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Artist: Maria Taylor Label: Saddle Creek Europe

Peter von Poehl is back with Big Issues Printed Small, a sweeping, yet intimate album that's more orchestrated than its predecessors, but retains the Swedish musician's trademark talent for melody. Four years have passed since the last track on May Day and the first on its splendid successor Big Issues Printed Small, but Peter von Poehl needed the time. "I composed May Day after three years of uninterrupted touring," he says. "This time I was happy I could take my time and feed off other projects." The Paris-based Swede didn't completely abandon his fans, however. His songs played out the final scenes and credits of two French hit films Heartbreaker and Declaration of War, while he wrote the scores to two other films, Valérie Donzelli's Main dans la main and the already-cult science-fiction film Vanishing Waves. The 10 songs on Big Issues Printed Small were written by von Poehl, before being orchestrated with his collaborator (and founding member of The Soundtrack of Our Lives) Martin Hederos. They were then "rehearsed," tested and polished at a series of live shows over a period of two years. "It was an extremely luxurious way to put together a record," says von Poehl. "I was able to try out the new songs live with different sets of musicians." Whether playing with a single cello player or a 40-piece orchestra, however, von Poehl kept the same idea in mind: the album should sound, as he puts it, "like a lo-fi record with an orchestra." Once the songs were ready Peter von Poehl headed up to Vallarum, just outside Malmö, and his favourite studio Aerosol Grey Machine. There, in the Swedish countryside, he was reunited with Christoffer Lundquist, the engineer and co-producer of the first two albums, as well as Hederos and 20 musicians. The songs were then all recorded on old-fashioned tape one after the other in just one day in an effort to keep things spontaneous. "Because the musicians needed to have scores for the concerts, the music of each song was fixed on paper" explains von Poehl. "When we went into the studio I wanted to take the scores as a starting point but then make sure that the recording felt natural, embracing the unexpected and keeping in all the surprises that can pop up in this type of session." The fruit of this autumnal session is the graceful and moving Big Issues Printed Small, a big record of miniatures, a magnificent sum of details, on which arrangements, skill and talent all work together in the service of emotion. In 10 tracks, the album is a return to the intimacy of the unforgettable Going to Where the Tea Trees Are, but with the extra sweep of orchestration. The cascades of clarinets, oboes and trombones on tracks such as "Lover's Leap" and "To the Golden Rose" bring to mind the epic yet fragile work of Sufjan Stevens, while the title track is a feat of delicacy, a little melodic miracle with graceful horns, which feels like a strange meeting between Neil Hannon and Dylan circa "The Times They Are A-changin'" Sweeping, yet intimate, Big Issues Printed Small is an album of heart-piercing contradictions Record Label: Pvp Style: Independent

It takes all of the first 80 seconds of Bristol trio THOUGHT FORMS second album, "Ghost Mountain", to realise that this is a group who have moved on substantially from their debut of three years ago. Indeed, if their self-titled debut in 2009 was about finding the dynamic limits of their atmospheric sound, gently prodding and probing varying elements, then the huge great slab of guitar that greets you instantly on their follow-up roars with the confidence of a band who've found their level from which to fully explore their creative expression. Though the group have fans in PORTISHEAD, don't allow the link to act as any indication of their sound. The album veers between two opposites, from brisk, scuzzy American garage-rock influenced numbers to brutal, anguished noise constructions of ethereal doom, where it feels like they're tapping into a similar dark psyche to groups like GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR and CIRCLE. With a psych slant too informing tracks like "Afon" and "Burn Me Clean" - where vocals are almost as though a ritualistic call to on high - the scope of "Ghost Mountain"'s sonic terrain is vast, the result of a varied approach to song writing where wholes form out of group jams or from the chrysalis of an idea presented by just one of the trio. It's a clear move away from their debut album, though retaining the group's penchant for creating vast atmospheres. "Only Hollow" is a tip of the cap to MY BLOODY VALENTINE's "Only Shallow". Then there's "O", called that because of the shape of the letter, the group using it to represent what they call "a circle of negativity". Negativity would suggest a bleakness to this album, and whilst in much of "Ghost Mountain"'s fire and brimstone there is plenty that could be construed as despair, the abrasion in it suggests something more conflicted; a battle between shades of dark and light, universal but potent battles between love and hate, of hope and loss. When flung together with the power that THOUGHT FORMS has, it makes for a quite formidable proposition Record Label: Invada Style: Independent

