Lazer Cake

We’re from short in music with an eighties influence, but that’s not to say there’s not room for more. Rhythmic synths throb under exultant melodies and chiming beats through songs designed for twitching nervously on the dance floor. Earnest vocals from singer/drummer Robby Sinclair are backed up by a dynamic wash of synths Alan Markley,

Cassandra Jenkins – Rabbit

It starts with a crashing cymbal and ends with moonlight twinkle. In between, on Rabbit, we find a gentle halcyonic rolling wash of guitar and precise yet eerie keys, perfectly placed percussion dissipating into Cassandra Jenkins‘ bittersweet tones that tell tales of a queen and a king that seem somewhat disillusioned but tinted with hopefulness.

Free Time

‘New York was there, but what did I care,’ sings lead singer of Free Time, Dion Nania, on Here & There from their debut and eponymous album. Apparently, a lot, since he upped sticks from home town Melbourne to the big city in 2011, and brought his jangly strained guitar vibes with him. With a

Icewater – Bite Fresh Air

Delicate and detailed, Bite Fresh Air by Brooklyn band Icewater is a song of understated dexterity, all meandering melodies exploring the soundscape, waves of colour and visions of yearning. Not folk exactly, not acoustic, it is earnest and entrancing, with shifting strains of elegant guitars and a hazy spirit that lays over rhythmic and hypnotic

Half Waif – Ceremonial

Merging of influences, as a result of her Indian, Irish, Swiss and American roots, as well as classical training, love of electronic music, and a natural inclination towards a pop hook, Half Waif, a project of Nandi Rose Plunkett, is one of complex sound. New track Ceremonial takes a while to warm to, but once