My first worry for Sydney band Pockets was that their name had almost certainly been taken by another band somewhere else on God’s green earth, and we were about to see a battle play out on similar proportions to the One Direction vs One Direction conflict which has deeply affected us all. My fears proved unfounded however, as Pockets have since broken up. A new set of fears then arose, derived from my worry that I’m only now listening to the goodworks of a band that I’ll plainly never hear live. Yes, there are other incarnations of the same band members (see the Mountains) and I’ve seen them play way back when, but I want to see these songs played live. Why world, why?

If you couldn’t already tell, I think Pockets are really, really good. There’s a strength of musicianship that transcends the ability to play music that’s popular here and now. These are songs you could come back to in years and still appreciate the craftsmanship of even after the fact, when trends and styles have come and gone. To give you some idea of what you’re about to to listen to, the recipe is something like the following:

• 1 part Real Estate
• 2 parst Silversun Pickups
• 1 part Copeland (ca. 2004)
• 1 part I Heart Hiroshima

It’s not as black and white as that and there’s a whole lot of exclusive influence tumbled in with the rest but that’s what I’m hearing, that’s what I’m feeling. Below are my two favourite tracks from the record. The sun-soaked vocal harmonies in ‘Caretaker’ are pleasing, wrapped around a guitar melody that’s reclining on a bed of doo-wops. ‘Telescopes’ starts with some rare lone wolf vocals from Trevor Davis (which the record could easily have had more of) and concludes with a guitar part to delight any lo-fi, post-rock officianado. If you don’t have any money to spare, worry not, you need make no greater offering than the thirty seconds it’ll take you to click this link and hit the ‘Free Download’ button.

Here’s a gentleman worth keeping an eye on courtesy of his apparent ability to make music within any chosen genre. Have a listen to the pair of songs streaming below and you’ll have to agree, you’ll just have to agree that they are quite dissimilar, am I right? I’m right and I’m astute and that’s why I’m a viable music media node. Respect me. The one song sounds like an under produced Justin Timberlake, with the light sprinklings of an Oscar + Martin jam. There are some organic sounds in there that thanks to my well honed ear, I’ve been able to identify as the jingling of car keys and the clinking of a vintage collectible spoon on an empty jar of Cottee’s jam.

The other, the more recent ‘Selma Blair’ from his third record Home, has this chorusey bit that comes in around the 1:00 mark that is sure to set your heart a-flutter. Rollicking banjo? Don’t mind if I do. It’s a far folkier affair and it’s a better representation of the album in which it resides which is, incidentally, free. He’s from Melbourne too, just by the by.

Yeo – ‘Two sides Of A Door’ [DOWNLOAD]

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Yeo – ‘Selma Blair’ [DOWNLOAD]

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While their band name has dated worse than a Von Dutch trucker cap/hooded t-shirt combination, I argue that their 2007 record The Ghost That Carried Us Away is still relevant even in this indie-folk saturated market. Released through Morr Music (known for Radical Face, The American Analogue Set and Electric President) it was vessel to a track called ‘I Sing I Swim’ which immediately won me over. Lead singer Sindri Már Sigfússon also works under the moniker Sin Fang, and when he does, my oh my, good sounds abound. He’s that guy who comes to the party with two bottles of wine when you only asked him to bring one bottle of wine. In this analogy each bottle of wine represents a different musical project, though it’s important to recognise that both wines (musical projects) are of fine vintage (songful quality) and do not lead to extended drunkenness (unenjoyment) and possible termination of employment due to indecent exposure (possible termination of employment due to indecent exposure). Again though, I reiterate that there are two good things where you only expected one good thing, which exceeds all expectations by 100%, maybe more if you have low opinions of this blog.

Streaming below are two songs from Seabear’s The Ghost That Carried Us Away and one from each of Sin Fang’s two records.

Seabear – I Sing, I Swim [DOWNLOAD]

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Seabear – Libraries

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Sin Fang – Clangour and Flutes

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Sin Fang – Always Everything [DOWNLOAD]

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I’ve slept on this one for a good six months now because I think part of me has been incapacitated by the thought that someone might think my tastes too cheesy, or maybe too comfortable which they probably can be, but I shouldn’t project that onto you. You deserve better than that. You’ve been here since I was exclusively a Sufjan Stevens exposure blog (not entirely untrue) and you stuck with me even when I didn’t really know how to use twitter. You did that, that was you! So let’s take a moment to mourn any credibility I might have once had.

And now let’s get on with things. Actually let’s not yet. Buckley Ward, if you are reading this, I want to make clear that I’m not saying your music doesn’t have credibility. I’m saying that people are quick to declare accessible music valueless. I think your music is a bang on. It’s carries that indie pop sense that often comes laced with tropical guitar tones. I was drawn to the none-too-overpowering nature of those tones however, in that you don’t make them the centerpiece of the tracks where bands like New Navy seem to let it override the sense of melody. I really feel these songs.

The Melbourne group have a full-length out April 20 through Shock which will house the two single below. I’m forced to use soundcloud embeds because you destroyed my bandwidth last month.

I know, I know, the title of this post reads as if I’ve made a pop sampler but there’s no Ne-Yo nor Beyonce in sight, just a recently renamed Morning Benders. That’s right, the band former known as The Morning Benders are now called POP ETC because they’ve only now, seven years in, discovered that Bender is derogatory cockney slang for a homosexual. Hard to believe since it was the first thing I thought of when I first saw their name on paper, but there it is. They immediately christened the new name with a new release, a mixtape on the house. It’s a little more synth-centric, the indie rock might be slightly closer to an indie pop, but these days the two are virtually indisitinguishable anyway so we cool. I actually think there’re comparisons to be made between this and the most recent record from NYC band Fun. (who are a massive guilty pleasure of mine), in that both of them push the autotune envelope, have a frontman who can wail, and have underplayed moments of lounge as well as hip-hopesque beats. Below is my choice cut ‘Everything Is Gone’, which would fit perfectly on the next Blackroc record if the vocals were traded for an MC’s verse. Download the whole thing here and make your own assessments.

Pop Etc – ‘Everything Is Gone’

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While I’m here, I’m going to come out and say that I’m completely ok with autotune. It’s only the enemy of the Idol/X-Factor singer. I want to hear creative composition and interesting aesthetics, I don’t need an artist to prove they have the best set of pipes on them. It’s become just another tool in the same way reverb is. Obviously, it’s not always the case, but seriously, Sufjan could pee in a cup and I’d still call it Champagne.