Allt Är Musik is somewhat of a rarity in that Andreas Sjögren, the primary force behind Allt Är Musik, sings in his native tongue. The typical Swedish artist tends to sing in English. On Skapelseberättelsen, Allt Är Musik creates lo-fi pop tunes that blend acoustic guitars with drone-ridden synths, the combination of which is quite peaceful.

The Argyle Wishlist may have put it best themselves: their music spans from soft folk pop to fuzzed out electrobeat compositions. These styles, and the lovable indie pop and twee that make up the space between, can be heard on Day Trips, the group’s recent 3″ release.

Tafra‘s “Oh Daniel” follows a Suburban Kids With Biblical Names influence. The track could as easily have been found on one of the duo’s Labrador Records releases as on Tafra’s Why Even Bother. This is, of course, no surprise. And you’ll soon learn why…

The first time I heard Pigeon Lane, I thought it was a new project by Pelle Carlberg. But it quickly dawned on me that it indeed was not — Pigeon Lane’s sound is filled with similar amounts of pop, but the vocals (the trait most like Carlberg) are less humorous, less professional. Compared to Carlberg, Pigeon Lane fits a lower-fi profile. This suits them well; in a way, this style is comparable to early Starlet or early Acid House Kings.

The vocal powers behind Double Dan may sound familiar; if they do, massive props are in store. Double Dan’s Malmö origins and Swedish back-story include an impressive incestuous history of great Scandinavian pop groups. Their history trails through The Ambassadeurs, Sambassadeur. Consisting of Dan Eriksson (also of Starlet, September, and occassionally of Club 8), Dan Lindgren (from Alexis and September), and Joakim Ödlund (of Poprace, Starlet, and Acid House Kings fame), Double Dan’s music finds most similarity to Ödlund’s Poprace.

In Wizard On Fire, Robert Church comes across as the twee stepbrother of The Radio Dept. “Old Friend” has that overly distorted slash mashed with reverb sound of the much loved Lesser Matters, but the fuzziness lacks the production that kept The Radio Dept. from being slapped with the lo-fi label. But that label works well here; it fits Robert Church & The Holy Community. For the most part, Wizard On Fire is decidedly more pop friendly than Le Rouge, Robert Church And The Holy Community’s last Series …

Hinting strongly of Sarah Records and the twee movement, Charlie Big Time can easily be likened to everyone from greats like The Field Mice and Lovejoy, to more modern artists like Palomar and Tender Trap. And, of course, the king of all twee-based influences: The Smiths. There is no denying the influence of The Smiths here, both the songwriting and vocal styling have Moz written all over “Love Is A Franchise”.

Their motto is clear: We release records when we feel like it. If anyone likes to listen, we’re glad. If no one listens, we’ll keep doing it anyway. It’s a great attitude and likely one held by terrible bands and great bands worldwide. Luckily for The Hartmans (MySpace), they lean toward greatness.

Desmond Reed is a mystery. The clues are few. It’s a he, he resides in Massachusetts, and he shares his name with a USC Trojan football player. So I guess it’s a little surprising that his music is not a mystery. The messages are clear and honest and simple and, at times, a little strange. At least that’s what can be gathered off his three-song, three-inch CD-R out now on Susy Records, The Window Shopping EP.

I’ve had a copy of The Pristines‘ State Of Mine release on Series II for some time, but with the amount of promos I get, I just hadn’t had a chance to fully appreciate it’s indie pop awesomeness. That is, until I received a cute little 3″ CD-R from Peru’s lovable new pop label Susy Records.