Exposure

Exposure: Friends

The Brooklyn hipster quintet make disgustingly cool indie post-punk-funk

25 Apr 2012

The List makes two predictions with regards to this fresh Brooklyn indie post-punk-funk ensemble. 1) They’re going to be the sound of many people’s summer, and 2) they’re going to have music journos punning furiously on their sitcom namesake. They’re…

Exposure: Hannah Cohen

The NY model/photographer-turned-singer/songwriter is beloved by The National's Thomas Bartlett

27 Mar 2012

Two years ago New York-based model and photographer Hannah Cohen met Antony and the Johnsons and The National pianist Thomas Bartlett, aka Doveman, at a party. She shyly played him some songs she’d been secretly penning, and he immediately offered to…

Exposure: Gotye

An introduction to the YouTube-conquering ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’ singer

29 Feb 2012

Meet 31-year-old Wouter ‘Wally’ De Backer, aka Gotye, a Belgium-born, Melbourne-raised singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose inescapable international super-hit ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’ (featuring Kimbra) possesses an almost…

Exposure: Still Corners

Cinematic dream-pop with a Lynchian vibe

1 Feb 2012

The whispery female vocal, the unsettling tone, the shoegazey guitars... There’s a very cinematic, 1990s David Lynch feel to the heavenly dream-pop of London-based Still Corners. The List finds singer Tessa Murray and songwriter Greg Hughes drinking…

Exposure: Dead Boy Robotics

Edinburgh's avant synth-pop outfit, who released their self-titled debut album in November on Tape

6 Jan 2012

The name Dead Boy Robotics must be an obscenely cool reference to an obscure sci-fi tome, right? No, they came up with the name all by themselves. It fits pretty well as it happens; they describe their sound as an amalgam of ‘laptop bleeps, synth…

Exposure - Lana Del Rey

The 'Videogames' singer's second stab at stardom looks set to be a sure thing

20 Oct 2011

The List hesitates not a moment in declaring this picture of dusky American pop perfection a star in the making – how could the self-styled ‘gangsta Nancy Sinatra’ not be? The New Yorker’s debut single ‘Video Games’ – a YouTube sensation that’s scored…

Exposure - Connan Mockasin

Erol Alkan's psychedelic protegé talks motivation and ideal album lengths

21 Sep 2011

Originally from Hawkes Bay in New Zealand, Connan Mockasin has lived in London for the last five years, during which time he’s covered Michael Jackson, worked with Charlotte Gainsbourg, played with Crowded House (find him below alongside them and Johnny…

Exposure: Alpines

'Night-pop’ London duo support CSS

24 Aug 2011

This girl/ boy duo from SW London have us hooked with their moody single ‘Cocoon’, a dose of ‘night-pop’ with more than a little hint of Portishead about it. It’s hopefully a taster of more to come from their debut album in 2012. We caught Catherine…

Exposure: Café Disco

‘We love nice melodies, we are all fans of Jimmy Eat World'

10 Aug 2011

Café Disco. What’s that then? Are we on the brink of a revolution in clubbing/dining? Actually, it’s an excellent pop-rock four-piece from Scotland’s west coast, although they have said that the band ‘is actually just a way in which we hope that one…

Exposure - Ben Howard

Folksy Devonshire singer-songwriter who surfs

3 Aug 2011

Songsmith and West Country surfer dude Ben Howard, 23, has been building up a word of mouth fanbase over the last two years. His folksy guitar sound initially attracted Mumford & Sons singer Ben Lovett’s label Communion, a fitting home for his debut EP…

Exposure: River of Slime

FOUND's Kev Sim on his sample-loving, genre-mixing alter-ego

21 Jul 2011

Hello, is that the Scottish Environment Protection Agency? We have a toxic aural sludge to report. It is known locally as River of Slime, as adulterated by one Kev Sim, the beat-seeking third of pop alchemists FOUND. That’s some heady slime alright.

