“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”. …

St. Vincent, Brooklyn’s sweetheart Annie Clark, has a style that can suit anyone’s fancy. And Actor is a powerful example of an astonishing effort from Clark to develop down right delightful tunes. It’s the warm coffee in the morning. As well as the ecstasy for an exciting night. If “Laughing With A Mouth of Blood” doesn’t make you feel like break-dancing at your closest Starbucks, there is something seriously wrong with you. “Marrow” should be that sort of cut that leaves you feeling less whole …

It is no secret that I have what some would clinically deem an unhealthy fascination with that we call the moustache. I’ve sported one for several years now; it’s red. Well the latest video from Camera Obscura finds the band’s mastermind, Traceyann Campbell, doing the same. Yeah, it’s fake (of course), but that doesn’t matter. Like all Camera Obscura videos, this one features a unique little storyline both fun and creative.

It’s mid-Summer 2009 and we are finally treated with the creative meeting of two of the more eclectic and eccentric minds in independent music — Bradford Cox (Atlas Sound, Deerhunter) and Noah Lennox (Panda Bear, Animal Collective). Atlas Sound’s “Walkabout” is the result, and it features Lennox’s pop-riddled vocals draped by the experimental sounds signature to Atlas Sound. The combination is brilliant; genius minds like these really should collaborate more often.

Written by Fense
If Stereolab (MySpace) were a person, they’d have recently graduated from high school. That’s how long Stereolab has been around. Eighteen years. That means they formed in 1990. That means I was 10 at the time. Come November they will prepare to enter their fourth U.S. presidency. Their longevity outlives most independent labels and most independent bands; hell, they formed during the Cold War!