To me, it wouldn’t make sense for someone completely obsessed with modern indie pop to not enjoy a good Morressey song. And to dislike The Smiths would appear downright fallacious. Now I missed last year’s LP, but I did catch Ringleader Of The Tormentors, and while I didn’t think it held the sway of Moz’s early stuff, it was a more than viable collection of songs. “Gangland” wasn’t on the album, but it did get cast as the b-side to “The Youngest Was The Most Loved” — …

Björn Kleinhenz creates pleasant folk-pop with a romantic edge. Like a Swedish version of something by Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam, “The Mountain Pt. 2″ features a soft acoustic guitar, finger-plucked to a calming bliss and accompanied by beautiful vocals. Kleinhenz coos: I am a mountain now, I am the sea and sky, I am a puff of smoke coming through your window in the chorus. Musical and vocal, “The Mountain Pt. 2″ hits all the right notes.

“Modern Drift” is a lot moodier than a lot of what you’ll hear on earlier Efterklang, but the orchestral and pop sensibilities found on those earlier releases, Parades and Tripper, remain steadfast. Efterklang is still very much in the business of creating some of the best experimental pop around. A consistent piano backing sets the stage, accompanied by monumental percussion and deep horns. Perhaps most surprising is the lack of multiple vocalists, which was instrumental in the greatness of songs like “Caravan” and “Cutting Ice To Snow”. …

Portland’s favorite and most outlandish band of gypsies has teamed up with the amazingly gifted animation artist Temris Ridge to bring you their terrific new track “Two Miles From Home”. The worldly boys of The Fenbi International Superstars have strayed from their classic mild mannered Irish stamina to bring their every growing fan base a tale of the demons that you will never be able to avoid. They have chosen a nice catchy indie pop sound to bring out the message rather than their signature ‘happier than Gogol-Bordello’ …

I’ve lived in the land of tulips for damn near two years now, tucked away comfortably in the Skagit Valley, hidden in the northern and western most part of the continental United States. Aside from the more known K Records artists that reside in the nearby Anacortes, I know very little truly local music, which is quite a shame. Enter Marc, a resident of this region and an old roommate from my Pullman grad school days. He recommended checking out Rooftops, a math-y rock band from the …