Aaron Stout: This emerging 27-year-old reveals vivid images of travel, heartbreak and spirituality in whatever he’s working on. All of this, encrypted with brooding layers and ethereal sounds, further the listener's experience.
"The Coronation"
"Fountain of Youth"
Cannonball Jane: "Cannonball Jane is the coolest one woman band I’ve heard in a long time. This is what Carole King would sound like if she had a sampler and was really into Francoise Hardy. I love her recordings and can't wait for more!” – Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill & Le Tigre
"Take It To Fantastic"
Capgun Coup: "The Capgun Coup story starts three years ago in suburban Omaha, Nebraska, where Elsasser and Martin began playing music together. Mutual boredom coupled with an interest in avant noise would fuel the duo's early collaborations, but after a move downtown and after the addition of two members (Matz on bass and Ohlsson on drums), Capgun Coup became less interested in white noise, and completely enamored with pop. The result is an album that is as much an homage to basement shows and house parties as it is to the indie pop tradition. The rich interplay between Elsasser's spacey noise samples and Martin's fantastic songwriting creates a backbone and organization that is solidified with the addition of Ohlsson and Matz."
"Oh My Mod"
"My Tears Cure Cancer"
"Bobby Chops And The Dogooders"
Condor Moments: “Condor Moments summed up in a phrase? Camp S&M cabaret, and definitely not suitable for a PG audience. No matter what the truth may be, from hearing the demo I can only ever conjure up an image of a stage full of middle-aged men wearing PVC Speedos and singing a plethora of piano-accompanied expletives in the most operatic way possible, with completely straight faces.” - High Voltage
"Lord Protector Milk Collector"
"Liquorice Fish Dish"
"I Hope Raymond Is Still Alive"
Earwig: After having recorded with Sub Pop Producers Brian Deck and Colin Studybaker (Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine) they have become a high energy, stripped down, underground-rock trio. Natives of Columbus, Ohio, they frequently tour the Midwest from Chicago to New York. They are known for great songwriting and remembered for their spontaneous and reckless live shows, Earwig has long been one of independent music's best kept secrets. They regularly draw 100-200 people to shows in their hometown of Columbus, Ohio. In the last 6 months, Earwig has sold 1500 copies of their new CD - Center Of The Earth.
"Old Man's Cave"
Eldridge's Skill's The Rude Staircase: Sookie Jump is an elegant pile of songs reminiscent of the architectural innovations of Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water and Paolo Soleri's massive utopian concrete village Arcosanti. It builds tension and grabs attention by really cramming darkness into the spaces between sounds in an uneven interstitial bumpy car ride soundtrack on dusty dirt road donkey trail of desire. It suggests the single-minded mania of Pretties For You-era Alice Cooper but the sound is more full than the gregarious headdress of Samla Mammas Manna and playful like the precise hooliganism of Willem Breuker Kollektiv. By the end of this experience we will all feel like we've listened to the entire career output of The Cardiacs in one sitting with a warm belly full of crazy jalfrezi.
"Horses Are Burning"
Greg Summerlin: Wherever his influences call home, there's no denying the appeal of sunny, upbeat, and beguiling pop tunes which are guaranteed to stay in your head for days.” – The Big Takeover
"Unlucky In Love"
Manatella: Fashionable Neighborhood is Manatella's first full lenght album. This album is full of sweet surprises with carisma and skill. Finally we find a girl group without the bubble gum pop and melodrama. There is a imaginative and literary edge to the songs. It's a rock n' roll lullaby.
"Apocalyptic Owl"
Oh Astro: Married duo Jane Dowe and Hank Hofler are both rooted firmly in experimental music, but with the Oh Astro project they continue their move towards odd interpretations of popular forms. Club music, children’s songs, and fragmented samples of pop/rock all intersect on their first full-length album, Champions of Wonder, under the Oh Astro banner.
"Snow Queen"
People Noise: Their range recalls some of the earlier alternative rock days of bands like Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana & Radiohead, yet still birthing a sincerity and un-retro quality altogether its own. It shows an interesting voice of both internal & external relationships, revealing a dynamic of textures and color not found on many albums today. "We want to make a record that is altogether more human. Something that is at times awkward and stumbling, and at other times, alive with a determined ambition." The result is an expedition into sound and self. A rock band like few others. Stay tuned to their site, and watch a band surely poised to take off.
"The Killing Fields"
Steve Goldberg and the Arch Enemies: "Steve Goldberg's senior project is an orchestral-pop gem -- this eponymous album with his band, The Arch Enemies, is possibly the most elaborate, orchestrated indie-pop effort Pittsburgh has ever produced.“ - Pittsburgh City Paper
"Summer's Ending"