Abby Mott (Manila, Philippines): Totally angelic indie-pop … Mott displays a growing songwriting sophistication and a divine sense of vocal control … with the sort of sensual abandon that would cause fans of Jenny Lewis, the Watson Twins and Zooey Deschanel to eat their James Perse pants. — CityPaper, Baltimore
Bangkutaman (Yogyakarta, Indonesia): Bangkutaman, which taken from Bahasa Indonesia with the meaning “park bench,” was originally formed by J. Irwin and Bayu Prabowo in 1999 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The band members are J. Irwin (lead guitar and backing vocal), Wahyu “Acum” Nugroho (lead vocal and bass guitar) and Dedyk Erianto (drums).
Birds of California (Roslindale, Mass.): … brings to mind the happier pop of compositions by Van Dyke Parks and the early psych-sunshine or 90’s shoegaze-pop of indie groups like The Eggs, or The Boo Radleys — packed with a bit more crunch, and feedback of course! — Girl About Town
Bourgeois Heroes (Northampton, Mass./Austin, Tex.): The deep, mystical vocals of Bourgeois Heroes would fit in very well next to a band like The Church or Echo & The Bunnymen or another similar melodramatic 80s group. While the Heroes hint occasionally at that sound on their release Musical Postcards, it also possesses the instrumentation of modern pop bands like Belle & Sebastian. And you can hear select other influences, as wide-ranging as The Pastels and The Zombies. — Fensepost
Brilliant At Breakfast (Yogyakarta, Indonesia): I noticed that they seem to be pals with Annemarie, which makes perfect sense given two points: they’re both from Indonesia, they both play pop songs with equal doses of sunshine and whimsy. It’s not too early to start thinking about Spring, and this song is the perfect way to get yourself in the mood! — Skatterbrain
The Cavemen Go (New Haven, Conn./Boston, Mass./Brooklyn, N.Y.): Think about the Kinks and Elvis Costello, and if you smile, you’ll probably be into The Cavemen Go. Following the requisite series of EPs, TCG finally released their debut full-length New Lives earlier this year, solidifying their place as one of the top bands in the state. They’ve got jangly guitars, oohs and ahs, playful melodies, truly thoughtful lyrics and just a touch of punk rock attitude. — New Haven Advocate
Dexter Poindexter (Wheeling, Ill.): I was floored when I realized that this ‘outfit’ was, in fact, one person. Dexter Poindexter’s first release … seems like something a music veteran might have released; Perfect tight sound with melodies you feel like you heard before (in a very good way). — Norman Records
Eastern Phoebes (Long Island, N.Y.): Give them a cramped room full of random, forgotten instruments, and they will you give an album full of love, humility and maybe even a cup of hot herbal tea! — The Lucid Listener
Even Artichokes Have Hearts (New Haven, Conn.): The most frustrating thing about returning to Connecticut is that 98% of anyone who plays an instrument in this state chooses the wrong path, and that 99% of the listening population here could give a shit. That’s fine. I gave up trying to change that a long time ago, but every now and then you get a glimmer of hope and today I present the new brightness: Even Artichokes Have Hearts. … Two pals just killing it sweetly … — F*ck Yeah! Go Team!
The Fictional West (New Haven, Conn.): With hints of The Magnetic Fields, the Smiths, and what I say tastes like Orange Juice [The Fictional West] have a perfect formula for down-tempo jangle pop … No lie, the Giant Clouds single sounds like it could have been sent in to NME and gotten lost in the post for 20 years. — Sugar Sours
Ghost of Chance (New Haven, Conn.): … this record, with drum and bass low in the mix, quirky time changes, big, wide reverb-wash and Mellotron patches aplenty sounds more like late-era, John Lennon Beatles. “Dreams” and “The Breath” are sonic reminders of “Julia” and “Across the Universe.” … In short, it sounds sort of like The White Album, and that’s not a bad thing. — New Haven Advocate
Jayson Munro (Darien, Conn./New York, N.Y.): … Jayson Munro does some solid early ’90s guitar work that could be bookended by anything from the Lilys to Teenage Fanclub. — CT Indie
The Inclined Plane (Hartford, Conn.): Sometimes delicate, sometimes assertively pounding, the band grabs hold of so many classic indie-pop signposts (jangly guitars, buzzing organs, white noise, and, most importantly, catchy melodies that shine through it all), it’s clear they understand the ’80s progenitors of the subgenre and also the early ’60s records those bands were referencing. — New Haven Advocate
The Month of June (New York/Connecticut): On the b-side, there’s ‘Daffodil’ – a more straightforward pop song, with a chorus that will accompany your every waking moment from now until eternity. There’s also a nice bit of trumpet from Brad San Martin of One Happy Island. I’d go as far to say that ‘Daffodil’ is the best song here. — A Layer of Chips
Onward Chariots (Brooklyn/Queens, NY): Once again Ben Morss and company present a wonderful little EP with two shiny gems “A New Beginning” and “Seven Miles Away” – both are delicate pop candy full of falsetto harmonies and club beats matched with a perfectly placed guitar riff in the latter track. Bring on the full length guys. — Powerpopaholic
Secret Charisma (Boston, Mass.): Nice to see a little innovation being introduced into the world of indiepop. — Kitten Painting
Summer Library (New Rochelle, NY): Patrick Kelly has that perfect knack of writing the most simple pop songs, yet making them so affecting. He takes the world around him, romanticizes it, adds a melody bands have spend years getting nowhere near, and then, lucky us, we get to listen to it. … Lovelorn fans of Brighter and Harper Lee be aware: there’s some magic at work here, and it’s called Summer Library. — A Layer of Chips
Two If By Sea (London, ON, Canada): … from time to time there are also some new bands that are suddenly turning the corner and touching my inside in a very particular kind with their surprising facility and warmth — to these belong Two If By Sea … due to Teresa’s seraphic, almost whispered voice and a well-chosen instrumentation with some dashes of electronics, the songs seem to be fallen out of time and leave a calm, honest and deep feeling of serenity — unfortunately this is very scarce in these frantic days. — There And Back Again Lane
The Tyler Trudeau Attempt (New Haven, Conn./Brooklyn, NY): I was reminded of all manner of awesome late punk and new wave bands. The Tyler Trudeau Attempt specialize not only in evoking the sounds of that time, but also the stubborn awkwardness, the difficulty of interpretation. … Trudeau’s musical vision may seem to call upon cultural moments too disparate to make sense — but the thing is, his music makes it gel. — Hartford Advocate
The Whatevers (Leeds, England): There is a thing with bands, where you work ,and write, and toil and one day it just CLICKS. Leeds duo The Whatevers have well and truly broken through. … Describing their sound as a ‘pop punk twee mess’, what they actually make is a gorgeous boppy, fun sound with Edwyn Collins meets Emma Pocketbooks vocals. The lyrics are also pretty bloody good, real stories to sigh to on the bus, stories you have lived through yourself. And get this, there are lines you can actually laugh out load to. Wow. — Brill Dream blog
Women’s Basketball (New Haven, Conn./Brooklyn, NY): Women’s Basketball isn’t what you’d call a “real” band. It consists solely of a bloke called Tyler Trudeau who plays everything. The album “An Octopus, But Like, An Octopus With Massive Wings And Junk” is released this month through Tweefort and is guaranteed to put a smile on even the most miserable of creatures. — Burning World
