If not for the silly press release that accompanied Lovetune for Vacuum, Anja Plaschg's debut as Soap&Skin couldn't have gone better. The record was superb and the Austrian singer-songwriter was met with praise at home and abroad with its release. She even reached #5 in the Austrian charts, which is surprising considering the seemingly inaccessible nature of her music. The primarily piano based Lovetune for Vacuum focuses on gentle, soothing melodies rather than pop-hooks ("Spiracle" is the exception here) and ranges from the sad and warm "Cry Wolf", to the cold and frightening "Marche Funèbre". Plaschg even explores electronic music on a couple tracks, demonstrating her willingness to experiment with different sounds. Essentially, Lovetune for Vacuum, the record is one of the biggest surprises of the year; even with its sometimes gloomy overtones, Lovetune for Vacuum is a mesmerizing collection of songs that is always a treat to listen to. – Mike Stagno

Soap&Skin @ Myspace // Soap&Skin @ Youtube

A City Safe From Sea's Throw Me Through Walls won't be the most hardcore album you'll hear this year nor will it be the catchiest, but it may very well be the catchiest hardcore album of 2009. Dripping with hooks, youthful energy and a charming blend of serious lyrical skill and underdeveloped chants, Throw Me Through Walls is dark and slick- a collection of songs wrapped in hues of blue and gray. With its addictive hooks and quotable one-liners (note: "YOUR CHEST IS A SNARE DRUM" will be your facebook status at least until one of your friends comments it with an ignorant lolwut), this debut effort from A City Safe From Sea shows remarkable potential for a young band to grow into a force. Until that time however, this delightfully messy album is entertainment enough. – Adam Downer 

A City Safe From Sea @ Myspace // A City Safe From Sea @ Youtube 

Highly revered in their homeland but criminally overlooked anywhere outside Oz, Hilltop Hoods have crafted a brilliant record in 'State of the Art.' With a knack for musical ingenuity and an emphasis on social commentary - be it about their native homeland or worldwide - Pressure, Suffa, and DJ Debris should see their notoriety explode with this album's release. Relying on live instrumentals to back the dual vocal split instead of electronics or egregious Auto-Tune, their use of piano in "Chase That Feeling" and "Last Confession" are sublime and complement the tracks beautifully, and there are even some more rockier tracks, too. Again, some tracks are predicated on the group's social commentary - look no further than album finale "Fifty In Five" - where Suffa single-handedly runs down Australian politicans by name ("Whitlam, Keatine, Hawke had a promise of no children in poverty - wish that could have been honest") or implies their power craze (referring to Abbot and Costello as "right-wing overlords"). While the guest spots of Pharaohe Monch (in "Classic Example") and Trials ("The Light You Burned") are well done, the instrumentation is tighter than ever, and DJ Debris' samples are exemplary, Suffa's mastery at encapsulating fifty years in five minutes makes for one of the more stunning offerings so far this year, especially when he turns his introspection outward: "'Cause when we look back at what we have done, can you believe what we have become?" – Jom 

Hilltop Hoods @ Myspace // Hilltop Hoods @ Youtube 

Japandroids are simple. Their debut Post-Nothing can be derived as two people playing eight songs with a hell of a lot of heart. Reminiscent of a garage-rock version of Cap’n Jazz hooking up with Acrobatic Tenement-era At The Drive-In, their youthful energy and simplistic lyrics resonate our reasons for loving the life we live. “Young Hearts Spark Fire” blares what may be a wake-up call to some, stating, ‘ohhhh we used to dream/ now we worry about dying/ I don’t wanna worry about dying/ I just wanna worry about those sunshine girls.’ As if it needed a decoding, the implication is to stop worrying, ball out, and have some fun. Overall, Post-Nothing does not evoke much thought, rather just an anthem for the youthful passion within us. With that, it is officially summertime, so do yourself a favor and take a few tidbits from this rambunctious duo; rock out and enjoy every second of your adolescence that you can. – Ryan Flatley

Japandroids @ Myspace // Japandroids @ Youtube 

Monolith is a combination of elements that uniquely add up to something different than the parts that make the sum. Made up of members from Canadian bands Comeback Kid, Sickcity and Figure Four, Sights & Sounds recruited Canadian super-producer Devin Townsend in the hopes of creating a textured, expansively progressive record, and that's exactly what becomes of Monolith. Making dynamic use of multi-part vocal harmonies, Monolith employs a typical light/harsh dynamic and gives it a twist, shoving its Vheissu-like backbone into a Mew-influenced soundscape. Whether you're listening to the building, almost choral sounding "Sorrows" or the driving "Storm & The Sun", Monolith makes for an intriguing and surprisingly compelling listen that more often than not holds it's own against its influences. – Tyler Munro

Sights & Sounds @ Myspace // Sights & Sounds @ Youtube 

Plastique is a metaphysical journey as narrated by Sole and sonically juxtaposed via Skyrider's interpretations. Nearly a nihilistic anthem, the duo successfully encapsulates the darkness and travails of modern society into a less-than-double-digit length LP, an unheard of undertaking for most of their contemporaries. Conceptually, Plastique pulls no punches in criticizing capitalistic greed, war, and almost nearly every other questionable societal miscue; but what truly is mesmerizing is Skyrider's ability to pull this all together in one cohesive composition. His experimental compositions combining soul, rock, blues, metal, and electronics really do much to reign in Sole's stream-of-consciousness, near spoken word flow; instead of meandering off into meaningless drivel, his verses instill an apocalyptic dread within you, until the bitter end of "Black". – Sobhi Abdul-Rakhman 

