Pond.

It still amazes me that I haven't posted about Pond yet. I was introduced to these guys earlier on this year by a good friend only to find out that they are a large proportion of my other obsession, Tame Impala. These psychedelic rockers from Fremantle in Western Australia released possibly one of the most creative and energetic releases of the year. "Beard, Wives, Denim" is 13 tracks of pure psychedelic gold with sonic explorations in tracks like 'Eye Pattern Blindness' and 'You Broke My Cool' and good old fashion jam songs like 'Moth Wings' and 'Elegant Design'. Just buy the album, it's only 12 bucks on iTunes but worth a million bucks in brain melting guitar riffs and swift head bangs.

Mac Demarco.

Cooking up something good is definitely what Mac DeMarco has been doing with his second album aptly titled "2". This being the opening track of the album, it sets the pace for what is an enjoyable insight into the casual, tongue n' cheek world of DeMarco. Packed full of cheesy reverberated guitar riffs and hazy drawn out vocals, "2" is a real fun album but with a casual vibe that says 'relax dude'. The best thing about DeMarco's songs on this album is his ability to make the simplest of tunes memorable and full of character. Listen to 'Ode to Viceroy' and 'Freaking out the Neighborhood' to see what i'm talking about.

Luke Lalonde.

Luke Lalonde, the voice behind the playful Canadian outfit Born Ruffians, has spread his wings and flown solo for his latest project "Rhythymnals" which is proving to be a pop-ier affair than the standard band formation of the Ruffians due to the interesting array of sounds mixed into the songs' production. As is a Lalonde signature, his song writing is so pleasantly melodic throughout this whole album. The featured song is  almost a Spanish love ballad filled with great atmospheric harmonies and a slowly ascending melody - it's titled 'Inamorataos'; other noteworthy tracks are 'Grand (Rhythymnals)' and 'A Great Man'.

Sticky Fingers.

Sydney surf-dub rockers Sticky Fingers are going to blow up and it's only a matter of time. You heard it first on tunemonkey, because these lads have everything you need to succeed in the business today; cool haircuts, some ethnic band members and bucket loads of cheek. It doesn't hurt to have a few catchy-as-hell songs either, such as this one here. . .

Foals.

We are seeing an edgier almost more aggressive Foals in this video than we're used to. There latest release 'Inhale' still has all those trademark foals noises - echoed guitar effects, syncopated rhythms and the layered high pitched vocals but with this song they've done something they've never done before - developed a chunky Muse-like chorus that rocks pretty hard.

Kyson.

A mellow ambiance drips from Kyson's tracks. If you lend yourself to transportation you can hear the meticulous formation of atmosphere in each of the Berlin-based producer's precisely crafted glitch beat workings. Originally from Australia, Jian Kellett-Liew calls upon field recordings to create the sonic landscapes that you hear in this particular track titled 'Remi.' Watch out for Kyson over the next few years, his latest recordings are bearing some well ripened fruits and they're only getting better and better.  

Sinkane.

Sudanese native Ahmed Gallab has made big moves as a session musician and creative prodigy for bands such as Yeasayer, Caribou, Of Montreal and Born Ruffians and as indie prodigies do, they eventually wind up in Brooklyn. It was there that Gallab focused his talents into his project known as Sinkane where his multi-instrumental mindset and African rhythms led to the creation of some funky music. His new album "Mars" was just released and so far it blows my mind so I can only anticipate how it will sound after repetitious treatment. 

Local Natives.

Local Natives have been a casualty of the indie rock era. What I mean by this is that there are just too many bands out there that do this style of melodic, rhythmic and atmospheric rock music that Local Natives have just not received the accolades they deserve. Seeing them live is an experience in itself as every band member has an equally angelic voice making their harmonies so brilliantly satisfying. With their sophomore record on its way, the single 'Breakers' is a taste of what we are likely to hear - something along the lines of The Maccabees "Given To The Wild" we're hoping.

Flying Lotus.

