Ouch My Face – Firehead

Wow, this is such an aggressive song. Even without the lyrics – which threaten to beat you – this stuff could probably make your nose bleed.

Fittingly, the band responsible for this punk/funk gem is called Ouch My Face. Hailing from Melbourne, the three-piece distill rhythm and hostility into an energetic cocktail with the same reckless abandon that typified early Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Blood Brothers music. With the untamed shrill of vocalist Celeste Porter augmenting the fierce conviction of the bass groove and drums, Firehead is ferocious but accessible – a perfect slice of contemporary post-punk.

What’s most exciting is that they’ve managed to capture the near incomparable energy of their live shows on record. It’s definitely worth getting along to see these guys if you get the chance – they make it more than worth your while.

Firehead is lifted from their forthcoming EP, which should be a highlight of the new year if this song is any indication.

(As a side note, Porter also provided the impressive cover art for An Horse‘s equally impressive debut album. What a talented girl).

www.myspace.com/ouchmyfaceband

Micky Green – Shoulda (Bloody Beetroots Remix)

Remember Micky Green? That Australian singer/model who relocated to Paris and randomly had a top ten hit or two in her adopted country?

Perhaps you never heard of her in the first place. Fair enough, since her coverage back home has been marginal at best.

Apparently she’s recently been getting mileage across Europe with the remix of her track ‘Shoulda’ by Italian electro duo Bloody Beetroots. It’s not hard to see why, since this couldn’t sound more ‘2008’ if it tried (which I mean in a good way). Combining the best parts of Italo-Disco (a la Italians Do It Better) and French House (a la Justice), this remix takes Ms Green’s pop song and makes it a chopped up and pumping dancefloor stomp.

Micky Green is gearing up for a local release soon and the previously covered ‘Oh!’ is also undergoing some high profile remixing. Keep an ear out for those soon. Until then, just jump around to this one and pretend you’re in Europe – where they apparently recognise some good Australian music before Australians even get around to it.

www.myspace.com/mickygreenmusic

The Verses – ‘Running Away’

If the people in this promo photo for Melbourne band The Verses look familiar, it’s because they are. Almost ten years on from the major label debut of their previous band Killing Heidi (yes, it has been that long!), Jesse and Ella Hooper are back.

I saw The Verses perform during their first residency at The Toff in Melbourne back in the middle of the year. They played for two hours and I was captivated the entire time. Ella Hooper is arguably the best front woman in Australia and brings some much needed strength and sex appeal to the often limp genre of alt-country.

‘Running Away’ features guest vocals from Melbourne singer-songwriter Dan Sultan. More a sparring match than a duet, Sultan and Hooper belt out a song about love not so much lost as outright rejected.

The Verses play A Day on The Green with Jimmy Barnes and Kasey Chambers on the 31st of January before supporting Kate Miller-Heidke at the Melbourne Zoo on the 5th of February.

www.myspace.com/theverses

AMERICA – I Guess I’m Floating
Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele – 26 Miles
Mississippi-based Dent May has been recording in various southern states since his formative years in high school. After going to college and refining his sound, he emerged with a new act that made use of his self-proclaimed magnificent ukulele. His pleasant pop arrangements, strong vocals and doo-wop-like vocal harmonies will appeal to anyone hoping to hear some happy music. His debut album is due out in February via Animal Collective’s Paw Tracks label. Never underestimate the ukulele.

ARGENTINA – Zonaindie
Banda de Turistas – Todo Mío El Otoño
Mágico Corazón Radiofónico is the first album by Banda de Turistas and it turned out to be one of the biggest surprises of the year. With Mario Caldato Jr. (Beastie Boys) in charge of the mixing, this song reprises the beat sound of ancient Argentine rock bands like Los Gatos.

AUSTRALIA – Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
The Philadelphia Grand Jury – Going To The Casino (Tomorrow Night)
Three long-time Sydney musicians start the funnest band to come out of the city in the past year. You might have known them in previous lives as one part Berkfinger, two parts The Sweats. Combined, they channel an updated retro rock style that somehow manages to both pay homage to Elvis and sound incredibly cool. Not an easy feat, so respect where it is due.

BRAZIL – Meio Desligado
Macaco Bong – Bananas For You All
Macaco Bong is an instrumental trio from Cuiabá, considered one of the best live acts in the country. They sound like an original mix of post-rock, alternative metal and free jazz. Their guitarist doesn’t use any pedals or effects, playing his Fender online with overdrive from the amps he uses. The band is part of Espaço Cubo, a collective that works with culture and its social aspects, starting a revolution from the underground.

