Club Smith - No Friend Of Mine/Young Defeatists

Club Smith is the latest talent to reside from Leeds. Following in the footsteps of Kaiser Chiefs and The Pidgeon Detectives, the four piece look to achieve mainstream success with the release of debut double A sided single No Friend Of Mine/Young Defeatists.

Comprising of Sam Robson (Main Vocals/Guitar), Vijay Mistry (Drums), Lee Clark (Bass/Vocals), Neil Clark (Keys/sampler/vocals) they have already supported the likes of Mystery Jets, Two Door Cinema Club and Hockey, and from the energy gathered in studio versions of these two tracks, these guys are definitely people to keep an eye on in the future.

The Voluntary Butler Scheme - The Grandad Galaxy

Picture a basement, complete with mountain dew bottles strung about the floor, empty pot noodle pots hanging on the edges of tabletops, and then turn the lights on. You may be greeted with the harsh anguish of pain from Rob Jones, wondering why in the world you have interrupted his time in copy/pasting samples of literally anything into a strong set of tracks.

The Grandad Galaxy is the second album to surface from Jones’ bedroom antics, and follows the completely jagged pathway that previous record At Breakfast, Dinner, Tea stepped foot on. It is full of different ideas that have seemingly been taken from different areas, the crisp drums and Buddy Holly-esque guitar and almost-bored vocals from Jones fuse together fifteen tracks that have a lot of charm, yet difficult to approach, essentially becoming a musical version of Frankenstein’s monster.

Little Dragon - Ritual Union

Releasing a difficult second album, having it adored by fans and bloggers alike, featuring on many compilations and having guest spots on albums such as Maximum Balloon’s self titled, SBTRKT’s debut and being apart of one of the stronger moments of Gorillaz’ Plastic Beach. And considering the fascination the world appears to have with Swedish artists in the music industry, Abba, The Hives, The Knife, Lykke Li, Robyn, The Tallest Man On Earth have all become a part of an impression that everything from Sweden is INCREDIBILY HAPPY, everything was looking up in the clouds for Little Dragon.

Ritual Union is the third album by the Gothenburg based band, and sees them attempt to darken their native bright and sunny image. Complete with a main rhythm centralised between subtle sounds that seem to be a glitch in the track, the album develops the traditional Little Dragon sound into a much more mature being.

The Wombats - Techno Fan EP

After a monumental debut which propelled their popularity to dizzying heights, The Wombats followed up with an effort which suffered from the curse of the sophomore album. This Modern Glitch introduced an entirely new sound to the Liverpool-based band, replacing the signature clinky-clanky guitars and unlucky-in-love lyrics with synthesisers and reverb that saw a decline in momentum and continuity for the band.  

They Might Be Giants - Join Us

Fourteen albums, eighteen EPs, six compilations, and seven live albums, some might say that’s a bit excessive, but when you’re still not as well known as They Might Be Giants, you can hardly blame them. The alternative rock band formed in 1982, comprised originally of the Johns (John Flansburgh and John Linnell) they have achieved a cult-like status with a fanbase that fell in love with them once track Boss Of Me became the theme song for TV’s Malcolm In The Middle.

The band have recently found themselves releasing albums for kids, which left their child-like audience a little alienated and ashamed in the band for doing so. But after picking up a Grammy for Best Musical Album For Children, they have returned to their immature adult audience for fifteenth album Join Us. An album that is a fun listen but instantly forgettable once track You Don’t Like Me closes it.

R.I.P Amy Winehouse

She was only 27 years old, and she experienced the worst possible life for a human being to have. Amy Winehouse burst onto the music scene in 2006 with Back To Black, an album that launched her as a new face in the industry with a number of hits, resulting in five grammys and another person to exploit.

The last five years have been nothing short of a disaster for Amy, turning to drugs and falling into its vice grip (which probably was a result of becoming friends with Pete Doherty). She has been in and out of rehab countless times and struggled to cope with the staggering amount of fame she achieved in such a short space of time, and maybe saw drugs as an escape from the pressure of becoming a renowned pop star; so essentially, it was the music industry that pushed her over the edge.

Kill It Kid - Feet Fall Heavy

Sipping beers with music industry legend Seymour Stein and hanging out with Jack White to discuss the finer points of life seems to be everyday life for Kill It Kid. Tipped as one of few ‘buzz bands’ at this year’s SXSW festival, the band were soon jetted off to New York in June to perform and rub shoulders amongst the most influential people in the music business.

