There is a warmth to ‘How Time Flies’ to a degree that it leaves us in a better place than it found us. None The Younger have a boundless folk charm about their approach, this is a waltz that is flush with romance and all steered by a singer (Michael LeFevre) who will take care of every detail so all we got to do is ride the warm sirocco aural flow. Yes, this is music designed to sweep us off our feet and it succeeds because the melodic intent is so pure, the playing arriving at our door like it has come back from a tropical isle and the general feel of how it is to be in love and getting the ..read more

The cooing and the aawhing are one thing but it is in that singer that we get to the heart of Babe Rainbow’s melodic intent and it reminded me of the Apples in Stereo and the Beach Boys for the most part. A little bit of twee but mostly a celebration of the results of fine songwriting and a performance that will have us all feeling better about ourselves come the end of ‘Retrograde’. Lo-fi production but hi-fi summery effects from Byron Bays finest means this is a call to a summer way of being even if the reality is characterised by constant downpours. KH Babe Rainbow · Retrograde mp3hugger ..read more

In terms of putting engine in our route to the stars and beyond ‘Flood The Harbour’ does not hold back and in a manner that has more than a grain of the Cocteau Twins about it but on a scale that certainly has more thrust. We are peering back into the last century for sure though, dreamy vocals amid the thick plume of guitar feedback and suddenly it dawned on me that we could have Toni Holiday and Curve to thank for the mystery plumes of noise. Now that is reassuring, most of all because rather than reinventing the wheel this LA combo just build on it so that we’re again feeling the lift that ..read more

Such gentle stirrings, the kind that is akin to a rub to the temple from a loved one so we feel at ease in Minor Moon’s company. Sam Cantor ever so gently ups the ante but not so that we’d be in the least bit disturbed from swaying in time to ‘Cracking Glass’. This is unruffled temperament right through to words that have that patented Minor Moon softness and together the effect is a late night drive in peak summer when the air is warm and soothing. You won’t hear more gentler souls this year which makes ‘Cracking Glass’ something worth returning to time and again. KH The Light Up Waltz by Mi ..read more

It had me thinking Gorkys Zygotic Mynci for the most part, a folk rock outing (that means ‘Happy Forever, From Tomorrow’) that has a hummability that is rare and something that need to cherished because we need music to keep winter at bay even if it almost summer. Roadkill Kenneth are clearly set to a romantic and idealistic setting with every cloud having a silver lining and that suits us down to the ground. Happy with its lot and that seeped into our world to a degree that we could focus on the subtlety and brilliant songwriting. Epic grandeur in a small package, lo-fi as can be but a creat ..read more

A band that always see fit to leave us in a better place than they found us and Seattle’s La Need Machine have done it again on their coming of age opus ‘These Old Jeans’. There is an honesty to the track, a lovely set of vocal harmonies and with it an arm around the shoulder that explains that the older we get the more we realise how wrong we were. The kind of song though that doesn’t want to get too caught up in heavy thoughts and it shows in a singalong that rightfully takes its place in the indie and twee pop canons. Smile inducer every time from La Need Machine. KH These Old Jeans by La ..read more

Oh my that percussion is quite something – I was feeling Jive Bunny of all things, arriving at our door and ready to break it down but when that brass arrived in tow it was clear that ‘Koozy’ was hear for a good time rather than one with malevolence as its core tenet. ‘Koozy’ shows us a good time, inspiring novelty dancing and with the vocals adding something different entirely we were won back all over again because there is most definitely a Super Furry Animals dimension to the psychedelic undertones. Though I have very little of it Kitten Pyramid extend us every opportunity to let our hair ..read more

It was to Stereolab that I turned my comparison mind to but of course ‘Just Us’ was a little more conventional, but no less intoxicating, than all that in the shape of Men I Trust. So we get a groove, we get plenty of attitude and topped off by the beautiful union of an ethereal voice amid endlessly imaginative playing. Yep it might have descended from the pearly gates, via Norway, and given us a heavenly piece of post-disco romance in the process. KH Cafe Superstar Recordings · Rinjin -Just us (promo) release date April 26th 2024 mp3hugger’s best new music in our Fresh Indie playlist! More ..read more

Like we’ve wandered into a seance, a track that has so obviously got its two feet firmly on the ground and tapping in directly into the world thriving all around. Hadn’t heard of Jim Pepper but this cover means I will need to dig into his work, but for now Dublin’s Kairiko (Daragh Thomas with help from Melody Bishop) have dreamed up a wondrous piece that is a proper fill-up for any morning with desires on making this day one that sees us grab the bull by the horns. It is so removed from where we usually go but these feel-good feelings are not for shifting. KH mp3hugger’s best new music in ou ..read more

Getting proper Twin Peaks pulses here, not as distant though because Bnny build a head of steam that can only be described as romantic to the core. That is because ‘Good Stuff’ opens out and reveals a smiling persona despite everything and its wife causing grief along the way. But such is life so I do love the dreampop textures and how Jessica Viscius deals with the endless bumps on the road. Not that it is singalong but this Bnny track will have us puffing our chest out and being thankful for what we have. Hopeful and beautiful makes for a potent combination. KH Bnny · Good Stuff mp3hugger ..read more