Here are some of the highlights that arrived at our inbox in the last month or so:

* New Thrill Parade’s noisy, piss’d and dark 3rd album is coming out on Wonder Quest soon. The sludgy beginning of the track made this an instant fave but the theatrical vocals (a la a gothed-up Tiger Lillies) sealed the deal. Band to watch!.

* Wait til the ice melts, compilation on Exponential is an emerging artists from Texas sampler which is mostly electronic music with hiphopish beats. I quite liked the jazzy cut-up Diego track, Horizontal K’s URAQTK and the opener by A.M. Architect. For fans of Prefuse 73 etc.

Gina X - No GDM 1979

* 16 year old indie pop sensation Please Quiet Ourselves with some clumsy freak-pop. Nothing groundbreaking, but still better than most of the teenpop stuff.

* Seattle singer-songwriter Andy Liotta is the The Billie Burke Estate I almost never listen to pop-rock, yet I gave it a spin after it came into my inbox and it’s ok. Also the proof that I try to listen to everything that gets sent even if it’s a month or so late ;)

* Enoyed this Ruby Beats Remix on Paw Tracks to a band named Rings. In fact the remix with crunkish beats and swirling electronic synths didn’t interest me as much as the vocals. After a few detective tricks, I realised that Rings is the new name of First Nation, which is the all girl trio from NY with a great debut that gave the anthemic Female Trance to us. Lovely.

A Number of Names - Shari Vari 1982 on Detroit local show “The Scene”

* Plunderphonics band Oh Astro has a new album out here’s the opener Snow Queen, which samples Ratatat’s “Desert Eagle” and Lily Allen’s “Everything Is Wonderful”

* Alt-country stuff from UK’s Goodtimes Goodtimes

Taraf de Haïdouks - Latcho Drom

* One of the most influential Balkan orchestras, the Romanian gypsy Taraf de Haïdouks has a new one called Maskarada on Belgium’s Crammed label, after 6 years of silence. This happy folk tune “Lezginkha” with lovely cymbalom, violin and accordeon parts is actually a traditional song from the Caucasus region.

* Gina X and A Number of Names gems courtesy of Disco not Disco

New Thrill Parade - Paradise Glommed
Diego - Father’s Son
Please Quiet Ourselves - The Light
Goodtimes Goodtimes - Sunshine Sunshine
The Billie Burke Estate - I can float
Taraf de Haidouks - Lezginkha
Rings - You remind me (Ruby Beats Remix)
Oh Astro - Snow Queen