happy new year

Luis is a 23-year old cute guy who gets over excited about indie pop sounds. The Spanish band El Hombre Percha (basically a solo project) formed in the summer of 2011 and Luis released the song “Malestar de un Hominido” on a Modular compilation. He told me he is writing a song about the Greek island of Myconos while planning on releasing a full album soon. Wonderful stuff.

hot

Ice is white and shiny and smells like pure vanilla cake. The Broonkyn-based Ice Choir is the new project of super productive Kurt Feldman (from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and The Depreciation Guild). Feldman and his bandmates leave the indie guitars aside and focus on synth-pop sounds that give off a harsh retro feeling. The Ice Choir released debut 7” single “Two Rings” on 15th November through Shelflife (US) and Yes Boy Ice Cream (UK/EUR). Hot as fuck.



http://www.icechoir.com

boy

Candy Bar fancies tall, cute boys with a strong indie spirit. Butcher Boy are an indie pop band from Glasgow, Scotland. Formed in 1998, they seem to enjoy the delicate sounds of Belle & Sebastian, Felt and Love. First album "Profit In Your Poetry" was released in 2007, second album "React or Die" was out in 2009, while third "Helping Hands" was released this summer. Sensitive pop with scottish signature.. oh Boy.



http://www.myspace.com/butcherboymusic

asleep

Candy Bar is a sucker for japanese stars and silver dreams. Therefore, a japanese solo project called Elen Never Sleeps is considered a real treat. I dont know much about this, apart from the fact that its new, loves suchi matched with shoegaze and has recently released some stuff online for free. Check "The China Blue" EP and "The Golden Minor" track, as well as the wonderful cover on My Bloody Valentine's "When You Sleep". Asleep as hell.



http://www.myspace.com/1004959211

hard

Soft cities are places where indie pop blossoms and planes fly high in the sky. The Soft City began as the side project of drummer Phil Sutton, formerly of Comet Gain, who released an ep on Cloudberry. Then they became an actual band, played with The Legends and The Drums, released a full album on Plastilina and are now back with another ep. The four track "Four Stories" is out on their own Calico Cat label and is so sweet and tender it can make you melt. or at least warm you up on those odd melancolic autumn afternoons.



www.myspace.com/thesoftcity

fuckedup

Lately my left wrist has been in pain. I got some advice and tried to heal it but somehow I made it worse. Thats when I decided to give Young Wrists a listen. Alberto and Letizia come from Italy, they love eating pizza peperoni while swimming into salty indie pop/noisy tunes. Ep "Fucked up In the Head" is out now and first song is accompanied by a lovely vid. A slice of pizza for me plz?

Young Wrists // I want to die young cos you're always wrong from Enrico Boccioletti on Vimeo.

http://www.myspace.com/youngwrists

waterfall

In 1994 I was just about to finish high school. I was surrounded by dreams and passion and it was beyond doubt that I was a superhero that would eventually conquer the world. International Waters are small indie pop heroes from Texas, with Mitch Calvert of Voxtrot on the steering wheel. They have released their debut album "1994", a wonderful mix of sounds that have the flair of Josef K, Aztec Camera and probably Orange Juice. Let's go back in time. Action!

1994 - International Waters from Mitchell Calvert on Vimeo.

http://www.internationalwaters.net

balloons

Purple balloons and yellow little clouds are always welcome in my tiny world. Pure indie poppers Very Truly Yours are here to please my ears and most importantly my (still very powerful) summer mood. The band has a new single called “Girls Tell You Secrets” (out now on 7’’on cloudberry records). Followed by a lovely vid, filmed at Montrose Beach in Chicago, it has a strong odor of pop at its best.



http://www.myspace.com/verytrulymusic

tweet

Candy Bar will be taking a summer break till september. Till then, you can visit me on twitter! >>
http://twitter.com/#!/astrogirrl

pockets

Pocketbooks aint new to the indie pop gang. They have been around for a while and their members are even involved in organising the wonderful Indietracks festival. The band is now releasing new single/sunshine pop gem 'Promises, Promises', for which they were joined by members of a local London orchestra. The single will be included in new album "Carousel", which was recorded by Simon Trought (he has worked with The Wave Pictures, Fanfarlo, Allo Darlin’ and Darren Hayman) and will be out Sept 2011. Pop and promises and pockets, carefully packed with lots of passion.



www.pocketbooks.org.uk

number8

Brooklyn never seizes to amaze me. A fertile music scene full of giant numbers, colourful chalks and a bunch of indie pop tunes given in different forms and shapes. Andrew Pierce (of The New Rags and Nouvellas) and Sable Yong (of Year of the Tiger) form the new band of Chalk and Numbers... who love dots, playgrounds and unique 60s pop sounds. You can download for free their first EP, "He Knew", from their official website. Good stuff.



http://chalkandnumbers.bandcamp.com/
http://www.myspace.com/chalkandnumbers

dreamer

Dreams and cats go together in child stories, nasty fairy tales and grown-up hallucinations. Field Dreams are the solo project of Jack Hilbert, a musician from Cambridge who likes to chill out, dream in a super pop way and listen loud to bands like Beach House, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Deerhunter and Best Coast. Demo EP "Dresden" from Field Dreams came out on 22nd May. Check the link below and make yourself a lovely free download present.

http://fielddreams.bandcamp.com

++89

Sweden isnt always happy and shiny. It can be dark and wild and fairly dramatic. From the odd woods of Sweden, where there is a town called Tranås, the band of Degrees is narrating its own unique fairytale. Mikael Jacobson (The Trick, Late Night Conversation)and Rickard Folke (Boygirlme) decided to stick to their heavy coats and put their shoegaze pop hearts together in 2008. New record "Dream On Dreamy" was out on May 21. High temperature on its way.



http://www.myspace.com/degreestranas
http://www.dgrs.se

Tesco Chainstore Ligloss

I’m a sucker for weird band names. And when they include ironic references, they are even more appealing. Borrowing their name from a film, Tesco Chainstore Mascara formed in 2005 and immediately showed their love for The Beatles, The Beach Boys and Belle & Sebastian. Double a-side single "Big Bowl of Wrong”/”You Lost Me at Hello" is available through Bubblegum Records(as part of the label’s limited edition download project). Some more black mascara, please.



http://www.myspace.com/tescochainstoremascara

bravery

Bravery is a virtue. It makes you wish to pursue your goals in a more creative and passionate way. Brave Irene seem to be pretty much aware of that. An all-girl band from Vancouver that formed in 2009 by Rose Melberg (ex Tiger Trap and The Softies). Indie and lo-fi sounds, bubbly melodies, retro aesthetics with a bunch of bands like Strawberry Whiplash, Very Truly Yours and Days to mingle with other. Very promising debut came out in March on Slumberland.



http://www.myspace.com/braveirene