UK's
The Invisible are
Matthew Herbert's latest signings on
Accidental. You'd think it'd be some kind of innovative electronic music, but surprise, it's stone cold rock!.
Dave Okumu (formerly of Jade Fox) ,
Tom Herbert (Polar Bear/Acoustic Ladyland) and
Leo Taylor (Gramme/Zongamin) have created a stripped down and danceable indie rock (but not as "danceable" as say DFA or the nu-rave kids, Thank God!) on
Image And Distraction their surprisingly mature debut. Also featuring vocal contributions and blessings from UK songstress
Eska and jazz wunderkind
Seb Rochford and remix treatment by
Leafcutter John.
Wooden Shjips
A hypnotic synth, a stripped down beat & jangling guitar jams dominate the opening track of
Wooden Shjips Self Titled debut on
Holy Mountain. This San Francisco band really got me with their own brand of psychedelic minimalism and garage sound. Awesome track, got to buy the CD!.
I don't remember where I heard the name of
Amasser before but I'm sure I did somewhere before. The name comes from the method, of amassing songs spontaneously without any given direction. That's why none of the songs sound like the other on
Legal Wall. A chaotic mixture of indie/acoustic folk/noise rock and electronics.
A little bit quality hiphop from Chicago's
Copperpot, friend of UK rapper
Braintax which put UK on the hiphop map for me.
WYLA? has some influential feats like the legendary
KRS-One as well as
Tortoise drummer
Dan Bitney who has recently been involved in
Bumps, a hiphop beats album devised entirely of drum tracks. Oh, and btw, UK rappers are so much funnier than their gangsta counterparts from USA!