Exposure: Wolf Gang

Max McElligott prepares for debut release Suego Faults and UK tour

27 May 2011

Multi-instrumentalist Max McElligott, otherwise known as Wolf Gang, spent a good chunk of his childhood living in Scotland. If you've not heard of him yet, his single 'Dancing With The Devil' is probably a good intro: an infectious electro-indie pop…

Exposure: Glasgow indie trio PAWS

14 Apr 2011

Over the past 12 months, Glasgow trio PAWS have gone from ambitious bedroom jams to supporting damn near every cult US indie export to grace our fair shores (Dum Dum Girls, Wavves, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti etc). Combining Dinosaur Jr-esque melodic…

Exposure: Snide Rhythms

ECA-friendly genre-benders with a strong musical heritage

21 Mar 2011

Many fine Edinburgh bands have some connection to Edinburgh College of Art, and Colvin Cruickshank – manager of its union, the Wee Red Bar – has seen them all come and go. This project, an artsy combination of The Fall, The Durutti Column and Happy…

Jaego's Live and Unsigned audition diary

17 Mar 2011

'About a year ago Jaego formed to take new material out to a live audience. Since forming we have been successfully gigging and writing new songs. We decided to audition for the Live and Unsigned competition as we are looking for opportunities to be…

Norman Blake and Euros Childs take Jonny on tour

Teenage Fanclub and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci members line up UK gigs

11 Feb 2011

Indie fans of a certain vintage might once have daydreamed about what a collaboration between one of Teenage Fanclub and one of their Welsh equivalents Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci might’ve sounded like. Well wonder no more, because Norman Blake and Euros…

Edinburgh psychedelic ensemble Delta Mainline hit their stride

Success with second EP sparks plans to record album

26 Jan 2011

They’ve got eight years of history behind them, but only now do Delta Mainline feel as if they’re hitting their groove. Formed in Musselburgh by childhood friends David McLachlan (singer and guitarist) and Gavin King (bass player), they’ve since grown…

Exposure: Allo Darlin’

The London indie-pop quartet in thrall to the wistful sounds of Magnetic Fields and Camera

14 Jan 2011

Since forming in 2009, London indie-pop quartet Allo Darlin’ have had a ‘seat of our pants’ couple of years, between making their self-titled debut album for Fortuna Pop! and touring the US and Europe. Australian vocalist Elizabeth Morris describes…

Blue Sky Archives - Melodic post-rock and harmonious pop from Glasgow

Exposure

11 Jan 2011

From Glasgow they come with melodic post-rock and harmonious pop, like a shining light. Hello, Blue Skies. What are you up to? Paul: ‘I’m at my 9–5. The odour of coffee, commerce and coercion is palpable. I see a young, unshaven man in a cheap…

Exposure: S-Type

Homegrown beat-maker launches EP at Mixed Bizness

24 Nov 2010

Bobby Perman’s new single on Scottish label Phuturelabs isn’t his first, but it does signal a change of musical direction under his production alias S-Type. The Edinburgh-raised, Glasgow-based brother of Dougal (who runs Radio Magnetic, where Bobby…

Exposure: Dylan LeBlanc

20-year-old US songwriter's debut Paupers Fields released by Rough Trade

22 Nov 2010

The son of a session musician and country songwriter, 20-year-old Dylan LeBlanc spent a lot of his childhood hanging around Fame studios, Alabama, where the likes of Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin and Percy Sledge have all recorded. Already drawing…

Exposure: Chloe Matharu

Traditional ballads with a hint of the exotic akin to Vashti Bunyan and Joni Mitchell

19 Nov 2010

Keep your eyes peeled for Chloe Matharu, an Edinburgh lass born and bred, with Welsh-Indian heritage. She's breaking into the Scottish folk scene with her debut album Next Market Day. Her voice is remarkably pure and tender; think ethereal treble with…

Exposure: Randolph's Leap

New Glasgow band are a melting pot of folk, indie, pop and traditional

18 Nov 2010

With six members and six mouths, it’s a surprise that the arrival of Randolph’s Leap on the cultural horizon hasn’t been shouted about already. A melting pot of folk, indie, pop and traditional tunes, a rollcall of the Glasgow band and their respective…

Junip bring psych-frazzled, pastoral indie-folk to UK

Gothenberg folk-rock trio includes Jose Gonzales

6 Oct 2010

Gothenburg trio Junip – singer and guitarist José González, percussionist Elias Arya and keys player Tobias Winterkorn – formed 12 years ago, but they’ve only just recently released their debut album, Fields. So we thought we’d bend the rules of…