CANADA – I(Heart)Music
Black Hat Brigade – Swords
Their hiccupped vocals and apocalyptic-sounding music makes bringing up Wolf Parade almost inevitable, but Black Hat Brigade make a pretty convincing argument with their self-titled EP – and particularly with Swords – that they don’t necessarily come off any the worse in the comparison.

CHILE – Super 45
Fredi Michel – Enganamí (Comeme Remix II)
One of the weirdest and most original bands from Santiago, Fredi Michel are a mix between cumbia, dub and avant pop (via Broadcast). Even though they’ve been playing for years they have only recorded a few songs and some of their friends have made some remixes, such as the one featured here. Fredi Michel have announced they will finally release their debut album next year.

DENMARK – Pastries, Peppers And Canals…
Oliver North Boy Choir – Tonight
Oliver North Boy Choir are the kind of band that Denmark does spectacularly well. Signed to Danish uber-indie label Crunchy Frog, Camilla Florentz, Mikkel Max Hansen and Ivan Petersen release pieces of ethereal beauty via download only. Oh, and they don’t play live either.

ENGLAND – The Daily Growl
Jay Jay Pistolet – Golden Age
You may not call it a ‘scene’, but there’s only one degree of separation between many of London’s young bands and artists. Jay Jay Pistolet, friend of Mumford & Sons, Derek Meins and no doubt plenty others, is no exception. Not that this is important. Let JJP, who often comes across as a young English version of M Ward, be judged for himself.

GERMANY – Blogpartei
Mio Myo – Switch
Switch is the latest single of the Nuremberg-based quad Mio Myo. It can be seen as a description of their sound – a bit ghosty and spheric, a diversity of electronic and analog instruments, and a voice reminiscent of Thom Yorke. Their songs always deserve a second hearing.

ICELAND – I Love Icelandic Music
Vicky – Alien
Vicky, previously called Vicky Pollard (named after the Little Britain character), is one of the coolest new Icelandic rock bands. The band started in November 2006 when they accidentally got together and started jamming in their hometown Hafnarfjörður. They produce a sort of poppy metal or heavy pop. In 2008, these four girls and male drummer recorded their debut album Pull Hard, which was released on the Töfrahellirinn label in October.

IRELAND – Nialler9
Sunken Foal – On Platinum Rays
The brilliantly titled Sunken Foal (think about it…) is also known as Dunk Murphy of Ambulance. After an appearance on BBC Radio 1’s Mary Ann Hobbs, his debut Fallen Arches has just been released on Planet Mu. The album is a textural, ambient, electronic-acoustic and, most of all, beguiling release of leftfield sounds.

ITALY – Polaroid
Scarlets – Every Waterloo
Young, talented and stylish, Scarlets play nervous and tight songs heavily influenced by new wave. They’ve just released an EP on Angle Records full of love for The Smiths, The Jam and the sharpest Brit sound. They’re definitely a name to keep an eye on in the coming months.

NEW ZEALAND – Counting The Beat
Bearcat – Red Panda Blues
Bearcat are one of a bunch of new New Zealand bands dabbling in folk influenced indie-pop. Apparently Bearcat is a literal translation of the Latin word for panda, and as well as naming themselves after the endangered mammal, the band have chosen to make pandas the subject of many of their songs too. Bearcat avoid the danger of this resulting in one-line-joke novelty songs by writing catchy and memorable tunes that have every chance of survival.

NORWAY – Eardrums
The Little Hands Of Asphalt – The Future
The Little Hands Of Asphalt is the solo project of Sjur Lyseid, the singer in the Norwegian indie-pop band Monzano. As TLHOA, he makes warm, sensitive folk-inspired songs, often performed with an acoustic guitar as the main instrument. Sjur Lyseid is a great storyteller and his lyrics are always worth listening to. The song we have for you is a Music Alliance Pact exclusive, taken from his forthcoming debut album Leap Years which will be released in March 2009.

PERU – SoTB
Pelo Madueño – Es Hora
After his successful debut album, Ciudad Naufragio, Pelo Madueño returned this year with No Te Salves, an intimate album full of emotions. Based in Spain, Pelo shines as a songwriter and gives us a real insight into the independent scene.

