1. Tame Impala - Lonerism
These Australian psych-rockers made this list two years ago here. Their album came out in October this year, which made it difficult to put in the main list, but I will get to rectify seeing them live as they are playing The Cain's on February 28, you can get your tix here.
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2. Acid Pauli - Mst
Acid Pauli is Martin Gretschmann, who is also a member of the Notwist, Console and God & 13. Typically characterized as House, this is anything but House. Experimental ambient electronica with an afrobeat/tropicali influence is what I would put this under. It is very unique and really expressive. I love listening to this album and it makes a great background album to anything you have going on.
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3. Divine Fits - A Thing Called Divine Fits
This is an indie super group from Austin that includes Britt Daniel of Spoon, Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade, Sam Brown from New Bomb Turks and Alex Fischel. You can certainly hear the influence of both bands, but I think they combine together to form something more amazing. A disco electronic groove to Spoon's bluesy influence. It is incredibly well done and hope for their success.
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4. Waxahatchee - American Weekend
Waxahatchee is former P.S. Eliot member, Katie Crutchfield. She lives in Brooklyn and recorded this album in her bedroom. This is beautiful, introspective, deep singer/songwriter stuff. Songs about broken love and love lost, sung with a guitar and wispy vocals. Nothing grabs my heart more than music like this.
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Bandcamp
5. Chromatics - Kill For Love
This is an incredibly talented band out of Portland, Oregon. The band consists of singer Ruth Radelet, guitarist Adam Miller, drummer Nat Walker, and producer/multi-instrumentalist Johnny Jewel. This newest album is long, but such an incredible collection of songs. From the beginning Neil Young cover of Into The Black to the title track and on, this album takes you on a musical journey of goodness you won't forget.
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6. Damien Jurado - Maraqopa
I love Damien Jurado, but this recent pairing with producer Richard Swift has really brought out the songwriting capabilities of this Seattle native. This is haunting 60's Brit pop, sometimes Nick Drake inspired. Nods to psych folk and deep soulful lyrics make this my favorite album to listen to right now. He also released three EP's in conjunction with this album, titled 'Yellow', 'Blue' and 'Red', with equally captivating sounds. This is a continuation of his 2010 work, St. Bartlett. If you haven't yet, give these albums a spin.
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7. Yeasayer - Fragrant World
These psych-pop Brooklyners have been making waves in the indie scene since their inception in 2007. The band consists of Chris Keating, Ira Wolf Tuton and Anand Wilder. Part dance, part psych, all good. I have found myself pulled back to this album repeatedly.
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8. Diagrams - Black Light
This is the brain child of former Tunng lead, Sam Genders and a rotating collective of musicians. U.K. based, this is more electronic than his former incarnation which was classified as folktronica. I absolutely love the darkness of his voice.
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9. The Townhouses - Diaspora
Found these guys on Bandcamp. "The Townhouses is the solo project of Melbourne artist, Leigh Hannah. The sound is based on Leigh's obsession with Ethnomusicology. He wistfully mixes Tropicalia, Gamelan, African and Ambient soundscapes to create an experimental collage of breezy summer vibes." You can download a big chunk of this on Soundcloud.
The Townhouses-Indian Elephant from Christian Filardo on Vimeo.
Bandcamp
10. Kelly Hogan - I Like To Keep Myself In Pain
This has been a nice surprise. Usually the twang in the lyrics and music would be enough to turn me away from this. However, the production quality is fantastic and the soulfulness of the lyrics and the power of her voice, as well as some blues infustion and the heavy use of organ is enough to bring me back to this album over and over. She hails from Atlanta, Georgia.
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