Exposure: iamamiwhoami

1 Sep 2010

EXPOSURE IAMAMIWHOAMI Last December iamamiwhoami posted a video on YouTube which quickly spread virally. This, and twelve subsequent videos feature a woman interacting with trees in a manner which would raise the neck hairs of a tree fetishist. The…

Exposure: Aerials Up

8 Jul 2010

Indie folk rockers Aerials Up have enjoyed a lot of success for a new band, supporting acts like Paulo Nutini and Snow Patrol. The List caught up with lead singer Kemy to find out what’s got everyone so excited about this band. How would you define…

Exposure: Kassidy

1 Jul 2010

What happens when you mix multi-layered acoustic guitars, blues, boogie rock and add a hint of country? You get four piece Glaswegian band Kassidy. Named after Butch Cassidy, but dropping the C for a K to avoid confusion with the American rapper of the…

Exposure: Silk Flowers

30 Jun 2010

Formed in a Manhattan art gallery, electronic experimentalists Silk Flowers – Aviram Cohen, Ethan Swan, Peter Schuette – make music which is artful but uncategorisable, and have released on No Age’s Post Present Medium label. Think Throbbing Gristle…

Exposure: The Seventeenth Century

16 Jun 2010

Glasgow based five-piece The Seventeenth Century are a folk rock band with a cornet player and an allergy to electric instruments. They’ve already hit Go North and Rock Ness, and drummer Andy Truscott tells us why we should make sure to watch C17’s…

Exposure: The Swiss

10 Jun 2010

New recruits to the stable of electronic pop acts on Melbourne’s Modular Records, Adelaide trio The Swiss have just touched down in the UK for their first ever European tour when The List catches up with bassist Surahn ‘Sid’ Sidhu. ‘We [also drummer…

Exposure: Veronica Falls

28 May 2010

Poppy tunes and dark-as-the-night lyrics feature on Veronica Falls’ first two singles ‘Found Love in a Graveyard’, and the soon to be released ‘Beachy Head’. The London-based four-piece (two boys and two girls) draw influence from shambling Glasgow…

Exposure: White Hinterland

12 May 2010

Wilfully unpredictable and hypnotically evocative, the music of White Hinterland calls to mind everyone from Feist to the Dirty Projectors via jazz divas and tribal rhythms. Leaving behind the piano-led songwriting of past work, singer and songwriter…

Exposure: Esben and the Witch

29 Apr 2010

Those of a fragile disposition are advised to look away now. Brighton horror-folk sorcerers Esben and the Witch – Daniel (axe, electronics), Rachel (lungs, bass), Thomas (axe, synth) – are rapidly advancing. They’re coming to get you, Glasgow You…

Exposure: Ex Libras

23 Apr 2010

The Ex Libras are probably some of the only people with reason to be happy about the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland over the past week – living as they do on the approach path for Heathrow Airport, it’s given them a nice break from the noise of…

Exposure: Esperi

20 Apr 2010

Dundee is famous for three things, they say; Jute, jam and journalism. But is it about to get a fourth? Juxtaposing acoustic guitar and a whole host of odd instruments and percussion, Esperi mainman Chris Lee-Marr seems to be making all the right waves.

Exposure: Factory Floor

15 Apr 2010

Fuck Buttons heard this London trio play once. Once was enough, and they asked them along as support on their UK tour. Factory Floor (who renamed themselves 'FF' for a brief heartbeat, before, enigmatically, becoming Factory Floor once more) are Gabe…

Exposure: Bear in Heaven

23 Mar 2010

Our Bear, who art in Heaven: hallowed be thy epic space-pop, thy divine psychedelia, thy dense electro, thy mammoth kraut-rock. Fortified with a reverent live persuasion and an excellent second album, Beast Rest Forth Mouth (Hometapes), it is little…

Exposure: Cast of the Capital

22 Mar 2010

Aberdeen lies beyond the outskirts of Scottish music’s epicentre, but Cast Of The Capital don’t really care. The band, named in renowned Scottish radio DJ Vic Galloway’s top 50 Scottish acts of 2010 list, may be based in the Granite City but regular…

Exposure: Egyptian Hip Hop

19 Mar 2010

This teenage Mancunian quartet – singer Alex Hewett, guitarists Louis Miller and Nick Delap and drummer Alex Pierce – are at the forefront of the new wave of bands emerging from their city, but don’t expect a history lesson from them. Miller brings us…

