows of young love. But Berman, like many of us, isn’t quite so young anymore. What happens when all the love in your life is no longer as fleeting as a three-minute pop tune?” pitchfork

Bill Botting and the Two Drink Minimums – Better Friend “a record described accurately by the labels as the soundtrack to a John Hughes-directed 1970s road movie, and it’s one full of honesty and warmth, liberally laced with recollections and reminiscences” fortherabbits

The Perfect Kiss – Disconnect “Ahhh, the lodestar of kisses, “the perfect kiss”.  Of course, when given a choice between the elusive perfect kiss and the variety of lesser kisses we more frequently encounter, we would choose the perfect over the imperfect (ignoring for purposes of discussion what other levels of encounter are on offer with the kiss)” whenyoumotoraway

Perfume Genius – Just Like Love “Here, Hadreas admires those who have never felt as though they fit in, perhaps sending a letter to his younger self and in turn, blossoming into a sparkling, self-assured convener.” thequietus

Mo Troper – Dictator Out of Work “all trumpets, melancholy and sweet despair” didnotchart

Sacred Paws – Everyday “There’s a joy to the instrumentation and the half-chanted, half-sung vocals but as with so many pop songs which appear to be without a care in the world, if you scratch the surface you catch lines like “sometimes I fall apart” and find there’s a real emotional resonance to lyrics touching on the confusion we find in a relationship starting to head south” thelineofbestfit

Terry vs Tori – Leap Day “The desperation contained in the song “Leap Day” is palpable. The brilliant part of it though is that the song is so laid back while conveying this desperation. ” thegreyestates “Despite the name, this is a band from Sevilla where none of the members are named Terry or Tori. ” eardrumsusic

Emperor x – Schopenhauer in Berlin “Driven by a wild sense of wholesomeness “Schopenhauer in Berlin” is a buoyant but always unsteady unraveling, the little flashes of guitar, and the DIY percussive strokes, wrapping themselves around Matheny’s ever frayed vocal in the most merry of dances; the head-rush of drunkenness before the consequences finally catch-up.” goldflakepaint

Iron and Wine – Bitter Truth “Songs of clarity and 12 tog comfort…As Beam sings poetically in his goose-down voice, cadences resolve as contentedly as old married couples, even in songs of friction such as Bitter Truth” theguardian

Cinema Red and Blue – Come Back to the City, Babyface “Not sure who’s going to fill the indie-pop chasm that will be left behind when Fortuna POP! close the doors after twenty years” beat-surrender

Rat Fancy – Beyond Belief

Wolf Alice – Don’t Delete the Kisses “a shimmering, golden piece of atmospheric indie that will make you feel like you’re drifting 40,000 feet above the clouds, looking down at Earth through a marshmallow patchwork” nme

Alice Boman – Dreams “Alice Boman is trying not to be hopeless on her new single “Dreams.” Over moody, atmospheric piano and quietly insistent drums, the Swedish singer lets us know right off the bat that “when hope dies/that is what hurts the most” blog.kexp.org

Shilpa Ray – Manhattanoid Creepazoids “reminiscent of a show-tune, but here it is subverted into a tale of women being beaten and raped. The singer says she’s ‘not crazy for that kind of love’ in a mastery of understatement. The last verse states: ‘And they all say “She was asking for it”. Crawling through the meat markets in some slutty outfit on a Saturday night. When the ground feels frozen and tight. But I’m not crazy bout this kind of love.’ It’s a song that hits as hard as a fist to the stomach.” louderthanwar

Superorganism – something for your MIND “Something about the track feels both cool and uncool at the same time, like it’s trying exactly hard enough. There’s a dramatic pause right in the middle of the hook, and it makes me grin every time” thefader

The Horrors – Something to Remember Me By “There’s a moment – exactly as the track hits the four-and-a-half-minute mark – the kind of moment to send blood coursing and incite an unstoppable sense of euphoria. ” diymag