“The process began with a want to create an album with an immediacy and honesty,” says Turpin. “Hitting the same vein as the British Blues Boom but creating a record as a whole, which affected us, asserted us and gave us a sense of belonging. In an industry where months are spent grooming and pre-producing the perfect electro-surf-nu rave-outfit to suit the necessary tastemakers, we knew creatively we needed to record fast, keep it raw, inelegant and untainted.” The band met their priorities as it took a mere ten days to record with Leo Abrahams (Brian Eno, Grace Jones, Florence & The Machine) pushing their sonic territory further through 1950s American Catalogue Guitars and broken ten watt amplifiers. The result is a sound full of energy, intensity and a great set of rhythms ranging from vocal to piano, if you liked the gritty edge of new single Pray On Me, you will definitely enjoy Feet Fall Heavy, released on September 18^th.

Milk Maid - Not Me

Milk Maid is the project of songwriter Martin Cohen. The bassist saw himself with a lot of time on his hands following the indefinite hiatus of main band Nine Black Alps, resulting in a chance for Cohen to reveal himself beyond the rhythm section and show his quality.

Not Me is the single for debut album Yucca, which was released on the 20^th of June. The single contains two tracks, the low-fi Wavves-esque Not Me and a less fuzzy B-side entitled That’s Not Thinking. Both single and album was released by Fat Cat Records.

Sonic Boom Six - Sunny Side Of The Street

Sonic Boom Six is a five-piece band from Manchester, England. Their eclectic sound ranges from a mixture of rap, reggae, ska and punk, combined with lyricism relating to the current state of the government, left-wing politics and attacks on mainstream media/society to create the point to a well opinionated force. The band has been around for nearly ten years and had their fair share of departing members. Original guitarist Davey Kelly left in 2005, and Ben Childs left in 2009 after seven years of playing saxophone, vocals and guitar for the band, the latest departure happened in 2010, as temporary member Matthew Reynolds became the third member to leave the band. But, as their new material seems to suggest, they are hopeful that the grass is greener on the other side.

Sunny Side Of The Street is the first piece of new material since third album City Of Thieves in 2009. It sees Sonic Boom Six at their most melodic as the laid back sound makes for a great summer anthem. It is released on their own label Rebel Alliance Recordings.

We Are Losers - Sunset Song/Cheerleader

Sunset Girl/Cheerleader is the first double A sided single from Irish newcomers We Are Losers. Beginning as a bedroom project of frontman Gavin Elsted, it quickly grew into a fully fledged band with the additions of Stephen Conlan, Gary Clarke and mutual friend Bronwyn Murphy-White to create a live band who has since gained over two thousand plays of their free EP stemmed from supporting Native Tongues and The Phantom Band. The hype continued to grow as Cheerleader (the second A side to appear on this single) was listed seventh in the most blogged about songs on blog aggregator The Hype Machine.

The quartet are gearing themselves up for their first festival season with the release of Sunset Girl/Cheerleader, on UK independent record label Dance To The Music.

Toxic Holocaust - Conjure And Command

Conjure And Command is the fourth studio album by Toxic Holocaust, and is a debut collaborative effort rather than a solo work by frontman Joel Grind. Previously, Grind went the Trent Reznor/Dave Grohl route by creating every piece of instrumentation for his records, which provided a grittier, slightly chaotic sound to his efforts. He allows current touring lineup of bassist Philthy Gnaast and drummer Nikki Rage to put these elements of Toxic Holocaust into perspective. This results in the demise of the band’s punk roots, and sees them traverse into a thrash metal direction instead; containing fantastic riffs and screams galore.

The Cool Kids - When Fish Ride Bicycles

Its three years since the release of The Bake Sale EP, a drop that garnered a lot of attention for its simple beats and tiptop production. Since then, The Cool Kids have steadily increased their Myspace audience through a series of free mixtapes, and as frivolous as it is to say, When Fish Ride Bicycles is the debut album by the American hip hop duo of Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish.

The simplicity is key formula is gone as Inglish attempts to stretch the relation between the LP and the EP further than three years, and into the dimensions. But despite the band’s woes with record labels delaying it further and further away from their momentum, it’s finally here and sounds rather good.

Elbow - Build A Rocket Boys!

Build A Rocket Boys! Is the fifth studio album by Elbow, and the first release since Mercury Prize winning The Seldom Seen Kid in 2008. With tracks such as Grounds For Divorce and One Day Like This, the band’s stature in popularity ascended monumentally up to the mainstream, and it was well deserved. Elbow are indeed late-bloomers in achieving success, having formed in 1990 and before only managing a place in the genre of ‘post-Britpop’ alongside Snow Patrol, Doves and Starsailor.