Exposure: Dag för Dag

23 Feb 2010

They’re based in Stockholm, Sweden, but American brother and sister duo Sarah and Jacob Snavely (and their magnificently-named live drummer Chuck Bukowski) have no Swedish heritage. It shows: Dag för Dag’s (it means ‘day by day’) shouty, sky-scraping…

Exposure: So So Modern

17 Feb 2010

They’re hard men to pin down, are So So Modern. In the midst of a 28-date European tour over 31 days when The List tries and fails to collar them for a chat (somewhere over France, in fact), the quartet from Wellington, New Zealand are clearly adherents…

Exposure: The LaFontaines

3 Feb 2010

In an over-saturated music market it is becoming increasingly difficult to sift through the haystack of pretenders for a genuinely intriguing, passionate band injecting some much-needed attitude in a scene lacking in personality. Lanarkshire band The…

Exposure: White Rabbits

27 Jan 2010

With their thumping new single, 'Percussion Gun', doing exactly what it says on the tin, New York-based White Rabbits are rapidly adding to their fanbase and whipping them into feverish expectation over sophomore release, It’s Frightening. The band are…

Exposure: Cobra Starship

27 Jan 2010

Essentially ‘punk kids’ in a very, very successful stateside power-pop band, bassist Alex Suarez of Cobra Starship (signed to Pete ‘Fall Out Boy’ Wentz’s Decaydance label) takes us back to the beginning. Gabe Saporta (singer) insists he got the band…

Exposure: Still Flyin'

25 Jan 2010

"Hammjamm is a physiological state of euphoria and optimism that occurs when a good time becomes better. There are no defined rules or ways to have a hammjamm but is usually obtained while amongst friends". These are the words of OJ Hammond, San…

Exposure: Suspire

22 Jan 2010

Suspire are a trio from Glasgow with unrelenting enthusiasm and a good few tunes to boot. The band have been together sporadically in various guises since the early 00's but this somewhat revised line-up finally released their debut EP, Legislate For…

Exposure - This issue: X-Lion Tamer

19 Jan 2010

Wimbledon boy Tony Taylor has lived in Edinburgh for fifteen years, having travelled up north for college and hung around to work in various record shops in the capital. He’s also been making music during that time, with his unashamedly pop ‘one man…

Exposure: Codeine Velvet Club

4 Dec 2009

Like a Scots Last Shadow Puppets, chanteuse Lou Hickey has reformed Jon ‘Fratelli’ Lawler to a life of John Barry-esque epics with Codeine Velvet Club. Just don’t call them a side-project, says Lawler. How did Codeine Velvet Club get…

Exposure: The Raveonettes

1 Dec 2009

Danish duo The Raveonettes are the perfect example of a great band determined to shoot itself in the foot. Copenhagen’s hippest exports make impeccable rock songs that are so addictive you will be singing them in your sleep, yet after seven years they…

Exposure: Laki Mera

30 Nov 2009

Laki Mera, are a Glasgow five piece with a singular take on cinematic trip hop atmospherics who don’t really fit into any particular corner of the Scottish music scene. Their album. Clutter, was released as a download in 2007. They’ve more recently…

Exposure: Out Of Samsara

27 Nov 2009

Further proving that Ayr isn't quite the cultural deadzone you might think it is, Out Of Samsara are yet another band to come creeping out of the woodwork with a sound that has grown far beyond futile plucking of your average local band. Mixing the…

Exposure: Kasms

26 Nov 2009

Kasms are a four-piece from London mixing buzzsaw guitars and haunting melodies with explosive and (literally) violent live performances. Fans of Gossip may have already had their eyes opened and their ears caved in by Kasms' punk-drenched chaos on…

Exposure: A Genuine Freakshow

25 Nov 2009

Reading based 7 piece, A Genuine Freakshow is Timothy Sutcliffe (vocals, guitar), Jack Bryant (drums), Marianne Casey Canning (violin), Melanie Dickson (cello), John Dunstan (trumpet), Simon Evans (guitar) and John Szmidt (bass). Combining the grandeur…

Exposure: Nic Dawson Kelly

24 Nov 2009

In an industry that is currently saturated with bland singer/songwriters that all seem to sound disarmingly similar, Nic Dawson Kelly is refreshingly distinctive. His debut album Old Valentine is a collection of frank observations about life that…

Exposure: Fránçois And The Atlas Mountains

23 Nov 2009

Fife’s Fence Records, a haven for musicians who celebrate the DIY approach to their work, welcomes a new signing in the form of Bristol-based Frenchman Fránçois Marry aka Fránçois And The Atlas Mountains. Fránçois is an multi-talented songwriter…

Exposure: Big Ned

20 Nov 2009

Big Ned are self-declared proponents of Doom ‘n’ Roll, responsible for one of the albums of the year, a self-titled effort released on the (relatively) new Optimo Music label in April. The List caught up with them to discuss David Lynch and cowboy hats.