Record Label: Thrill Jockey Style: Independent

There's little doubt that Marnie Stern lives up to her reputation as "the lady who shreds," but for Marnie, shredding is not enough. After putting out three critically-acclaimed albums, Marnie could have gotten away with putting out another album filled with her richly layered sound, singular frenetic finger tapping and almost philosophical lyrics. However, as anyone who has given her last few albums a good listen can tell, Marnie is not one to stand still. Instead she attacks her musical evolution with full frontal bravado, reveling in musical risk instead of relaxing in the comforts of the known. Her new album, The Chronicles of Marnia, finds Marnie not only working with a new drummer (Oneida's Kid Millions), but also passionately subtracting from her normally dense song structures to craft a sound that is both familiar and wholly original. "I always gravitate towards interweaving and a more abrasive sound," Marnie said about working on the new album. "I was working with Nicholas Vernhes from Rare Book Room Recording in Brooklyn, and he was the producer. He wanted my voice clearer and fewer guitar parts. I tried it because I wanted to try something different." The musical transformation evident on her new album isn't entirely unexpected, as fans who have listened to both "For Ash" and "Every Single Line Means Something" in a single sitting know. That same slow progression can be seen between 2010's self-titled album and the forthcoming The Chronicles of Marnia. Marnie can't help but laugh when thinking back on her musical evolution. "I'm sure if I went from the first album to this one, I'd have a heart attack. Luckily it's been gradual enough for me to enjoy the changes." And there's little doubt that her fans will too. Even as Marnie evolves from what Pitchfork called her "art-metal math-rock bubblegum pop" genre, fans will still find themselves jumping head first into the album and quickly bonding with the emotionally resonant material, cascading hooks and transcendental guitar riffs. Plus, the album shreds. She is Marnie Stern after all. Record Label: Killrockstars Style: Independent

Colored Emotions is reverb-loving indie rock that feels both homeless and also a product of its own geography. While it’s difficult to pinpoint the group’s sound, there are moments throughout the album with discernible reference points. The record recalls the ’70s R&B sounds that brought Prince to prominence in the ’80s and the roots-leaning while leaning on the pop-country flavor of The Jayhawks and Golden Smog in the ’80s and ’90s. The Twin Cities leave a clear impression on Colored Emotion without weighing down or burdening the group with its many sounds. Style: Independent

Fiercely contemporary yet rich with classic influences, Mount Moriah's Miracle Temple sports bigger arrangements, louder guitars, bolder vocals, and more soulful rhythms than their acclaimed self-titled debut. Through their artful personal storytelling, the band develops a piercing portrait of a "New South" where progressive traditions are still fitfully breaking free from conservative ones. Mount Moriah's cathartic vision for their home and themselves is writ large in their lovingly critical negotiation with romantic, political, and gender identities; geographical perspective; confrontation and forgiveness. The drive for change, resolute but tinged with regret, is arrestingly captured in the cover image of a burning barn. At the heart of Mount Moriah are singer/guitarist Heather McEntire and guitarist Jenks Miller. Bassist Casey Toll joined the band in 2010 while James Wallace provided drums, organ, and piano on the album. Miracle Temple was recorded over five days at Beech House in Nashville and co-produced by Mark Nevers, Miller, and McEntire; mixed by Nevers; and mastered by Alex McCollough. McEntire, Miller, and Toll wrote the music, with all lyrics by McEntire except for "Union Street Bridge," co-written with the poet Sarah Messer. Record Label: Merge Style: Independent

Record Label: Trost Records Style: Independent

Record Label: Skycap Style: Independent

JERUSALEM IN MY HEART (JIMH) has been a live audio-visual happening since 2005, with Montréal-based producer and musician Radwan Ghazi Moumneh at its core. Moumneh is a Lebanese national who has spent a large part of his adult life in Canada and has been a fixture of the Montréal independent music community from his early days as guitarist in various notable 90s hardcore bands to his tireless activity as a sound engineer and producer over the last decade. With performances occurring 1-3 times per year, no two JIMH events have ever been the same, with Moumneh's vocals and purposefully blown-out sonic sensibility as the single constant. JIMH has always been an immersive sonic and visual live experience; on the musical side, an evolving effort to forge a modern experimental Arabic music that weds melismatic singing in classical Arabic modes to electronic compositions with a punk-rock production sensibility. "Mo7it Al-Mo7it", a unique and profoundly emotive album of contemporary Arabic music, captures and conveys all of this. JERUSALEM IN MY HEART has lately solidified around a core duo of Radwan Ghazi Moumneh carrying musical duties and Chilean filmmaker Malena Szlam providing live visuals using analog 16mm film projections and multiple site-specific screen installations. Record Label: Constellation Style: Independent

