Todosantos - Aeropuerto
Venezuelan "Cure" with a more modern edge... kinda zapato-gazers with a Guns and Roses fetish.

Stone Jack Jones - Bluefolk
Americana noise-folk. Quiet and desperate.

One Second Bridge – One Second Bridge
Highly compositional nu-ethnoambient from Barcelona. “We played guitars, computers, and sang a little.”

ladyhawk - ladyhawk
i still can't really understand why this doesnt get the hype it deserves. its like black mountain if they were a good band. if comets on fire and ladyhawk went on a tour together it would be the most awesome indie throwback long-hair rock tour ever. it's drunk ugly dudes that wear expensive pants but like nature and like rock n roll and neil young equally. and just want to slam a guitar in your face and then be your friend afterward. arguably the best "indie rock" record of the year.
fans of: dinosaur jr., crazy horse, black mountain


math and physics club - math and physics club
also one of my very favorite albums of the year. i just found it before the brother kite, and hold it dear to my heart. its just a super cute album. yes i said it, super cute. its some of the absolute best pop music all year. its a short album. its like that one sweater you own that you always want to wear. horribly gay, but so what. basically its like the first 2-3 belle and sebastian albums exactly, but they might even execute it better. or with more hooks. and we all know hooks are what matter. thats why they are called hooks.
fans of: belle and sebastian, lucksmiths, orchids, twee.


mindy smith - long island shores
not necessarily a small name, but i guess i didn't really hear about the record much here, and i figure its something a few people would dig. its not a great record and probably won't make my top 50, but its good for what it is. mindy has a beautiful voice, she sings about god and love, she does the whole alt. country female singer thing as well as anyone out there. bits of the album are flat, but bits of it are super strong too.
fans of: tift merritt, be good tanyas, kasey chambers, all that.


mohair - small talk
this album is a riot. a great time. its just a flat out, fun british indie rock n roll album. i dont even know if its indie or what. who cares. you could write them off as just another band, as i originally planned on doing or you could give them a listen and just be reeled in by their insanely catchy choruses and the beat of their music. its just about unmatched.
fans of: arctic monkeys, art brut, hot hot heat, the hives, etc.

The Changes - Today is Tonight

RIYL: Unrest, The Police

great album, but im pretty sure its 2005. or at least i had it for the majority of 2005. i would suggest a lot of people check it out anyway, also bits of the notwist in there.

wow, Harry, i think we have more in common than you would like to believe.

awesome album.

Owusu & Hannibal - Living with Owusu & Hannibal


Dabrye - Two/Three


Burial - Burial


Milanese - Extend

Borg, good choice with the Burial album. i know that splates and I have been pretty vocal about our love for it.

his new tune is ABSURD. so freakin good.

nicolas makelberge - dying in africa
great release out of sweden (they basically run the music scene now don't they? some nice synth/dance pop since we can't get enough of it. just really well executed stuff.
fans of: junior boys, peter gabriel


norfolk and western - the unsung colony
my personal favorite local portland band has finally lived up to their abilities. this album is incredible. very excellent orchestral folk/pop music that aims high and hits about as high as it aims. atmospheric, catchy, epic and simple all wrapped in one. these guys will catch on soon.


the oh sees - the cool death of island raiders
i dont really expect anyone to like this release, but i fucking love it and not just because its jon dwyer (but that helps). its bizarre atmospheric drone pop, recorded horribly (but produced by the white dude from tv on the radio). it sounds great to my ears, especially with good head phones, late at night on the beach. the first song on the record is one of the catchiest songs all year, even if you can't really decipher any of the lyrics. there are like 3 songs that are just dumb drone sounds, but they aid in the sound of the album. just throwing it out there for anyone who MIGHT be interested, i wasn't but gave it a chance and love it.
fans of: ariel pink, lo-fi

k im gonna go watch tv for a bit. will post the rest of the alphabet tonight or tomorrow.

i think overall i like the skream album more. still feeling out the milanese and kode9/spaceape albums though. that new burial tune is sick though.

My bad... you are right. So, in place of them:

Telegrama - A quien pueda interesar maybe 2005 in Venezuela but 2006 in US.

yeah that burial album is great

i actually think i prefer his little aphex like ambient sketches over the full blown dubstep type tracks

The Sammies - s/t [MoRisen]

Just some good, no frills rock that comes off as a more garage-y version of the Long Winters and is fairly similar to the Whigs.



Tall Hands - s/t [Pulse]

Kind of like a more upbeat version of Spoon. The band calls it "boat rock," though I can't figure out why. They're rather good live to so if you can catch them, do so.

i should start to read my descriptions. they don't make a whole lot of sense.

They're not that bad man.

Everytime I read reviews on sites like Tiny Mix Tapes, Treble, Dusted, Delusion Of Adequacy and six billion other sites I think "huh, I'd probably like Album A reviewed here, I bet."

And that's about as far as it usually gets because there are too many releases.

thats better than me, who downloads everything and then dies due to overload

are you kidding, I saw them open for margot & the nuclear so & sos and they were absolutely terrible. couldn't play together to save their lives.

really cool reviews. keep it up! i'll try to contribute some, but i'm about as obscure as tom cruise (but taller).

Dale - which ones of your picks are not electronic, and more in the rock vein, cause those I wanna check out...

the other one to stick out to me was : DARK MEAT

i'm about to write up something on this! so good.

working for a nuclear free city.s/t


bert jansch.the black swan


howling bells.s/t


milburn.well well well


captain.this is hazelville


the sunshine underground.raise the alarm


duels.the bright lights and what i should have learned


low skies.all the love i could find


lone official.tuckassee take

i need to hit you up some more on 5l5k. what's your #5 shack like? RIYL?

i just discovered shack this year....imo, sounds like the band oasis should have become after their second album. very british. critics seem to always compare them to the band Love (if that helps at all?)

i've got in-laws in all week, but i'll try to get on slsk and just leave it open all week for ya. go nuts!

thanks! sounds like something i'd dig. (i became disappointed in oasis after disc #2.)

I've only heard one song off this and it was pretty damn good.