The Ones That Got Away

Sometimes I feel like there's almost too much music to listen to. And that means I miss things that deserve greater attention. In this episode I go back and take a listen to some recent-ish releases that I overlooked. They're the ones that got away.

I've been a fan of Bachelorette since her first E.P., The End of Things, but her new album My Electric Family is the release that I've always hoped she would put out. Annabel Alpers engaging tech-pop songs have often touched on themes of isolation and humanity's interaction with technology and reflecting that her music has been mainly solo with just her and her synthesisers. However, as indicated in the title, on My Electric Family Alpers is joined by musicians from Cassette and HDU and as a result the songs are more expansive and richer in texture than past releases. This album has also attracted Bachelorette overseas attention and has been released on US label Drag City. I've posted some Bachelorette clips on the video page and you'll find a National Radio interview here.

That Bachelorette album features members of the band Cassette. Cassette's debut E.P. Emo, released in 2000, was a classic, it's Neil Young like country rock was super laid back with a subtle underlying groove. It was a long wait until the debut album Cut For Summer came out in 2006 but the band had lost none of it's appeal in the meantime. The Cancer E.P. came out in 2008 and then with almost unseemly haste Cassette released their second album The Jingle King earlier this year. Cassette's slow laid back approach is still there along with the groove but songs now build into waves of blissful guitar.

A Low Hum, run by Blink, has been responsible for nurturing and giving opportunity to many emerging artists over recent years through the A Low Hum magazine and CD series, the acclaimed Camp A Low Hum, and releasing CDs and digital downloads from a small roster of artists. A Low Hum releases and events have always been noted for going the extra mile for their imagination and aesthetics. Earlier this year A Low Hum released a digital sampler comprising high quality digital downloads with limited release hand-printed posters. The sampler features Disasteradio, Secret Knives, Mount Pleasant, Ropes, Nikky Brinkman and Over The Atlantic. I've put some Over the Atlantic clips on the video page.

Finally, something brand new. The Mint Chicks recently released their third album Screens. The band have just released a brand new, untitled song on their website. To hear it you need to visit the site and simultaneously play for video clips which together make up the visuals and audio of the song. It takes a bit of buffering but it's worth checking out.

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