But it’s because of Elbow’s late bloom that they have allowed themselves to age and mature past the point of airhead egos, and merely continuing to make music they wanted while various amounts of pop acts were shoved into the high 

tiers and choked into nothing by the next year. It’s evident from recent performances at Glastonbury how modest Guy Garvey and co. are, taking many moments to take in the vast atmosphere upon them, further strengthening their name as ‘The People’s Band’. Build A Rocket Boys! Is another Elbow performance that details their well-crafted sound throughout eleven tracks in a similar yet pleasant fashion.

LMFAO - Sorry For Party Rocking

With pop music at a standstill, albums and singles remain in the charts longer than it takes to capture Osama Bin Laden; it’s time to add another to its already clogged arteries. Sorry For Party Rocking is the second album by LMFAO, a rap duo who recently shot to global success with hit Party Rock Anthem. A track that encapsulates the most basic steps of creating a catchy pop song: distorted synths, simple house beats and autotune, into 4 minutes that has remained at the top of charts worldwide since -brace yourself- Sandi Thom’s I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker With Flowers In My Hair.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Adventures Of Rain Dance Maggie

The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie is the single and first track to be released off of Red Hot Chili Peppers’ new record; I’m With You, their first since 2008’s Stadium Arcadium. A lot has happened in the five years the band spent away from music, Flea went back to university, Anthony Kiedis took care of his new son, and Chad Smith went to work alongside other stars in supergroup Chickenfoot. But most notably, long term guitarist John Frusciante left for the second time in the band’s near thirteen-year career. Touring member Josh Klinghoffer has replaced Frusciante as guitarist for this new record, which I am excited for, simply because it’s Red Hot Chili Peppers. It is available to stream for free here.

Sublime With Rome - Yours Truly

Yours Truly is the debut album by ska band Sublime With Rome, an entirely new project created by Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh. These two were former members of Sublime, another ska band which ended after the tragic passing of frontman Bradley Nowell in 1996.

There has been some controversy over whether or not the band is still Sublime, or an entirely new band. Wilson and Gaugh performed under the Sublime moniker in 2009, collaborating with singer/guitarist Rome Ramirez, but soon found themselves facing a lawsuit because of it, hence the creation of Sublime With Rome. Of course Sublime With Rome is a new band, they have a new frontman, and they have released a debut album. Much like Kyuss Lives! They are simply releasing new material under a slightly relevant name to avoid spoiling the reputation that their old bands had, which is fair enough after all, this is their job.

Good Shoes - No Hope, No Future

Good Shoes is a London band who were one of many up and coming indie bands to introduce Britpop into the 21^st Century. Breaking into the UK singles chart with All In My Head in 2006, and the release of debut Think Before Your Speak, the band were simply destined to achieve success. But their modicum of success soon fizzled out due to a lack of new material in sufficient time, sparking questions on the band’s willpower.

But last year saw the release of The Way My Heart Beats EP, and single Under Control. Under Control is a track with one of the most infectious grooves, its disco drum beats and funky basslines create a sexy background to the guitar’s rebellious crunch. The obvious sexual connotations of the lyrics create a song filled with lust that erupts all over this track, wetting the appetite for more.

The Pigeon Detectives - UP, GUARDS AND AT 'EM

The Pigeon Detectives burst onto the music scene of 2007 with debut Wait For Me, which was during a time where guitars and rock had a firm grip on mainstream media. Wait For Me contained a lot of energy and catchy hooks, lines and choruses which experienced highs in songs such as I Found Out, Romantic Type, and Take Her Back, and with these hits, The Pigeon Detectives were loved and rated as highly as to rub shoulders with Kaiser Chiefs and Franz Ferdinand, who were also listed in a top tier of mainstream music.

But much like the popularity of rock in recent years, the band also declined and fell and hit each branch of the expectation tree with the release of sophomore album Emergency. The effort was rushed and retained little of the band’s accessibility in 2007, after celebrating a minor hit of This Is An Emergency, the media soon lost interest and no sooner did the band find themselves fall off the spectrum.

UP, GUARDS AND AT ‘EM sounds like a decent return to form on paper. A promised new sound infused with electronics and taking nearly three years to create, everything we know in mainstream music today could suddenly be flooded with nostalgic memories of 2007 once again.

NODZZZ - Innings

Innings is the sophomore album by Californian trio Nodzzz, following two years since their self titled debut. Comprising of Sean Paul on guitar, Anthony Atlas on bass and Eric Butterworth on drums, their sound of jangly, simple guitar riffs has produced some attention because of minor hits such as I Don’t Wana (Smoke Marijuana) and I Was My Parents’ Vision.

