Mould: Hoping as a Coping Mechanism

photo: Elliot Hetherton

Bristol post-punk trio Mould did it old school, achieving notoriety by playing their asses off, releasing a couple of ace singles and EPs, culminating in their debut full-length Hoping as a Coping Mechanism, with the hitherto unheard tracks having the same high standard. The oddball short instrumental /// is the litmus test for uninitiated listeners - this is a band that has hit the ground running, with noise and gentle passages sticked together in a way that should not have worked, but on closer inspection it makes total sense.

With abrasive chopped guitar notes pushing the songs forward, the members of Mould work themselves into a sweat. Imagine Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr finally succumbing to folk-tinged melodies that their audiences can sing along with at top volume, lost in a daze of rapturous enjoyment.

Liz Hogg: Goodbye World Hello Something

Classical & electric guitarist Liz Hogg left the safe environs of her training behind on her new album Goodbye World Hello Something, crossing over to New Wave, pop, art rock and even a bit of funk. With a voice not unlike a young Suzanne Vega she explores her doubts, pet peeves and being let down by friends, but also the things she is comfortable with. The album's bass player producer Carlos Truly and drummer Daniel Siles never get in the way of her flawless picking. In her hands a guitar sounds like she came into the world clutching a 6-string, a friend that never lets her down.

It is a highly personal collection of songs, but although emotions run high every now an then, she always manages to insert a bit of self-deprecating humour, as if she can't believe what she chose to share. For those who can't handle that: there is also an instrumental version available.

murkla: Mover

Swedish musician Mattias Lagerkvist takes his avant-garde lo-fi approach to the next level on Mover, the new album by his murkla project. His previous effort Leviata was inspired by the mysteries of Eulisis, but this time he plunges into darkness, stumbling upon a bad news bird (The Glowing Duck) and grappling with the concept of a 24-hour cycle of noise (A Circadian Hymn).

Amidst a stack of field recordings that sound like crap on purpose, white noise and unrelenting drones Lagerkvist creates an alternate universe where humankind is insignificant, a tiny speck on the face of Mother Nature. Life on Earth will adapt and survive, because time is not of the essence to do so. Mover is bleak and foreboding, but like a major trainwreck it is impossible to look away from it.

Video Store: Everything looks better at night

Rotterdam based quartet Video Store have a knack for ramshackle, rambunctious rock songs. Their Everything looks better at night EP will strike a chord with fans of The Replacements. It is easy to picture them roaming the streets at night, looking for adventure and kicks, but also nurturing a craving for peace and quiet with a prospective significant other.

It is raw, emotional and in-your-face, firmly rooted in the late Nineties guitar bands boom. Taking cues from the noise of Sonic Youth and the melodic leanings of Fatal Flowers, they are serving nearly half an hour of brutally honest music, leaving the listener with ringing ears and wanting more.

Tiberius: Troubadour

Bostonian indie rock band Tiberius is the brainchild of Brendan Wright, a singer-songwriter who found comfort in the beauty of nature, especially in the quiet majesty of trees. After years of cautiously navigating relations with humankind, this new found piece of mind was put into music on an album, Troubadour. Some of the louder bits of the past come to the fore in tracks like Sag, where grunge is having a tug of war with college rock, and It Has to Be True that moves from folk to rock and back.

As the title of the album clearly suggests, this is a collection of storytelling songs, soul-searching autobiographical musings with an universal appeal. Going out there and show the world one's uncertainties requites quite a bit of nerve.

Hister & Arnold Veeman: Roemte

The barebones sound of Dutch indie rock bass and drums act Hister struck a chord with songwriter and composer Arnold Veeman, so he wrote a song for them, Roemte, joining Merel Weijer (bass, vocals) and Michel Weber (drums, vocals) as the third singer. It is a gnarly track, with the three-part harmonies floating above it, with just the right of echo - a thing that is implied by the song's title ("ruimte" in Dutch, "space" in English).

Tiberius: Painting of a Tree

Songwriter Brendan Wright took a quote from an excentric elderly guy - "an artist cannot paint a tree, unless they examine all aspects of it" - as the starting point for a song about the condition humaine. Painting of a Tree, the new single by indie band Tiberius, is a grand gesture of sorts, mixing elements of pastoral pop, folk and college rock. The futility of everyday troubles is captured beautifully. Trees don't care about humans, but humans need to care about trees.

Tiberius: Moab

Songwriter Brendan Wright once more took a hard look on a failed relationship on Moab, the new single by indie band Tiberius. While Felt tried dealing with the pain by looking for distractions that nightlife has to offer in Boston, this one is more subdued in a plea to just let go and move on. Don't sleep on the R.E.M.-alike lead guitar, which is rather good and is used as a wand to chase away the ghosts of the past.

The Cords: When You Said Goodbye

Scottish sisters Eva and Grace Tedeschi make it a three in a row with When You Said Goodbye, the new single by their duo The Cords. Their shared vocals lead the way on this retro-sounding slice of jangling pop, made by cherished analogue instruments. It is a sad song that can cheer one up for sure.

J.M. Hart: Central Time

Singer-songwriter J.M. Hart reached out to Mike Gorman to play mandoling and add some backing vocals on Central Time, a track from his forthcoming new album Turned Around. It is a country song about displacement and trying to find his bearings, holding on the numbers that the clock is showing back home, while he was Nashville during a snowstorm. Nice weaving of the two string instruments, with some old school call and response thrown in for good measure.