PORTUGAL – Posso Ouvir Um Disco?
Nuno Rancho – Not For Sale
Unready Demo is Nuno Rancho’s first solo work and you can download the other tracks on the EP for free via a link on his MySpace. In 2002, he started playing music in a band called Wheelchair and two years later he formed Kyoto. Today, besides Kyoto, Nuno Rancho still finds time to play and write for TiMaria, an electro-pop trio which has a completely different sound from his other work.

SCOTLAND – The Pop Cop
Dotjr – More Than You Know
The Pop Cop only ‘discovered’ Dotjr last week and we were so bowled over there was no choice but to fast-track him into this month’s Music Alliance Pact. Dotjr (pronounced dot-jay-are) is the solo project of James Reeves, a 21-year-old native of the Isle of Lewis, and his joyous, soaring music has the kind of ambitious pop sound that radio DJs fall over themselves to play. More Than You Know is epic, swooning and Christmassy. Pretty much perfect then.

SINGAPORE – I’m Waking Up To…
Leeson – Some Girls
Leeson are a five-piece indie-pop band from Singapore who play a revelling cocktail of poppy, dancey tunes that will have your feet tapping and singing along to their infectious melodies.

SOUTH KOREA – Indieful ROK
The Black Skirts – Dog
The Black Skirts is the name used by Castel Prayon and his live band when climbing the digital music charts of Korea. In November the band’s first album, 201, was released. The first song up for promotion was Like Me and people soon heeded the title’s request. For somebody who usually isn’t too keen on being poppy, Castel Prayon sure knew what he was doing when making those songs, and Dog is an excellent example of that.

SPAIN – El Blog De La Nadadora
Elurretan – Momo Alper Bat Da
Richar and Mikel are from Euskadi and sing in Euskera, their own language. Their songs are inspired by The Beach Boys, Burt Bacharach, Jonathan Richman, Mikel Laboa and C86. You can download their last album, Momo Eta Beste Izaki Batzu, from their website (http://www.elurretan.com). Elurretan love music and want to share their songs with everyone who likes them. Is it possible? I think so.

SWEDEN – Swedesplease
Francis – Bad To The Bone
Francis take the strange blues of The Tallest Man On Earth and add a cabaret atmosphere. Debut single Bad To The Bone sounds like a transgender version of Stevie Ray Vaughn if he/she worked in a travelling eastern European circus and was channelling Tom Waits.

To download all 21 songs in one file click here:
http://www.zshare.net/download/52722654820bd62c/

Rekindle – ‘Cold Life’

Despite looking like a glam-rock vampire and having possibly the worst album cover of 2008, it turns out Rekindle churns out some fairly rad music.

Far from being the manufactured pop star his image might suggest, Rekindle is an independent artist who began making drum’n’bass and abstract intrumental hip hop in his Sydney bedroom during the mid 90s under the name ‘Raised By Wolves.’ His latest offering is ‘The Chandelier,’ which sees him relegate his art-rock aspirations to the margins in favour of the shameless glossy production of new wave, electro, and funk.

‘Cold Life’ is an epic, two-part new wave track from that album. Sounding like New Order covering Prince, the song is combines a funky guitar line with synth pads over an incessant rhythmic pulse and repetitive vocal turns. The falsetto-laden coda is more indicative of the rest of Rekindle’s output, which often strays too far into Justin Timberlake territory for my liking (see: ‘Ice Skating Girl,’ which appeared on a BBC Radio 2 compilation alongside LCD Soundsystem, The Rapture et al).

The album as a whole is likely to be more divisive than this one song, however, ‘Cold Life’ is a place where the lovers and haters can meet and dance together.

www.myspace.com/rekindlepurehearts

The Dandilions – ‘Three Inches’

The Dandilions are an all-female acoustic-folk trio… WAIT! WAIT! COME BACK!
Yes, they are an all-female acoustic-folk trio, but their music is neither insipid nor angsty – what a nice change.

Mentored by drummer Geoff Green of george fame, the girls met whilst studying music at QUT in Brisbane.
I love how vocalist Vanessa Hodgins delivers quite personal and often cutting lyrics in such a fragile voice. Their song ‘The Sea’ is a perfect example of this.

The Dandilions – ‘The Sea’

The Dandilions play around Brisbane sporadically. I wish they played more.

www.myspace.com/dandilionmusicaustralia