The simple sound makes for a light, breezy listen which would be perfect for a tribute to American Pie, or for any social gathering that may occur in the summer holidays.

Young Rebel Set - Curse Our Love

Young Rebel Set is a six piece band from Stockton On Tees. Fronted by Matty Chipchase on guitars/vocals, they look to add to a mild dent of beginners who have created a decent reputation for themselves in the world of music with their first offering, Curse Our Love.

Let's Wrestle - Nursing Home

Nursing Home is the sophomore album from London trio Let’s Wrestle. Comprising of Wesley Patrick Gonzalez on vocals and guitar, Sam Pillay on bass and Darkus Bishop on drums, the indie band look to build on the interest that debut In The Court Of Wrestling Let’s reproduced, and add a little bit more.

Let’s Wrestle are fortunate enough to be granted with Steve Albini as Nursing Home’s producer, considering he has worked with the likes of Pixies, Nirvana, Manic Street Preachers and Cheap Trick (to name a few), there can surely only be positives to stem from this combination.

Washed Out - Within And Without

Within And Without is the debut full length from Washed Out, an electronic based music project created by producer Ernest Greene. It follows two years on from the dawn of a new genre in EP Life In Leisure, which with it’s haze and nostalgic nature of past summers spouted the blogosphere to hail it as the birth of Chillwave, a genre with a vomit-inducing name that makes Shoegaze sound credible and shiny.

The Vines - Future Primitive

Future Primitive is the fifth studio album by Australian garage rock band The Vines. Since the release of their debut record Highly Evolved, the band have cemented themselves firmly in the mainstream for two reasons, the first for originally being loved by the mainstream media, and secondly for becoming their constant backache for the majority of their ten year career.

The Strokes - Angles

Angles is the new album by The Strokes, and comes ten years after the release of one of the most beloved and talked about debut albums in history Is This It. With The Strokes returning from a high on five year hiatus, which in that time saw the releases of Julian Casablanca’s solo material, will Angles be considered a great comeback album? What is to be expected of an album that presumably features five years worth of ideas?

The Rundowns - The Rundowns EP

Allow me to introduce to you The Rundowns, a band hailing from Essex and ready to create material for the whole country, the four piece set of Joe Mahon, Mike Ellis, George Green (Hi George) and Sean Quigley dropped their debut EP on Soundcloud. Modestly titled The Rundowns EP, the band look to attract a few more people to join their steadily growing audience.

Metronomy - The English Riviera

The English Riviera is the third studio album by indie pop band Metronomy. The band started out originally with an instrumental electronic sound for debut album Pip Paine (Pay The £5000 You Owe) which with instrumental albums did not receive a lot of attention. The band incorporated vocals in second album Nights Out, which paid off as it charted in the UK Albums Chart.

Metronomy have revised their priority list, placed song writing at the top and it shows in The English Riviera. The record is full of tracks with great rhythms and beats, great lyrics and interesting structures which ascend into mesmerising climaxes driven by well thought out chord progressions.

The Raveonettes - Raven In The Grave

The Raveonettes is an indie rock duo. Consisting of Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo, the band has achieved strong recognition throughout their decade-long career and was named as the band to introduce the next wave in the movement of contemporary music. Raven In The Grave is the fifth instalment in an already bursting discography, and follows on from two previous efforts which perfectly captured the band’s mix of noisy swells from Jesus & The Mary Chain and melodic elements stemmed from 50s rock n roll.

Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math

Manchester Orchestra is an American indie rock band based in Georgia. They comprise of rhythm guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Andy Hull, lead guitarist Robert McDowell, keyboardist and percussionist Chris Freeman, bassist Jonathan Corley, and drummer Tim Very.

The band have lead an extensive career spanning almost a decade, in that time they have released two studio albums, a studio album which was never officially released, and an extortionate amount of EPs. Simple Math is their third official studio album, and has been gaining a lot of attention in recent months.

Cold Cave - Cherish The Light Years

Cold Cave is a New York based project created by Wesley Eisold. He is responsible for the band’s experimental synthpop sound and direction, which is interesting because his discography stems from the hardcore genre, appearing in bands such as Give Up The Ghost, Some Girls, XO Skeletons and Ye Olde Maids.

Cherish The Light Years is the band’s sophomore album, following on from debut Love Comes Close. The record was published via Matador Records.

