Trouble Books & Mark McGuire - self-titled (Bark & Hiss, 2011)

I admit, I've never given too much attention to Mark McGuire and to his band Emeralds because none of his tracks I've heard grabbed totally my attention.

On the other side, my admiration for the discography of Trouble Books is without flaw so far.

Van der Saar - lowpass (2011)

New and third release for Allan Lewis, recorded at home in Toronto over the winter 2010/2011.

If you followed his past releases, there are no big change, just a cleaner sound and a slower more delicate songwriting. This new ep is a step towards a more sensitive kind of bedroom pop, at times, with the use of beats and keyboards behind the guitar and vocals.

Van der Saar - swedish sheets (Death Benefits, 2007)

Van der Saar is a duo from Edinburgh, UK and when you hear this album, the collaborative process is probably very intricate and roles much less defined and confused.

Electric guitar and voice are the two main ingredients and Van der Saar's music sounds like a tribute to early nineties U.S. indie rock scene: from Sonic Youth to Yo La Tengo, from Sebadoh to Pavement, from Dinosaur Jr to For Carnation.

Herzog - young lungs agains the sea (2011, Bedside Table)

Debut album for  Bill Bawden, after a five shorter releases on various netlabels: Serein (2005 & 2006), 12rec (2007), Resting Bell (2009)  and finally Audio Gourmet (2010). It is something like a slow and constant progression, weighing time, refining, adjusting and digging, and building an identity.

Antonymes - the licence to interpret dreams (2011, Hidden Shoal)

I really enjoyed "31: before the light fails pt.1" (2010) and "beauty becomes the enemy of the future (2009, Cathedral Transmissions" (2010), so this new album by Ian M. Hazeldine was anticipated for me and I was full of expectations.

After having explored this new one I'm half satisfied and half disappointed. Convinced by the quality and even by technical progress but also wishing it was more surprising and regretting the use of vocals, more like spoken words, on a few tracks, which are distracting and lacking of impact.