Bass Drum of Death a gritty, punk/rock outfit from Mississippi deliver a brilliant debut LP in the form of GB City – an album with a penchant for badassery and the soundtrack for rebels without causes. From telling the tales of trying to make it with religious girls, to songs about drugs, depression and Elvis appearing in your dreams, Bass Drum of Death have produced a fantastically grungy debut that is “the soundtrack playing in your head when you’re fucked up and walking home in the middle of the night” (fatpossum.com). Dedicated to “friend, brother and bandmate” Peyton “Larry” Houchins who passed away in 2010, GB City was created mostly by guitarist and singer John Barrett who wrote, recorded, performed and mixed the original songs using only a drumkit, a guitar, a usb microphone and a computer. Made of Barrett and drummer Colin Sneed, Bass Drum of Death prove to be a rock and roll band with a lot of potential.

Imagine a beautiful 1930s vaudeville cabaret theatre. Now, imagine the young, scruffy stage hand who spends his time soaking up the lifestyle of the eccentric director of the theatre and the tragic lives of the men and women who perform in it. And now put that into music form; throw in the influence alternative rock such David Bowie, Kate Bush Tom Waits and Muse, the vocals of what can only be described as a male Kate Miller-Heidke and then add a dash of gypsy style folk – what is your product? Fronz Arp is the answer. Emerging Sydney band Fronz Arp hail from the theatre of the strange, their music a twisting and turning combination of modern indie rock, folk and vaudeville cabaret. Made up of lead man Fronz Arp on vocals and ukulele; the band consists of members Seamus Kirkpatrick on bass and clarinet, Tony Dean on drums and Brisbane artist Emma Dean on violin and backing vocals.

Grab your headphones and take notice people, because Teeth & Tongue are back. The Melbourne group return with their sophomore album Tambourine to follow 2008’s Monobasic their deliriously successesful debut album. Receiving high accolades for their debut album the band was selectedas Triple J’s Next Crop artist and went on to perform at the Falls and Laneway festivals. Teeth & Tongue have performed alongside bands such as Philadelphia Grand Jury, The Mountain Goats and the Drones to name a few and toured around Europe with Lydia Lunch, Dawn Landes and These Are Powers.

The Wombats hold a dear place in the heart of this young journalist. As a young, naive fourteenyear old music lover, the Liverpool three-piece were one of the very first moderately indie bands Ilistened to. Their debut album Tales of Love, Loss and Desperation was on high rotation on my iPodwith hits such as Let’s Dance to Joy Division, Kill the Director and Lost in the Post personal favouritesof mine and of the radio. But now I have aged and matured and begun to explore different kinds ofmusic, and it seems that so have The Wombats. Both the fans and the band members Matt ‘Murph’Murphy (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Dan Haggis (drums) and Tord Overland-Knudsen (bass) havegrown up and The Wombats have delivered a more sophisticated and mature album with a moreevolved sound.

Brooklyn’s genre-swapping indie masters TV On The Radio are back with their recently releasedfourth studio album entitled Nine Types of Light. This is a sensational record by the New York fivepiece that is based around the influence of love and longing and positivity, although the conceptwas unintended. “We’ve attempted to work on themes before but they fall apart very quickly. Moreorganic versions arise because we’re sharing time or space or communication” says vocalist andguitar player Kyp Malone.

Scotland has given us a lot of great things… Scotch whiskey, Billy Connolly, the Lochness monster and of course The View. Hailing from the town of Dryburgh near Dundee in Scotland; rhythm guitarist and vocalist Kyle Falconer, bassist and vocalist Keiran Webster, lead guitarist Pete Reilly, drummer Steven Morrison and keyboardist Darren Rennie make up the indie rock band. After the success of their 2007 debut album Hats Off to the Buskers The View toured with notable bands Babyshambles, Primal Scream and the Undertones; The View have released their third album following 2009’s Which Bitch? Entitled Bread and Circuses.