Steve Ellison is incredibly creative. His compositions are essentially arrangements of obscure sounds, performed on a vast richness of instruments, constructed together to form a very palatable symphony of noise. I can admit that not all is easily digestible unless you crave some alternative to the western form of songwriting but it's roots are so diverse that tying the music of Flying Lotus down to a genre is very difficult. His new album "Until the Quiet Comes" has received plenty of hype but that's probably because it is in a direction of it's own.

The Babies.

It would seem as though Brooklyn is this pregnant woman that keeps popping out overly decent indie rock bands every nine months or so - sometimes with twins. The Babies are an amalgamation of other indie do-gooders but we won't go into what that meant for old Ms. Brooklyn. Just enjoy their new track it's called 'Get Lost'.

The Sheepdogs.

The Sheepdogs do catchy as hell blues rock. With fuzz straight out of the 70's this Canadian ensemble will remind you of the good old days when jeans were tight and hair was long. Co produced by Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney, you can feel the simple goodness in The Sheepdogs' songwriting. Their 4th studio album came out last month but I bet you'll be listening to it for many more. Frontman Ewan Currie has possibly the most appropriate voice for his style of music, its a gosh darn potent combo.

The Kite String Tangle.

Strange name, but I guess over a century of popular music would be a tough mine to excavate for a nice chunk of name gold. That aside, The Kite String Tangle is a Brisbane based ambient electronic artist who is also known as Danny Harley to his friends and local grocer. . . hopefully. His song 'Commotion' is an nice piece of electronica. It has a calming vibe with its bouncy and syncopated rhythms accompanied by Harley's hazy vocals - but it is also very dance-able; especially through the chorus which erupts with many layers of crisp and dirty synths. 

Tame Impala.

I've posted about Tame Impala recently, I realise this, but shut up it's Tame Impala. "Lonerism" comes out in 5 days but tunemonkey has a live stream hookup for you just in case you couldn't wait. I couldn't. . .

Anitek.

Anitek is an American trip-hop producer and multi-instrumentalist based in Switzerland. He has a prolific output of tracks which makes his fan base happy chaps. His most recent release, "Calm & Collect Vol. 3", is a chilled out and beautifully composed 8 track album which preaches peace and harmony to some crispy beats - a surprisingly compelling mix; think DJ Shadow meets Bonobo meets Gandhi.

Woods.

Woods are a indie/folk rock band from Brooklyn. Since forming in 2005, Woods have released 5 critically acclaimed albums but have received considerably little commercial success. Their recent effort "Bend Beyond" fits the woods mold by being a pleasantly chilled album perfect for a summer cruise. Although the guitar chord progression almost completely rips off an Oasis song, 'Cali In A Cup' is a gorgeous little tune.

David Byrne & St. Vincent

David Byrne has one of the most recognisable vocal styles in pop music. His melodic arrangements are always beyond interesting but in this recent collaboration, St. Vincent (Annie Erin Clark) shows up as the attention seeker with her fresh and fluttering voice over what is essentially a groovy jazz dub. The pair compliment each other's unique styles with moments of folk harmonies, and if you watch the clip - killer dance moves.

Kimbra.

Ok so Kimbra has a new video out. As she is without a doubt my celebrity crush and hopefully the mother of my many children, I am not even going to review it and just accept that she has created another masterpiece. This woman can do no wrong . . ever.

Chrome Sparks.

Jeremy Malvin is one of those impressively young wave makers. A postponed college degree and a few Roland synths seems to be the magic ingredient to some rad chillwave/synthpop. Under the name Chrome Sparks this 21 year old is grabbing the attention of indie movers and shakers so, if you're a hipster, pretend you've already heard of him.

KOAN Sound.

Okay so you want to hear some dubstep that isn't shitty? That's a bit hasty. . . we have nothing against dubstep here at tunemonkey. We just like it when it doesn't sound like tranformers having unprotected sex. Here is an example of some smooth, melodic dubstep that has a real jazzie vibe to it. And yes you can dance to it without looking like a sped.

Future Islands.

Sammuel T. Herring  has this voice that makes you think he was born in a different era . . . with different genes . . . and a different hairstyle. Mix this soulful timbre with a very contemporary and spacey backing group and you have an incredible audio cocktail. the Baltimore group have just released a song called 'Tomorrow' that doesn't happen to appear on their latest album but just had to get out there.