Mac DeMarco - Brother 8.0/10

Mac DeMarco is an experimental indie rock performer originally from British Columbia, Canada and now based in New York City. This track is taken from his album Salad Days which was released by Captured Tracks Records in April 2014. The song is the second single off DeMarco's solid new album, and can be counted as one of the better moments on the record. His smooth, so-laid-back-he-must-be-lying-on-the-ground vocals are buttery goodness and suggest he's puffing on a Viceroy between verses where he tells a pal to chill out and just relax. The slinky guitars and retro 60's style get you feeling all nice and mellow when suddenly you're jarred back to harsh reality by the alien cries and dissonant guitar effects which unfold in the final minute of the track. Mac has the reputation for being an indie rock slacker and is now a poster boy for smokers and civil liberties campaigners, but on Brother he sounds world-weary and wise beyond his years. DeMarco claimed the style of the album reflected that "I was on tour for a year and a half and I'm tired", and you can picture him strumming the chords of Brother while slumped in an old armchair. This is an introspective track to put on when you want to take a breather and unwind after a hard day.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Simple and Sure 6.2/10

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are an indie twee rock band from New York, USA. This track is taken from their forthcoming album called Days of Abandon which will be released in May 2014 by Yebo Records. The track begins with a simple sing-along vocal part which recalls the style of Dirty Projectors. The strummed verse sections sound rather similar to many tracks The Pains have produced before, if perhaps a bit chirpier and sunnier. However, it's the arrival of the chorus which makes me cringe whenever I hear it - like something you'd expect to hear on an 80's easy listening radio station, with a hook that is anything but memorable. The band have apparently moved too far to the 'pop' end of their musical spectrum, and forgotten that what made their past material great was the interplay of clever, suggestive lyrics with a sweet and sour delivery that conveyed shy yearnings. This saccharine sweet track is a huge disappointment after a run of extremely enjoyable singles and albums, and the song's title really sums up the one-dimensional feeling of it, they've chosen to go with something 'simple and sure'. Let's hope when the full album arrives that this is a sugary deviation from what Days of Abandon will actually sound like.

Wild Nothing - Chinatown 9.5/10

Wild Nothing is the indie guitar pop project of Jack Tatum from Virginia, USA. This track is taken from his album Gemini which was released by Captured Tracks Records in 2010. The song begins with a lush arrangement of flute-like synths hovering at the margins before a steady rhythm of light percussion and a mesmerizing bass line make an entrance. The thickness of the production needs to be complemented since the myriad different layers going on in this track never overlap or sound muddied, they are all given room to be heard separately. There are enough different sounds that headphones are strongly recommended to catch all the different parts, particularly the depth and complexity of the superb bass line. The moody, longing atmosphere is matched by Tatum's lyrics, where he exclaims "I need to keep you here/I need to picture you still/I need to clear the fog", expressing yearnings for a lost companion. This is Wild Nothing's finest moment to date, a track where all the best features of Tatum's style came together in something timeless.