Sole and the Skyrider Band @ Myspace // Sole and the Skyrider Band @ Youtube 

One of Toronto's best kept secrets last year was Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker. Their EP, Welding the C:/ was an excellent debut that combined just enough weirdness and sheer originality with a pop excellence that made it accessible all the same. Questamation tones down the group's unconventional aspects in favour of a more radio-friendly sound. Fortunately, the change in direction hasn't really affected Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker's output as much as one would think; the electro-rock sounding "Neurochemical Warfare Gas Masquerade" and "Cloudboy" are just as good as anything from the debut EP. Questamation isn't a particularly serious record – and can get rather silly from time to time, see "Stationary Robbery" – but it's unique, impulsive, memorable, and a whole lot of fun to listen to. Let's dance. – Mike Stagno 

Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker @ Myspace // Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker @ Youtube 

There's something really, really unnerving about Kreng. His first official release, L'Autopsie Phénoménale De Dieu, can be considered a masterpiece, a chore, or just creepy as all hell. The most likely reactions will probably be the first and third choices. Kreng is an ambient artist who experiments in jazz and classical while interspersing devastatingly unsettling samples between tense and dark music. Kreng's willingness to allow silence and static to create a definitive atmosphere recalls Godspeed You! Black Emperor circa F#A# (Infinity), and Kreng's expert use of melodies and dissonance is as impressive as it is disturbing. It's a record that needs to be heard for itself, preferably while alone in a dark, quiet room. For one of those "transport-you-to-another-place" records, L'Autopsie Phénoménale De Dieu should fit the bill perfectly. – Adam Downer

Kreng @ Myspace // Kreng @ YouTube 

Richard Youngs is known for many things - well, mostly for 1998’s Sapphie, which is arguably one of the 90’s greatest albums - but he’s sure as hell not known for crafting anything approaching electro-pop. That is, of course, until Beyond the Valley of Ultrahits. Only two pressings of 100 copies each were released of this, which is a goddamn shame: each of these three-minute nuggets are avant-pop at its best, combining Youngs’ experimental tendencies with his sense for melody, with plenty of electronic manipulation along the way. Don’t let the album’s limited release deter you: this is easily found via blog search, unlike some of Youngs’ other stuff. And it’s worth the extra effort. – Cam

Richard Youngs @ Myspace // Richard Youngs @ Youtube 

Joose Keskitalo is a singer/songwriter. While that probably cuts out a fair share of interest in his work it shouldn't because Joose's true merits come in how he embraces seemingly traditional aspects of his native Finland and encorporates them into his own unique sound. The music on 'Tule minun luokseni, kulta' is extremely stark, the production and instrumentation very basic. The emotion and attention to atmosphere overtakes this artist's work and helps it benefit from a truly unique sound. Not similar to Jens Lekman but the distinctive European touch present on 'Tule minun luokseni, kulta' helps it come off far more interesting than any American record of its ilk. That may make this review come off as sounding somewhat opinionated but one listen to this record will make you understand the meaning behind that statement. Something this "old" yet fresh could only come from across the sea. – Jared W. Dillon

Joose Keskitalo @ Myspace // Joose Keskitalo @ Youtube 

If punk rock had itself a barmy, mad professor to call its own, Bomb The Music Industry!’s Jeff Rosenstock would be at the very top of the list of candidates. After all, taking a spin through Scrambles, it’d be easy enough to see him laughing maniacally around the album’s wicked brew of attitude-fueled, messily composed DIY punk. While there’s very little of what could be called a formula (Scrambles is far too interesting and varied to pin it down to any one recipe book, especially the loose ‘folk-punk’ label the band is associated with), Rosenstock and co. assemble an alchemical mix of ingredients including a whirlwind set of piano driven backroom rockers, furious acoustic tirades and quirky but hard-edgy forays of introspection all rolled into one. And as usual, sitting centre stage among it all is Rosenstock’s biting lyrical scalpel, his powerful delivery underscored by the force of his playful irony, conjuring enough empathy to pluck ever so softly at the emotions while remaining irresistibly, absolutely and undeniably fun at the same time. And to top it all off? Well, the band is giving Scrambles away absolutely free online. Could you really ask for any more? – Alex Silveri

Bomb The Music Industry! @ Myspace // Bomb The Music Industry! @ Youtube

Sarah Fimm has been churning out emotionally-charged music for a long time now. Before this album she played a hybrid of trip hop and acoustically-based indie pop, but on this album she has taken things to a whole new level. On Red Yellow Sun we are treated to a blend of classical instrumentation, acoustic guitars, guest musicians aplenty and, of course, the beautiful vocals of Sarah Fimm. The music is chill and the delivery is sublime. Check it out. – Trey Spencer

Sarah Fimm @ Myspace // Sarah Fimm @ Youtube 

'Dear World' is an auspicious debut from the Melbourne quintet because when the band fires on all cylinders, 'Dear World' sounds like one of the most complete records of 2009 despite its shorter runtime. The album sports a spectacular drumming performance from David Bichard, intriguing guitar interplay between Jason Clarke and Timothy Carter (listen to "Lullaby"), unwavering rhythm from bassist Christopher Tew, and Brett Sutton's vocals are less throaty than most unheralded hardcore vocalists (see: "Driftwood/Don't Try"). 'Dear World' is a very raw record production-wise, but musically and vocally it's an excellent record. – Jom

Hopeless @ Myspace // Hopeless @ Youtube    

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