Slowdive – Sugar For The Pill “simple and delicate, but never frail. The song’s greatest surprise is a smooth, catchy ‘80s soft-rock chorus—a considerable risk for a band that rarely indulged in straightforward pop” pitchfork

Filthy Friends – Any kind of crowd “the supergroup featuring Sleater-Kinney singer/guitarist Corin Tucker and R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck…. strikes an inviting midpoint between the sensibilities of the duo’s more famous bands, with Tucker softening the howl she employs with Sleater-Kinney to meet Buck’s mellow jangle.” spin

Star Tropics – Another Sunny Day “Let’s just get this out of the way – yes, the song title ‘Another Sunny Day’ is an homage to the Sarah Records band” godisinthetvzine

Jad Fair, Tenniscoats and Norman Blake – Thank You “Akin to a wide-eyed wander around a city you don’t recognise, but feel instantly at peace within, the track quietly rolls on and on, centring the listener so that you feel warmly lost throughout its four-minutes.” goldflakepaint

Amaya Laucirica – More Than This “Drifting on through nearly five quietly emphatic minutes – if such a thing exists then it does so here – ‘More Than This’ is a brooding, wonderfully compelling swirl of colour and charisma, the track drifting (pertinently, never forgettably) through six-and-a-half captivating minutes” goldflakepaint

The Dears – 1998 “mimics an Amy-Winehouse-circa-“Valerie” groove but adds a gorgeous metallic guitar riff and finds solace in its key lyric: “This is being alive.” spin

Milk Teddy – Sweet Bells Jangled “This song has these lofty vocal dancing high notes, reminding me in a strange way of the Glands…it just exudes happiness and spirituality, whether intentional or not” austintownhall

The Fireworks – Dream About You “Comes and goes in a whirlwind of big choruses, irresistible melodies, and a healthy dose of fuzzed-out guitar” bigtakeover

Onsind – Sectioned “combining a hatful of references to Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, with a musing on death and coping with mental health problems, before the two perfectly paired voices come together for the repeated chorus line, “misery, misery, misery loves company”.

Like all the best Onsind songs, it’s an open-hearted letter, a song that is unafraid to wear its heart on its sleeve, and to offer a helping hand to anyone going through similarly difficult situations. They might not have all the answers, but they’re a band who always make you feel that things actually can be just a little bit better for us all.” fortherabbits

Lomelda – From Here “a warm, vocal-centric track about distance and driving, about wanting to be found and seen. ” thefader

Secret Meadow – Water in the Flowing River “You probably have been wondering lately about whether there are any good guitar bands in Indonesia.  That’s understandable — I’m sure that it is a question on many minds.  Well, we can take some stress out of your life and advise you that Secret Meadow from Jakarta does, indeed, deserve your attention.” whenyoumotoraway

Stutter Steps – Floored “somewhere between Flying Nun sun rays and C86 sugar (i.e. the Chills to the Jasmine Minks, the Clean to the Primitives, and so on and so forth), the solace of movement splashes through you like bittersweet memory” tinadrill

Deerful  – Conceptual Art “Starting off with what is surely the sound of Mario picking up coins with some added reverb” fortherabbits

Breakfast Muff – R U a Feminist “calls out those who hide violence, exclusion or oppression towards others, behind the mask of being a feminist” goldflakepaint

Future Islands – Ran “an expression of pure hunger, juxtaposing artificial sounds—those Spandau Ballet keyboards and studio-perfect drums—against raw human emotion. ” pitchfork

Elbow – Kindling “In a different group’s hands, it’d all be too mawkish. But as Elbow settle into middle age, the additional wrinkles and whiskey stains only deepen the gravity of their stories.” pitchfork

Flowers  – Say 123 “with their new 7″ single, Fortuna Pop will finally close its doors and move on to greener pastures. Sadly, we might not find a finer purveyor of pop, but we’ll always have the memories. The label, in my eyes, goes out with a bang, dropping two Flowers tracks that are memorable as ever. The first tune has a bubbly underbelly, while the latter track has a juxtaposed softness to it…all illustrating just how glorious the band is. ” austintownhall

