Moby Tenenbaum

It’s hard to believe that the two principal members of New York-based band Alberta Cross are a Swede and a Brit, because the sound of their recently released sophomore album is so distinctly heartland America. This majestic anthem of a song, 'Magnolia', provides a great example. It starts out sounding like a mid-tempo blend of southern rock and canyon rock and then segues powerfully into quasi-Gospel call-and-response -- brilliant, brilliant songwriting. Every time I hear this song, it sends shivers up my spine.



At a time when my musical preferences are definitely skewing toward noise bands and psychedelia, it seems strange that my two favorite songs of 2012 so far are both American anthems. My second pick is 'You As You Were', by Austin-based Shearwater, which has built a reputation on lovely, quiet, shimmering tunes. Their most recent album, 'Animal Noise', which came out early this year, was a big departure from their usual serene ways, rocking much harder than their previous work. This track, which is from it, feels like an exuberant sprint toward salvation, building to higher and then higher levels before it crosses the finish line a true world champion.

Mallory Cerise

Thinking of all the possible ways to describe my selections, "veiled fatality"--the strange phrase used by Martin Heidegger in his writings on art--seems most fitting: this music makes me think of the powerful, pitch-black current running underneath reality as we know it. The songs are, respectively, from Porl King's (ex Rosetta Stone, now miserylab) side project In Death It Ends and American duo AIMON, both working with the parameters of witch house but transcending them assuredly.

Troy Finkler

All The Young - The First Time

Upcoming Indie band who supported Kaiser Chiefs in Manchester in feb (yep I did go) and they are great, with a substantial following and growing! Give em a listen x