Style: Independent

Colleen Green always wears sunglasses onstage. Colleen Green is long hair and getting high. Her first full-length for Hardly Art, "Sock it to Me", is grounded in pure pop. The multi-tracked, emotive vocals take an enormous leap forward, evoking all-time heroes such as Rose Melberg and Tina Weymouth, with every drum-machine-tracked song awash in the dreamy slacker romanticism of California. The first pressing of LPs on opaque blue vinyl! All LPs include a download code Style: Indie Rock

GaBLé is like a cock and bull story or a fairy tale that only happens to others, a B-movie that would have slept with a Z-movie to end up as an Oscar winner. For 10 years now, this incredible trio has become established worldwide through their pop music. In 2007 after 3 CD-R albums, GaBLé found itself releasing « 7 Guitars With A Cloud Of Milk » its first album on the mysterious British label LOAF Recordings. Quickly discovered by a trained ear, the group was rewarded with the CQFD Inrockuptibles prize in 2008 and was invited to play many European venues. In 2011, GaBlé released « CuTe HoRSe CuT », just after their EP «I'm OK », their answer to Daniel Johnston's « Hi, how are you?» At the beginning of 2012, GaBLé finally settled down for a few months, taking time to compose a new album. MuRDeD », 13 free uninhibited songs all GaBLé-made: hip-hop, pop, noise and folk. This new release illustrates GaBLé are above all sound craftsmen. « MuRDeD » has been meticulously put together down to the last detail with unexpected new tones which upsets musical traditions. An intricate moulding of textures, rhythms and atmospheres, such is GaBLé's talent, here at its height. In its unique way, the group redefines the contours of so-called « experimental » music, making it welcoming, warm and uniting. What often seems to start as a simple folk ballad turns into a concentrated mixture of inventiveness on every level of structure, melody and vocals. Record Label: Ici D'Ailleurs Style: Independent

After a two-decade hiatus, the legendary Crime & The City Solution are back with a new incarnation based in a new home city, Detroit, and a new album, American Twilight out on 25 March 2013. This latest embodiment of Crime & The City Solution sees Berlin era members Simon Bonney (vocals), Bronwyn Adams (violin) and Alexander Hacke (guitar), joined by renowned visual artist Danielle de Picciotto, Jim White (drums - Dirty Three, Cat Power), David Eugene Edwards (guitar - 16 Horsepower, Wovenhand), Troy Gregory (bass - Witches) and Matthew Smith (Moog / keyboards - Outrageous Cherry, Volebeats). Crime & The City Solution have just announced a series of Australian dates, including All Tomorrow’s Parties / I’ll Be Your Mirror, curated by The Drones, in February. See below for full tour dates. Formed by Simon Bonney at the age of 16, Crime & The City Solution’s early performances in Sydney had a big impact on key figures of the early Melbourne art-punk/post punk scene. In 1984, Bad Seed Mick Harvey shipped Bonney to England to form the London based Crime with their friend the brilliant and ever influential ex-Birthday Party guitarist Rowland S Howard, his brother Harry Howard on bass and Epic Soundtracks on drums. Two years on, having toured Europe, the UK and US and released several EPs and an album, this lineup reached its zenith at its finale in a historic swansong performance in Wim Wenders’ cinematic masterpiece ‘Wings of Desire’. Bonney has said his true voice and the definitive sound he sought emerged with the next, Berlin based incarnation of Crime & The City Solution, which recorded three studio albums and a live CD between 1986 and 1991. With a more experimental sound, which drew less on Melbourne post punk scene roots and took a more explorative musical approach, this lineup was 50% Berliner and featured Einstürzende Neubauten’s Alex Hacke on guitar, ex-DAF/Liaisons Dangereuses electronic genius Chrislo Haas on vintage Korg patchbay synth, free jazz trio bassist Thomas Stern, with Australians Mick Harvey on drums and Bonney’s lyrical collaborator Bronwyn Adams on violin. Record Label: Mute Artists Ltd Style: Indie / Rock

Record Label: Deaf Rock Records Style: Independent

A strong love for classic 60s/70s guitar pop (Beach Boys, Beatles) as well as soft spots for Prince and Hall & Oates display Alex Calder's self proclaimed fascination with pop music. While his influences certainly shape his work, it is his natural ear for melody and movement which make his work both fluid and engaging. His knack and ambition both in his song writing and production provide a solid foundation for Calder's music to drift in an out of psychy realms. There are no over drenched chorus or walls of sound, instead leaving space for melody and texture to beneatly co-existent. Alex has found the sweet spot between slacker-pop jangle and snug rhymtic production to create reassurance his songs are going somewhere. Intimate handclaps and shakers make it easy for one to visualize the living from which it came as Calder's questions what to do with his time both literally and existentially Record Label: Captured Tracks Style: Independent

Record Label: Thrill Jockey Style: Independent

Record Label: Inner Ear Style: Independent