Widowspeak – Dog “about the “compulsion to move on from things and places, even people, when you’re not ready to” musicomh

Geowulf – Drink Too much “Shuffling percussion and thwacky basslines squirm beneath a hurricane of hooks – it’s effortlessly chilled and woozy, despite the obviously darker themes and rampant rhythms” thelineofbestfit

Guided By Voices  – Nothing gets you real “a slice of shimmering melancholy that could pass for mid-’80s Go-Betweens, contrasting its glistening guitar strums with a brutally honest account of how ennui can lead to self-harm: “Something is revealed, slashing at your arm,” Pollard sings, “something you can feel, sounding the alarm.” pitchfork

Sodastream  – Three sins “building around a pulsating bass-line, and gently strummed acoustic, it is a reflection on human nature and the way people can hide their darkest thoughts and desires from the world around them. It’s a reflection on terrorist attacks, bush fires, and the paedophile in the Catholic Church” fortherabbits

Rose Elinor Dougall – Closer “closing time in some arbitrary bar, gazing at someone who’d rather blather on about something so much less important than moving their hand that last crucial centimeter.” pitchfork

Nervous Dater – Bad Spanish “It’s fine, I said, I’ll bash my fucking head through the wall so I don’t have to call you before I go to bed,” Rachel Lightner bellows with all the gutsy and glorious weight of someone who needs such words dispelled from said head and out in to the world as soon, as loud, as clear as possible.” goldflakepaint

The Spook School – Less than perfect “a confident-sounding song about feeling disappointed when your reality doesn’t really measure up to the grand expectations you had for what adulthood would have in store.” stereogum

Pale Lights – 100 years “has those lovely organ washes I adore so much, with the caress of Phil’s vocals and the smoothly textured guitar” bigtakeover

Boys  – Rabbits “the track unravels sublimely, the punchy guitars and percussion alluding to Alvvays knack of balancing light and shade with effortless intrigue will crafting out their own singular nook in an autumn that feels all the more palpable under Boys’ dreamlike gaze.” goldflakepaint

Florist – Understanding light ““Why can’t I find a place to hide from the darkness? I want to live in the blueness,” Sprague says in ‘Understanding Light’, a song with swooping guitar, dots of piano notes, and a gentle percussive beat that recalls Simon and Garfunkel.” goldflakepaint

Lady Lamb – Salt “It wanders down the road of a relationship that everyone has been through but few will confess ever feeling” thebaybridged

Phoebe Bridgers – Motion sickness

We. The Pigs – Too young “Noisy but blissful and shimmering guitars bounce off the vocals causing the listener to sway with gay abandon” recordsilike

lcd soundsystem – american dream “a song about love, self-loathing, and unshakable desire, with bittersweet catharsis coming in the form of the song’s doo-wop-flavored finale”pitchfork

Waxahatchee  – Never been wrong “In indie rock, you can be precious, you can be pompous, and you can be extremely art school, but there is no great way to spin “whiny.” The irony is, complaining is inherent in the genre’s DNA. It goes beyond lyrics, manifesting in guitar tones that simmer with angst rather than exploding with it, like punk often does. So while it may sound like an insult to call “Never Been Wrong,” … a whiny indie rock classic, it is meant as a compliment to project mastermind Katie Crutchfield. This is how you complain bitterly in song: You turn it into a self-aware, vividly voiced ode to stubbornness in action.” pitchfork

Laura Marling – Nothing, Not Nearly “As the lyrics meander and swerve full with clauses and revisions, it’s a song about seizing moments.” diymag

The Keep Left Signs – Tomorrow “To answer the first question nearly everyone will have – no, I don’t know the explanation behind the name. Perhaps they were driving and decided to name the band after the next man-made object they saw, but your guess is as good as mine” whenyoumotoraway

