I was sent some songs by sometime last year and if I’m honest, I didn’t like them very much.  When they were announced as the latest signings of the mighty Alcopop!, it seemed prudent to give them another try.  Now either they have changed for the better or they just went over my head first time round, as they seem to be pretty damn good now.  This is pop music that rejects the basic concepts of pop.  It’s awkward, jumpy music, but after a couple of plays, it’s also a ton of fun.  Their debut EP, which is really quite lovely, is out now.  Myspace.

MP3 Screaming Maldini – The Extraordinary

are from Pittsburgh and make the kind of lush, half-rock, half-folk kind of music that seemed to be everywhere a few years back.  They do it incredibly well though, knowing that restraint is often key to these things.  The vocals are allowed room to become the centrepiece of the song, with the rest of the instrumentation popping in at just the right moments.  Perfectly gentle for those long hot days.  Myspace.

Now this is just weird.  A while back I wrote about a singer-songwriter from Austin called .  She made these lovely little acoustic folk songs.  Now here she is in a rock band that’s halfway between the 80s and We Are Scientists (who incidentally they have played with).  It’s decent stuff.  I prefer the solo songs myself, but the juxtaposition is certainly interesting.  Myspace.