Following the release of last years WITH/AVEC EP, Plants And Animals are a Montreal based outfit about to release their debut UK album, LA LA LAND.

THE MAMA PAPA is the first single to be lifted from that record, a song that unlike much of the albums more laid back and dreamlike excursions is a full bloodied pop tune full of upbeat bravado and chirpy, energetic urgency. Plants And Animals do a decent job of fusing elements of the Super Furry Animals, ELO, Supertramp and Blur here, even adopting the guitar sting from Simple Mind's Waterfront to punctuate the songs ever so catchy and infectious hook laden chorus.

Hailing from Athens, Georgia, Dead Confederate are the latest band on the block to update the Laurel Canyon era Americana of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young ala Band Of Horses, Fleet Foxes and My Morning Jacket.

Like those aforementioned outfits, Dead Confederate conjure up hazy, sun drenched melodies, gently lilting atmospherics and the odd squall of psychedelic guitar noise,

If James Murphy's recent comments that the latest LCD Soundsystem is indeed to be the last, then it seems that judging by latest single PARTY KILLER, UK underground electro popster David E. Sugar could well be the natural heir to that particular electro throne.

Canadian psychedelic rockers Black Mountains return here with new single OLD FANGS, released ahead of the forthcoming third album, WILDERNESS HEART. Composed of Stephen McBean, Amber Webber, Matt Camirand, Jeremy Schmidt and Joshua Wells, Black Mountain are a Vancouver based outfit whose hard rocking retro sounds conjure images of seventies behemoths such as Deep Purple, Focus and Led Zeppelin; hard driving guitar riffs, swirling organ runs and images of long hair and dry ice.

Hotly tipped indie popsters Run Toto Run are a Manchester based three piece whose billing as one of XFM's top 20 artists to watch in 2010 rightly poises them on the verge of big things this year.
Dealing in slinky pop grooves that are camped equally in electronica and twee indie grounding, this is an outfit who can deftly conjure images of the Scissor Sisters, Metric, The Knife, Passion Pit and Goldfrapp.