The Naked And Famous - Passive Me, Aggressive You

The Naked And Famous are a rock band from New Zealand, and this is their debut album Passive Me, Aggressive You. They have already achieved a place in the history books by becoming the first New Zealand band to top the New Zealand charts in three years with single Young Blood.

The Crookes - Chasing After Ghosts

The Crookes is a Sheffield based indie band formed in 2008. They have already achieved high acclaim in their short career, such as being championed by NME, named Band Of The Day by The Guardian, and even been invited to record live sessions with BBC Radio 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6. Chasing After Ghosts is their debut album, and it will be scrutinised against the high expectations these accolades and awards have produced.

The View - Bread And Circuses

The View are a Scottish band that have become known for incorporating elements of punk, and alternative rock into a sound that has become widely accessible in the music industry. Since the release of hit single Same Jeans in 2007, the band have become a footnote for mainstream fans to gain decent exposure to old school punk. Bread And Circuses is The View’s third album, which is a pivotal stage in any band’s career, as they have to produce an album that not only extends their sound, but bares contrasts as well as qualities with their previous efforts.

The Horrors - Skying

The Horrors are a UK band, residing in Southend-On-Sea, which means they are a local band to me. The band are responsible for mixing heavily layered synthesisers within layers of guitars to create a shoegaze sound dazzled with touches of pop. New album Skying is not physically released yet, but is streaming for free on the band's website.

Noah And The Whale - Last Night On Earth

Noah And The Whale are a band that have fallen out with the mainstream attention they gained from hit song 5 Years Time, which was released in 2008 on the band’s first album Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down. Since then, they have released their second album The First Days Of Spring which was ultimately ignored by the media, but now they are back with their third album, Last Night On Earth.

Frankie & The Heartstrings - Hunger

Frankie & The Heartstrings are a Sunderland based indie band, and this is their debut effort, entitled Hunger. Having been released in February, it had to contend with the big releases of PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake and Radiohead’s The King Of Limbs.

Herman Dune - Strange Moosic

Herman Dune are a duo from France, and this is their ninth studio release, Strange Moosic. They gained a portion of success and attention from songs such as My Home Is Nowhere Without You which featured on their previous album, Next Year In Zion, released in 2008.

Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie xx - We're New Here

We’re New Here is a remix album, combining the vocals of Gil Scott-Heron from his most recent album, I’m New Here, which was released in 2010. Jamie xx borrows these vocals and places them gently on top of self created electronic instrumentals.

Lady Gaga - Born This Way

Lady Gaga has had a meteoric rise in popularity and fame since the release of her debut album The Fame in 2008, since then she has become possibly the biggest face of mainstream music in recent times. After producing some of the world’s most liked songs in Just Dance, Pokerface, Bad Romance and Alejandro, Gaga has become an icon in the pop genre and with influences of Madonna, The Beatles and Queen, she has produced the genre’s most original songs and has achieved worldwide success.

Friendly Fires - Pala

Pala is the second album from English punk dance band Friendly Fires, and follows from the band’s monumental success from debut album, which is self titled. The 2008 release excelled the band into well known recognition and garnered them many nominations for awards such as Best Breakthrough Award, Best Dancefloor Filler Award, even the prestigious Mercury Prize Award too.

The Bum Gardeners - (go)

It’s FINALLY here! The Bum Gardeners have released their highly anticipated debut album, entitled (go) which I believe means (go)…and take a listen to their album and download it! The UK power trio are humble enough to upload their godlike material onto Soundcloud to allow the more poor fans to experience the magic.

Funeral Party - The Golden Age Of Nowhere

The Golden Age Of Nowhere is the debut album by Funeral Party, a four piece band from America. It follows after their Bootleg EP, released in 2008. Despite only starting out in the music industry, they have already experienced some attention by record labels, having been intentionally dropped by Fearless Records; they were soon gathered up and signed on Sony’s RCA Records.

White Lies - Ritual

Ritual is the second album by alternative UK band White Lies, which follows two years since the huge success of their debut record To Lose My Life.., which debuted at number one in the UK Albums Chart.

Cage The Elephant - Thank You, Happy Birthday

Thank You, Happy Birthday is the sophomore album by American outfit Cage The Elephant. The release of their first album generated a decent amount of interest which propelled the band into sitting on the boundaries of mainstream heaven.

Samiyam - Sam Baker's Album

Sam Baker’s Album is the latest release from Flying Lotus’ record label Brainfeeder, which has already gained a big reputation for producing other interesting records. Much like LCD Soundsystem maestro James Murphy’s DFA Records, Brainfeeder provides a home for an alternative to DFA’s alternative electronic music.