Factory Seconds – Caught in the Layers “It’s been an age since a debut single has arrived from a classic indie band that makes you wanna leap out of your seat fist-pumping enthusiasm out of every orifice. Thankfully London’s Factory Seconds are here to provide with the revitalising beauty of ‘Caught in the Layers’. ‘I’m a bad drunk’ sings Katie Wilkinson to a backdrop of sophisticated new wave influenced instrumentation, sounding like every emotional train wreck of a night ever. Her entire vocal line is one giant hook, the guitars bleed heartache, and the whole thing sounds like Free Fallin’ for a new age. This is huge. Our thoughts go out to her – this song was written in recovery from a mental breakdown, but my does it feel like she’s triumphantly found some kind of catharsis.” lostinthemanor

Peaness – Same Place “Chester trio Peaness have their own self-coined genre for the sort of thing they craft, “Pea-pop” being a pretty suitable definition of their pleasingly effervescent tracks – it’s pop music that is notably personal to them….The track is a blast of nostalgia and ambition, casting an eye over moving forward in life while trying to hang onto friends and loved ones that are doing the same.” goldflakepaint

The Magnetic Fields – Be True to your Bar “It’s an anthem in the truest sense, a song all dive bars and locals should play to close out the night, sloshy patrons singing along, lifting their bottles in a communal promise to keep the doors open and the taps flowing with their steady, loving patronage. After all, as Merritt sings, nothing creatively beautiful ever came out of sitting around drinking tea.”eater

Lyla Foy – Baby Lee “Laced with subtle charm, the new video is playful but mesmerising, the soft harmonies and stripped-back sway of the instrumentation lending a new-found sense of romanticism to The Fannies’ admittedly gleaming composition” goldflakepaint

The XX – I Dare You “an xx song that Shaun Mendes or Zara Larsson could conceivably cover, rather than just nick the sound of” theguardian

Tres Oui – Honolulu “The disc’s greatest strength lives in its unusual compositions and the group’s innate awareness of when to let things breath” austinchronicle

Hatchie – Sure “A marvellous mesh of Cocteau Twins-y atmospherics and jangly ’90s pop” thelineofbestfit

The Whooperups – Latent Teenage Fantasy “The guitars are ragged and scuzzy, the drums loose and pounding; but in the delightful two-voice harmonies, and perfect melodies, it remains unquestionably a pop song. Lyrically it seems to sit reflectively, questioning whether all that teenage heart-ache was even real, as, out of a delightfully fuzzy guitar breakdown, Becky and Anna chime wistfully in unison, “if I never liked you, what if I never liked you? If I never liked you, then what did I ever like?”” fortherabbits

Mary Lattimore – Wawa by the Ocean “conjures up the meditative, breezy scene of an ideal beach day. Each of her individual plucks articulates a different sense of longing, subtly stretching and multiplying in hypnotizing ways, making them feel languorous at one moment and sad the next. ” pitchfork

Thanks for Coming – Losing Touch “By leaning one way and then the other – the juxtaposition between the rough and the smooth, the quiet and the solitude, never truly apparent but always there – the songs take on a greater weight, little moments of light that we know won’t stick around for long but ones that we feel replenished by regardless.” goldflakepaint

The Bats – No Trace “now into their third decade with the original line-up, the four-piece have racked up nine albums characterised by chugging chords, jangly guitars and the charming, simplistic worldview of guitarist/vocalist Robert Scott” themusic.com.au

Father John Misty – Ballad of the Dying Man “Joshua Tillman’s “Ballad of the Dying Man” is tragic. On the new Pure Comedy song, Tillman’s Father John Misty persona takes on a pathetic character: the Dying Man, a sneering critic and cultural connoisseur. And much like his Father John Misty guise, the Dying Man actively courts your revulsion.” pitchfork

Worst Place – Dreamer “Channeling Alvvays in its loose, woozy state, it’s a track perfect for the ever-shortening last days of August.” diymag