Exposure: Burnt Island

19 Nov 2009

Burnt Island are a richly melodic and understated folky five-piece from Glasgow. Singer Rodge Glass – a regular renaissance man who counts novelist, biographer, academic and occasional List contributor amongst his lengthy CV – spills the beans. How…

Exposure: Naïve New Beaters

18 Nov 2009

Naïve New Beaters are a Parisian pop group who have been causing a bit of a stir in their homeland and beyond with their take on pop. Mixing electronic, rap, pop and indie rock influences into a tuneful confection, they come on like the insane cousin of…

Exposure: The Cinnamons

17 Nov 2009

Winning over local music lovers from the Glasgow area, and discovering a wider fanbase via the Internet and social networking, The Cinnamons is far more than the small bedroom project it started out as. Combining a varied set of influences from various…

Exposure: Dawn Landes

16 Nov 2009

American singer and songwriter, Dawn Landes is so much more than a pretty face. Sure, she may have a striking, natural beauty, but more importantly, she has quite the knack for crafting quirky pop-folk songs. Her music bears a resemblance to American…

Exposure: Pareto

13 Nov 2009

While still a relatively new band, Glasgow-based Pareto are already catching the attention of some respected names, and gaining deserved recognition across Scotland. The undeniable energy of tracks such as 'Wolves Behind Fences' is matched by the speed…

Exposure: Japanese Voyeurs

12 Nov 2009

All fast guitars and heightened yelps, Japanese Voyeurs create the sort of music that can really only be done by those still young enough to have that satisfying sense of havoc. Luckily, that’s exactly what these guys are, and they do it well, being an…

Exposure: The Twisted Melons

11 Nov 2009

The Twisted Melons are three brothers from Kintyre whose musical path veers somewhere between the frenetic pace and monster riffage of Biffy Clyro and the kind of stadium rock choruses the Foo Fighters have been knocking out for the past decade…

Exposure: Washington Irving

10 Nov 2009

2009 has been a busy year for Washington Irving. Releasing their debut single, "The Magician" earlier this year, and spending the summer touring and playing festivals, the indie-folksters have made an impression on audiences around the country. I spoke…

Exposure: Teenagers in Tokyo

9 Nov 2009

Teenagers in Tokyo are four ladies and one gentleman who play stylish art-rock with a new wave feel, and have toured with the likes of CSS and the Gossip. They relocated from Sydney to chase the dream in London in June this year after releasing their…

Exposure: Make Sparks

6 Nov 2009

Few people can genuinely say that they have dedicated their life to music. However, the boys of Make Sparks are an example of three people who have done just that. Their Light in the Sky EP is a collection of enthralling, well crafted pop songs…

Exposure: Bronto Skylift

5 Nov 2009

For some reason duos can conjure more volume and power than traditional groups of twice the size can manage. Think The White Stripes, The Black Keys, Lightning Bolt, The Carpenters. OK, we can’t think of any more. No, hold on, here come Glasgow-based…

Exposure: First Aid Kit

4 Nov 2009

Recent tour partners with new indie folk favourites, Fanfarlo, this Swedish duo are known to write the odd acoustic pleasure too. And all the more remarkable considering they’d still be at high school in the UK. For First Aid Kit are sisters Klara, 16…

Exposure: Mickey Gang

3 Nov 2009

Cool, minimalist electronica and songs about menstruating horses – just what you’d expect from any bunch of 19-year-olds nowadays. Mickey Gang do it with a flair though, both beguilingly innocent yet with a knowing smile underneath, celebrating the…

Exposure: Mickey 9's

2 Nov 2009

Glaswegian four-piece Mickey 9's are one of the Merchant City's most exciting new guitar bands. Their manic blend of onstage bodypopping, ski masks and Daft Punk covers will have you dancing like a loon and crying with laughter in equal measure.