Tiberius: Felt

Bostonian indie band Tiberius tackle the perennial subject of a breakup on their new single Felt. Songwriter Brendan Wright went headfirst into a flurry of nocturnal activities to deal with the pain - not all them were a good idea, although it seemed so at the time. Emotions run high as they scream to the heavens in this alternative rock song.

J.M. Hart: Holding On

Singer-songwriter J.M. Hart stretches out on Holding On, a track from his forthcoming new album Turned Around. Starting out as a Neil Young-esque gentle country-tinged song on which he acts as his own backing vocalist, he goes all out with a lengthy progressive folk instrumental part - for which he goes electric, introduced in the video by inserting a bit footage of the fake towns that were built in the 50s to learn more about nuclear bomb tests in Nevada.

To make it abundantly clear that he seriously worried, he follows up with a reel featuring the cutting down of trees and 1969 People's Park riots in Berkeley . Circling back, he brings the track to a close with a second outing of his question if people manage to stay sane in the midst of the current clusterfuck.

Tiberius: Sag

Bostonian indie band Tiberius is the brainchild of Brendan Wright, who mixes grunge of the Pearl Jam variety with a bit of college rock to end up with something called "farm emo". Being very much aware of the pull of cities like New York and Los Angeles, where musicians gravitate to in hopes of making it big, it became the subject of the lead single Sag from the forthcoming album Troubadour, taking a swipe at those who use Beantown as first base to get there.

Lightheaded: Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming!

New Jersey jangling power pop band Lightheaded offer a two-for-one with their new album Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming!, basically a double EP, with five brand new tracks plus the songs of their Good Good Great! EP. It makes perfect sense to release them as a combined set, since the overall mood of their '60s psych pop has been their go-to sound from the get go.

Lyrically they keep it close to home, with the shout out to like minded English musician Me and Amelia Fletcher as the sole exception. Although they are based on the East coast of the USA, they could be easily mistaken for a long lost band from the heyday of the Laurel Canyon scene, with penchant for luscious melodies that are drenched in echo. Is it retro? It definitely is, but by adding a seasoning of '80s pop they created a mashup that is extremely tasty and tasteful.

Wet Leg: Davina McCall

English indie band Wet Leg have unveiled an animated video for Davina McCall, the third single from their forthcoming album moisturizer, due for release on July 11 via Domino (vinyl, cassette, CD, digital). McCall is a TV presenter, best known for various game shows on Channel 4, who could never in a million years could have guessed she would be the dream date of lead singer Rhian Teasdale.

Ekolali: For Why You Happy

Swedish musician Mattias Lagerkvist goes back to a slighter smoother approach for his experimental electronic music. After dabbling with lo-fi for last year's album by his murkla project, he now offers the lengthy For Why You Happy, flying his Ekolali banner this time. He used every trick from his vintage Yamaha PS20 to play a game of tension, more then tension, even more tension, and just a bit of release. Think a game console becoming sentient.

The wealth of loops to create a maze for the music crash into themselves sometimes - white noise anyone? - before finding a way to get around the self-inflicted difficulties. Repetitiveness is key, something that will be required taste for most, but persist and go with the flow. After a while you will not want it to end. Holger Czukay fans will love it.

Wet Leg: CPR

English indie band Wet Leg have made a video for CPR, the second single from their forthcoming album moisturizer, due for release on July 11 via Domino (vinyl, cassette, CD, digital). It is a tongue-in-cheek relaxed take on death and love, and the thin line between those two.

Flies Are Spies From Hell: Demos + Live 2004-2007

English instrumental post-rockers Flies Are Spies From Hell went through their archives and they upon plenty of good stuff for an album, Demos + Live 2004-2007. Kicking off witjh all the tracks from their sought after debut Demos EP from 2005 it follows the band finding their bearings through the early stages of their career. They grew up really fast, finding a common ground for melodic excursions on top of time signatures that go way beyond the one-two-three-four that is so dominant in popular music.

Rubbing shoulders with progressive metal, pastoral psychedelic rock, and the occasional drone, the quintet quickly rose the ranks of the underground, becoming an inspiration for fellow musicians. Lots of other bands would label these early run-throughs of tracks like the in-your-face Mountain Language or the subtle Next Hour as good-to-go masters. The intimate live performances that bring the album to a close, are a showcase for both dexterity and feel, not just playing all the right notes, but making them mean something as well.

Lightheaded: Same Drop

New Jersey jangling power pop band Lightheaded looked to the West as the main source of inspiration for their update of the Laurel Canyon folk music that was all the rage in the late 60s and early 70s. They topped it off with a seasoning of the sound of the English indie bands that were featured on the C86 tape, and presto: subtle melodies galore.

Their Same Drop single is a melancholic taste for their forthcoming new album Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming! Singer Cynthia Rittenbach is blessed with a crystal clear vocal delivery, enabling her to make a sad song sound cheerful against all odds.

Wet Leg: catch these fists

English indie band Wet Leg made a splash with their self-titled debut album, a collection of catchy songs with irony and empowerment playing catch. They have stuck to that winning formula for their new upbeat single, catch these fists, the first taste for their album moisturizer, due for release on July 11 via Domino (vinyl, cassette, CD, digital).