As Brendan seems to be getting more and more individual tracks sent to him and the mountain is piling up, I thought I'd try and get a few brownie points and hoover up these random sounds in the manner of some old-fashioned singles page. So, let's not hang about. Let's dive in and pick up that first item from my virtual singles box...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_nhleVI1yo

There's also a remix of this song by Teen Daze which is unidentifiable from the original, but it bobs up and down nicely and I've got to say I prefer it to the original. 5 sponges

http://soundcloud.com/nevado/travellers-digest-remix-by

http://www.libraryvoices.com
http://www.summeroflust.tumblr.com
http://www.facebook.com/libraryvoices
http://www.myspace.com/thelibraryvoices

Next up is X by XRay Eyeballs, a post-punk act from Brooklyn with a name I'm rather partial to. The opening bassline could be straight from The Adverts first LP, but there's something interesting going on behind it and I like the duel vocals – they add something different to what could have easily sounded like just more of the same old same old. It probably goes on slightly longer than it needs to, but yeah, I like this. It's got a decent beat and there's some nice early 80s synth sounds in the background, too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GFOLj1G3L8
http://www.tellallyourfriendspr.com/xrayeyeballs_x.mp3 (free download)
https://www.facebook.com/xrayeyeballs
http://www.myspace.com/xrayeyeballs
http://nydamage.blogspot.com/
http://xrayeyeballs.bandcamp.com/ (the whole album is available for free download on their Bandcamp site

Which brings me to Hoshi Neko by Yamantaka // Sonic Titan, a Canadian band who are described as "a psychedelic noh-wave opera group fusing noise, metal, pop and folk music". From that description, I was expecting something much much weirder than what we actually get here. It's got big thuddy 80s sounding drums that really stand out in the mix whilst everything else merges into one sound like something Joe Meek might have done all those years ago. It's all topped by a sweet sounding Japanese girl. So, not the weird shit I was expecting, but this is getting better every listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TxgqFi_z5E
http://yamantakasonictitan.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/YAMANTAKA-SONIC-TITAN/
http://www.myspace.com/yamantakasonictitan
http://www.ytstlabs.com/blog/

I can't, however, say I'm so keen on Neighbor Crimes by Capybara who apparently hail from Kansas. It's a bit Animal Collective-ish, although there's more emphasis on guitars here. There's a few interesting ideas knocking about, and it improves with listens, but it's just not quite working for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTEV6jK6USE
http://soundcloud.com/therecordmachine/capybara_neighbor-crimes
https://www.facebook.com/heycapybara
http://www.capybaramusic.com/

Sophia Knapp is a song writer on Drag City, a label that has featured artists such as Broadcast and Bill Callahan, who is apparently her boyfriend, so I was looking forward to hearing her tracks. I was also secretly hoping that one called Close To Me might be a cover of the old Cure favourite, but it wasn't to be. It starts off all quiet and introspective before suddenly getting more upbeat and kind of swingy in a mid-70s kind of way. The word "bland" springs to mind.

http://soundcloud.com/fadermedia/sophia-knapp-close-to-me
http://www.dragcity.com/1-06_Close_To_Me.mp3 (free download)

Into The Waves is her other offering and it's slightly better with more of a driving beat, but I can't say I'm totally won over by her voice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNKrcfdhMsA
http://www.dragcity.com/1-03_Into_the_Waves.mp3 (free download)

https://www.facebook.com/sophiaknappmusic
http://www.sophiaknapp.com/

I'm not exactly wowed by Sandro Perri's Love And Light either. It's got a shuffling beat that sounds like its competing with the singer rather than complimenting him.

http://soundcloud.com/constellation-records/sandro-perri-love-and-light
http://cstrecords.com/Love-And-Light.mp3 (free download)

Futuractive Kid Part 1 by the same artist is better though. In fact, it's a slightly odd one. Slow, almost eerie at times with vocals that sound like a cross between Finley Quaye and David Sylvian. Altogether more interesting than the other track.

http://soundcloud.com/round-record-lp/sandro-perri-futureactive-kid
http://cstrecords.com/Futureactive-Kid-Part-1.mp3 (free download)

Next is It Takes Me by Sun Glitters, who are apparently an electro band from Luxembourg - a description which got me quite excited. The echoey sounds and scratchiness aren't anything you haven't heard before though and the beat seems to plod a bit too much for my liking, but it's not bad all the same.

http://soundcloud.com/sunglitters/sun-glitters-it-takes-me
http://www.sunglitters.com/
http://soundcloud.com/sunglitters

Stay Out Of The Sun (Mr Fogg Dub) by Mr Fogg is more electronic stuff, with a slightly mournful sound that gets spoilt by the shuffling beat that pops in from time to time. I'm probably missing the point here, but I'm finding it rather annoying.

http://soundcloud.com/mrfogg/stay-out-of-the-sun-mr-fogg-dub
http://soundcloud.com/mrfogg/stay-out-of-the-sun