Exposure: Civet

30 Oct 2009

A civet is a 'small, lithe-bodied, mostly arboreal mammals native to the tropics of Africa and Asia'. They are also a remarkably kick-ass all female punk-rock group from Los Angeles. We can only wonder who’d be more fun to go out drinking with.

Exposure: Portugal. The Man

29 Oct 2009

Portugal. The Man is not the most conventional name for a band. But it’s one that suits this Alaskan quartet of unrestricted imagination more than most. Now based in Portland, the group revel in an Animal Collective-inspired delirium of musical chaos…

Exposure: Phil Campbell

28 Oct 2009

Glasgow-born singer/songwriter Phil Campbell has spent the last 15 years or so planting his musical seeds in London's bustling metropolis; which seems to have paid off in critical acclaim alone, landing him spots on Jools Holland and relentless touring…

Exposure: The Set Up

27 Oct 2009

The Set Up play their own refreshing brand of bluesy pop-rock, layered with vocal harmonies and sweet melodies. On closer inspection there is more going on here than is initially apparent. The tuneful nature of their music disguises the cynical and…

Exposure: Scarce

26 Oct 2009

SCARCE Q&A 1995: Rhode Island-based trio Scarce, whose post-Pixies sound and exciting on-stage dynamics had been receiving some attention from UK indie radio released their debut LP Deadsexy on the Paradox label in the UK. They toured Europe…

Exposure: Swimming

23 Oct 2009

Swimming are a Nottingham-based five piece comprising John Sampson (vocals and guitar), Peter Sampson (drums and vocals), Andrew Wright (samplers and vocals), Jonathan Spittlehouse (guitar) and Blake Pearson (bass). Their post-rock influenced sound has…

Exposure - Shields Up

22 Oct 2009

Formed in January this year, Edinburgh-based Shields Up’s self-titled debut album arrived in stores on October 5th. They have already been on tour around the UK plying their trade more than once and are fast earning a reputation for energetic live shows…

Exposure: The Tenebrous Liar

21 Oct 2009

Steve Gullick has photographed everyone from Nirvana to Lou Reed, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy to White Lies over the last two decades, as well as publishing magazines, and (most recently) becoming a recording artist himself. His most recent project is [The…

Exposure: William Douglas and the Wheel

20 Oct 2009

Another goodie to fly off the Edinburgh live rumour mill this year is four-piece rock 'n' rollers William Douglas and The Wheel. With the catchy, melodic soul of The Beatles an obvious influence, as well as the rambunctious rock of the Rolling Stones…

Exposure: Lord Auch

19 Oct 2009

Formed from the ashes of the much loved, if somewhat short-lived, Black Wire, Lord Auch are a London-based quintet that write literate songs that certainly aren’t afraid to plumb the grimier side of things (they take their name from the pseudonym the…

Exposure: Stereo Decade

Tomorrow’s music today

15 Oct 2009

What do they sound like? They’ve been likened to ‘a wild night out jamming with Caleb Followill, mud wrestling Damon Albarn with Luke Kook tar and feathering Jack Peñate’, but Jonny Romain (lead vocals, guitar) and Joe Harvey-Whyte (guitar) opt for…

Exposure: The Barents Sea

2 Oct 2009

The Barents Sea have embraced the traditions of old-fashioned songwriting and the advantages of online networking. Drawing inspiration from a variety of sources, from Bob Dylan to Bon Iver, their mini album, Bear Island reminds us that sometimes…

Exposure: James Blackshaw

Tomorrow’s music today

1 Oct 2009

James Blackshaw is one of our most spellbinding contemporary artists: the virtuosic Londoner’s lush guitar mantras and instrumental psalms are extraordinary. He’s coming to Stirling soon but for now he’s reclining in Turin … ‘I just visited a fruit…

Exposure: Julia and the Doogans

30 Sep 2009

All timid, lovely folk pop, Julia and the Doogans are as blissful and beautiful as a band can be. Ever evolving, and embracing new sounds and instruments, this collective is united by the voice of Julia Doogan - both hopeful and heartbreaking when the…

Exposure: The Kabeedies

29 Sep 2009

A cute girl and a carefree attitude can take a band a long way. The Kabeedies might just like to think they have a little more than that though. Even if the girl is very cute and the attitude is very carefree. For underneath such welcome attributes a…