The Clientele – Falling asleep “Takes place in one of The Clientele’s favourite realms, the long dark night, and as MacLean sings about all sorts of luminous imagery (“low, red rising moon”; “September’s stars”; “ursa major at the edge of the rain”), they are brought into focus by the plucked dulcimer strings and glistening violins running concurrently with the band’s unmistakable gait” thefourohfive

Cina Polada  – Nowhere “A wistful, charming delight, it’s dissolves softly on the tongue before bubbling all the way down to your stomach.” clashmusic

Alex Cameron – Stranger’s Kiss (Duet with Angel Olsen) “On its surface,“Stranger’s Kiss,”…is deceptively slick. The driving guitar, explosive alto sax, and four-on-the-floor drums are radiant, but that stands in stark contrast to the story’s dingy reality. Here, Cameron plays a character who may be “king of the neighborhood,” but only because an eagle shit on him. No, really.” pitchfork

Mope Grooves – Shape of a Pocket “There’s been a succession of musical microgenres in the past decade, chillwave and its loose variants, where artists act out their childhoods, or even nostalgia for halcyon days that predate their own birth, using dream-like sounds, cheap electronic instruments and basic melodic impulses.

Which is where Joy by Mope Grooves fits in, but mostly doesn’t. Not just because of the flakiness of those microgenres’ boundaries – go back 25 years and you’ll find bands with a stack of Beach Boys albums and thrift store fx pedals doing similar things – but because the songs on Joy aren’t meant to fit in.

These vignettes – most clock in between 1 and 2 minutes – are intense recreations of someone’s inner life. Like Guided By Voices, Mope Grooves try to distil The White Album into pure pop songs. Like The Pastels – a while ago now, you understand – they stumble as if that was the best way to get somewhere. And like Television Personalities, it really is the sound of a nervous breakdown.” didnotchart

Say Sue Me – Good for some reason “the latest single from South Korea (via Busan’s beaches) Say Sue Me. The band’s practice room is located five minutes on foot from Gwangalli Beach in Busan so it’s the love of the surf that infects this band’s 90’s US indie rock inspiration. Some may call it ‘Surfgaze’ (so help me), but it sums up Say Sue Me’s sound pretty well actually.” louderthanwar

The Ocean Party – More To Run “Dropping seven albums over the past seven years, Beauty Point is the latest offering from The Ocean Party, a hazy foray into some kind of wonderful ambivalence...Throughout we hear a sincerity and struggle of 20-somethings making their way through life, a suburban nightmare looming over their futures.” beat.com.au

The BV’s – Ray “Like every other blog, we get somewhat inundated with unsolicited requests to feature bands, the vast majority of these aren’t great, but amongst the swathes of poorly produced metal bands, country singers in cowboy hats and sickly sweet singer songwriters, you occasionally stumble across a gem: The BV’s are one of those gems.” fortherabbits

The Just Joans – No longer young enough “girl-group vocals pointing out that for all of us, there is a time when Friday nights/Saturday mornings in the clubs becomes reading at home in our PJs and an early lights out.” whenyoumotoraway

DaG – Know Where To Go “The band crafts this dreamily discordant rock n’ roll. It’d be easy to toss this act in the bin with the rest of their Oceanic peers, but there are some things that stick out to my ears that elevate the sound on Benefits of Solitude. You’ll hear some little bits of noise, be it squawking horns or string instruments stretched to the maximum of their tones” austintownhall

Pale Kids – Prayer List

“Four queer-punks from Durham, and no they’re not the same band as Martha…Lyrically it’s a musing on illness, accepting the help of others and getting rid of the negativity of toxic friendships. ….It builds to a thrilling crescendo as singers Joe and Andrew chime in, “I’m crossing you off my prayer list”, part in unison, but also at least partly vying for the listener’s attention. Energetic, thrilling and deliciously unpolished, as the old cliché goes, they might be pale, but they’re interesting indeed.” fortherabbits

The Age of Colored Lizards – Nothing to say

“hazy, fuzzy and definitely melodic indiepop-songs”eardrumsmusic