Woodsman are a band with two drummers from Colorado, who apparently now reside in NYC. Supernal Radionics has an almost Can-like feel. It's an instrumental that kind of ambles along without really going anywhere, but it's not unpleasant.

http://soundcloud.com/fadermedia/woodsman-supernal-radionics
http://woodsmanman.tumblr.com/
https://www.facebook.com/woodsmanman

Glitter Party is by Sauna, a garage rock outfit from Denver and it had me smiling from the first few bars. It had surf instrumental written all over it so it was almost a bit of a shock when the high pitched girl's singing suddenly popped in. It perhaps doesn't quite live up to the initial promise – it could do with being just a tad wilder really – but it's really enjoyable all the same.

http://vimeo.com/36411550
http://sauna666.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/sauna666

Life In Stereo by Infernal Devices is another goodie. They're a NYC electro act and this bobs about and throbs a bit. It's almost Electroclash as I believe it used to be called. A pretty decent tune, too.

http://soundcloud.com/goldestegg/infernal-devices-life-in
http://infernaldevices.tv/
https://www.facebook.com/infernaldevices

Better still, however, is Chorus Synth by Three Fields, who actually seems to be just the one guy. I've found an interview with him where he describes his music as being “melodic ambient” which is a fair enough description. "Lovely" is another. I like this one a lot.

http://soundcloud.com/threefields/chorus-synth-single-edit
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Three-Fields-official/
http://soundcloud.com/threefields

Black Crowe is by Greylag, a Portland based folky outfit who have apparently been compared to Fleet Foxes. I can't say Fleet Foxes do much for me and neither does this. There's a nice guitar sound, but I'm not overly keen on the fella's voice, although I should add that this is just a personal thing rather than there being anything inherently wrong with it. So not for me, but I can imagine this proving pretty popular if it gets exposure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWyMAo2IWLs
https://www.facebook.com/greylagmusic
http://www.greylagmusic.com/
you can dl the track for free at http://www.spinner.com/

Turf War from Atlanta have sent in a few tunes including a cover of Bad Moon Rising. Now I must admit that I'm a bit of a closet Creedence fan, so I admire their taste if nothing else. I don't want to knock their enthusiasm of which there seems to plenty, but it's a bit of pointless re-tread if I'm being totally honest. For The Last Time reminds me of Slade with its stomping beat and guitar riff whilst Cheers To The Years sounds like a Slade title, albeit one with the added benefit of spellcheck. It sounds like Big Country, but unfortunately I was never terribly keen on them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsETzIg6KF0
http://teamclermont.com/cheerstotheyears.mp3 (free download)
http://teamclermont.com/summertimebooze.mp3 (free download)
http://teamclermont.com/badmoonrising.mp3 (free download)
https://www.facebook.com/turfwarusa
http://turfwar.tumblr.com/

Inca Gold are a London act who compares themselves to Deerhunter. I don't know Deerhunter myself, so I don't feel qualified to pass judgment on this comparison. Anyway, Atom consists of dreamy-ish vocals and shoe-gazey guitars over a lolloping beat. It's like a head on collision of 1982 and 1992.

http://vimeo.com/35561502
http://incagoldmusic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/incagoldmusic

Fenster describe themselves as "a duo of New Yorker-turned-Berliner JJ Weihl and Berlin-born Jonathan Jarzyna, that plays de-constructed pop music, layering subtle distortions, melodic chords and city soundscapes under dream narratives". They also use the words 'analogue', 'velvet' and 'underground' in their blurb so I was looking forward to this. Judging by Fantasy II, some of that self-promotion was slightly mis-leading. It might be 'de-constructed pop' but it's way too fussy for my liking. There are more chord changes here than in the entire VU back catalogue. And not in a good way either.

http://soundcloud.com/morrmusic/fenster-fantasy-ii/s-f6ial
http://fenster.bandcamp.com/

All Through the Night is by U.S. Elevator who apparently include Woody Guthrie's granddaughter, aka Arlo Guthrie's daughter, SarahLee, in their ranks. I'm told that this is a song that's been previously covered by Cyndi Lauper, but my knowledge in that direction is pretty limited. There's a real purity about Sarah's voice, however, and the arrangements are both pleasant and interesting especially in the backing vocals and percussive departments (I'm liking the xylophone that pops in here and there!). This probably wouldn't be my cup of tea as a rule, but there's a really nice quality about this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZluPsolG5Qw
http://uselevator.net/

Which leaves Lawless by Coast Jumper. They're apparently from New York, a city that was responsible for some of my favourite bands ever, although we're going back a bit now. This opens more like some West Coast thing which had me wondering whether the Coast Jumper name is trying to tell us something. Some jerky drums then enter and things are going along quite nicely until out of the blue there's a metal interlude halfway through. This is probably meant to make us think, "ooh, aren't they interesting", but it spoils the mood for me. Still, I'm inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt because there's enough to make me think there's some promise here.

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/coast-jumper
http://coastjumper.com/
https://www.facebook.com/COASTJUMPER