Exposure: Joe Carnall and the Book Club

28 Sep 2009

It's nearly five years now since the music media's microscope focused in on Sheffield as acts like Bromhead's Jacket, Little Man Tate and Long Blondes were heralded to define the decade. And though only Arctic Monkeys may have made it into the big…

Exposure: Nite Jewel

16 Sep 2009

The musical project of philosophy student and artist Romana Gonzalez, Nite Jewel filter ‘80s pop, ‘90s R&B and new age music through a dreamy lo-fi haze. Following the 12” ‘What Did He Say’ on estimable avant-disco stable Italians Do It Better, debut…

Exposure: Girls

15 Sep 2009

Embracing the full liberty of San Francisco lifestyle, Christopher Owens has come a long way since his childhood growing up as part of the Children of God. The religious community, previously home to River and Joaquin Phoenix keep pop music a restricted…

Exposure: Fanfarlo

14 Sep 2009

Fanfarlo are exactly what the increasingly dark nights and cold call for, a warm, quiet riot of a sound that will leave you glowing on the inside. Think how good a hot chocolate with all your best friends would be and then multiply that by ten and…

Exposure: Bowerbirds

11 Sep 2009

Spending months in the great American wilderness worked for Bon Iver in creating great music to reflect a complex, beautiful nature. Such experiences have had a similar effect on North Carolina's Bowerbirds it would seem, with the epic Carolina woods…

Exposure: Wilson Tan

10 Sep 2009

Turning the West End into the wild kind, Glasgow's Wilson Tan are the sort of psychedelic cowboys to get soundtrack the coolest barn dance ever (or should that be only cool barn dance ever?). Twisting Glasgow's darker aspects into blues bliss, they're…

Exposure: Local Natives

9 Sep 2009

It was no surprise to hear only universal praise for Local Natives at a resoundingly successful SXSW earlier in the year. Their hopeful dreams and dreamy rhythms underlay an of-the-moment epic American that that must sound so perfect in the Texan sun.

Exposure: The Whispertown 2000

8 Sep 2009

From tap dancing with Dick Van Dyke, playing with Jenny Lewis (being namechecked on more than one Rilo Kiley record) and pretending to be in love with Carlton from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Morgan Nagler has already done her fair share of living. But…

Exposure: Call To Mind

7 Sep 2009

Call To Mind are a Glasgow-based quartet, homegrown in the Highlands, that create dreamy heartfelt melodies and expansive soundscapes, steadily earning the band a reputation as a intense live proposition and collective songwriting talent.

Exposure: Lovvers

4 Sep 2009

Lovvers sound like they've set up in your bedroom, cranked up the amps eardrum-bursting levels and proceeded to not give one solitary shit if they piss you off, earning a night in the cells in the process. The UK punks' debut album, OCD Go Go…

Exposure: Northern Xposure

3 Sep 2009

Feted by The Culture Show, name-checked by the urban music press, respected by an army of sometime tour-mates and artists they’ve played alongside (including Dizzee Rascal, Naughty By Nature, Estelle, The Roots and Amy Winehouse) and still based in the…

Exposure: frYars

2 Sep 2009

Three years in the making, Dark Young Hearts, the debut album of London artist frYars, will finally be released this September. It’s an album of dark Depeche Mode revelation and Lloyd Cole cynicism, and an interesting glimpse into the mind of this…

Exposure: The 10:04s

1 Sep 2009

They’ve sold out venues all over Edinburgh, and worked with Super Furry Animals’ producer. Oh, and they’re huge fans of Back to the Future. The 10:04s have a lot going for them, not to mention the kind of enthusiasm rarely seen outside a small child in…

Exposure: Our Brother The Native

31 Aug 2009

Creating the similar sort of freak-folk that has allowed Fat Cat labelmates Animal Collective to take over the American underground music scene, Our Brother The Native distort pop to its extremes. Counting Frightened Rabbit amongst their biggest fans…

Exposure: Stanley Odd

28 Aug 2009

Still an odd paradox for some, Scottish hip-hop is only getting stronger. Acts like Young Fathers and Northern Xposure are bringing the spirit of South Central to the Central Belt, offering an alternative to the bountiful angular indie that's heard from…