So what could I do but whip the Nuggets II box off the shelf and submerge myself in the more obscure sounds of the mid-sixties..  and once again it struck me (and I should really know by now) that The Marmalade‘s I See The Rain is a work of staggering pop genius, their third 45 and described by none other than Jimi Hendrix as the best British single of 1967.

And you thought these boys were all jolly Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da froth? Think again. Here they are on Dutch TV, in some kinda power station basement.. kinda.. thing. The knowing smiles of the band tell a tale or two.

What a song, though.

Perth rockers Pond make an early claim for Album Title Of The Year with their new release Beard, Wives, Denim – stream it in its entirety over at The Hype Machine. Liking this glam-rock-y psychedelia very much: Pond features a couple of the guys from Tame Impala and their Innerspeaker was one of my top picks for 2010. Download Fantastic Explosion Of Time and Mystery if you want something to stick in your iPod.

The Cribs have said goodbye to Johnny Marr (a good thing: no matter how much I love Johnny it never seemed a good fit) and dropped a new single in advance of their Steve Albini/Dave Fridmann produced new record In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull (out May 7 on Wichita). Chi-Town sounds as brash as you might imagine, but still doesn’t quite match the excellence of  their collaboration with Alex Kapranos, IMO.

Mosey on over to Sub Pop and exchange your email address for Walk With Me, a taste of the new album from Toronto dream poppers Memoryhouse. Their glistening, spectral sound is an ideal late-night listen. Stream the whole of The Slideshow Effect on their web site.

And finally.. how fantastic is it that a new Wedding Present album is on the way? Very fantastic indeed. March 20 is the date for Valentina and another extra large helping of David Gedge’s winning way with a lyric:

Get the above in MP3 form on the IODA SXSW sampler.

Thanks to Stereogum for the Pond and Cribs links.

This weekend I spent a short while whipping through my assemblage of digital music on several different devices and .. cleansing it.  So much of it just didn’t deserve to exist. Opening stanza after opening stanza of perfectly ordinary stuff, completely ignorable. So I killed it. It’s less than landfill.

Right now, I haven’t a care about the torrent of dreck foisted upon us in the name of indie because I can just take it or leave it. It’s not moving me either way, and that’s bad – if it feels like a waste of energy to even hate a record, something is seriously wrong.

So I guess it was more in desperation that I popped over to the New York Times site to hear the new stream of the Sleigh Bells sophomore release, Reign of Terror. Finally! The sand in the vaseline, the itch you can’t quite scratch, and something worth getting wound up about.

Brash use of extremely pointy guitars, preposterous hammering digital beats, sheets of noise, cute girly vocals, a pop slant, and probably the best video of a band member jumping on a bed with a rifle you’re ever likely to see (the extremely cute lead singer Alexis Krauss doing the jumping: see below).

Now, on the radio at the weekend, Alexis was fawned over by  the jock, and mid -fawn, she told us Sleigh Bells had listened to more pop music lately, which might account for the hooky tunes on the new record. “You know, George Michael.. Phil Collins, those guys”. Oh, THOSE guys. It was either the most calculated pitch I’ve ever heard or the lass is as innocent as a nine year old and just having a ton of fun. I’m going for innocent and fun. I don’t care what anyone thinks. And yup, I’m going to ignore all the debut album hype, the big-up-ness, the knock-em-down-ity, and just turn this new release to maximum volume and throw away the knob. It’s an absurd record. Absurdly enjoyable.

There’s hope for 2012 after all, folks.

There is also the long and intriguing story but to trim that down a little for you, premier Maori guitar and sitar exponent Jerebine left New Zealand for London at the tail end of the swinging 60s in thrall to the sounds of Jimi Hendrix and Steve Winwood. Notably, he played some bass in the Jeff Beck Group, but more importantly laid down a collection of tracks for a mind-blowing psychedelic rock album, pretty much unassisted, under the name of Jesse Harper.

Atlantic Records were interested, EMI too, but Jerebine, disillusioned with the business of making music, was already on a higher path. Spiritual needs meant he headed off to India, the Krishna movement and many years of study, discipline, mastering the native languages and translating scripture.

Half a lifetime on, hear the sounds created before making that life changing decision – download Ashes & Matches courtesy of Drag City, and stream the rest of the album on their site. Jerebine sightings have become a little more frequent in the past few years – support slots for Kyuss and The Damned the most eye-opening -  but this official re-release justifiably raises his profile as one of the finest of New Zealand’s musical exports.

Turn on, tune in and freak out.

Find it on the new Wilco iTunes Sessions album. Out now, pop pickers.

Lest we forget, here’s Nick with Billy, Dave and Terry the first time around.

Album coming soon. Find the Alabama Shakes EP here.

Part 2 here.

So we were fortunate to have an early 2012 visit from one of the finest guitar pop bands stalking the planet in the Dum Dum Girls, who summarily delivered a concise set of jangling sonic gems at the Kings Arms on Friday, and kickstarted my new year listening. Now, my love for the Girls has previously been documented in these pages, so I’m not going to ramble on again. Suffice to say they looked fantastic, and despite early PA problems, they sounded great.

And we definitely got two for the price of one on the night. Before Friday, Transistors were merely a name I’d spotted in the upcoming Laneway festival line-up. Now I know they’re a fiery punk trio I’d go see again without a second thought.. commitment, drive, mob-handed vocals, some set-ending string shredding, tons of feedback and .. yup.. some great songs.

Expect a new album sometime soon following the Laneway appearance. And if you want to hear what the feck I’m talking about, pop over to Bandcamp and get their first album, plus the lead single from the new one, absolutely free.

Cheers, guys. Nice to know you.

Cut Copy (the Aussie Duran Duran de nos jours) had a frighteningly large amount of success this year with the electro-poppy Zonoscope. Meh. Go figure.

But wait. Enter legendary DJ Andrew Weatherall, who did what he does best to the rambling overextended Sun God (from the abovementioned album). Nine minutes of perfectly produced bubbling blissed out Madchester (Madcunian?) groove. Download it courtesy of Stereogum.

Party on! Stay safe. See you on the other side.

Elbow – Build A Rocket Boys

It says a lot to me about my life. Lovely – watch

Yuck – Yuck

A big fizzy scuzzball of fun. Play loud – watch

Radiohead – The King of Limbs

Can do no wrong. Did no wrong – watch

Destroyer – Kaputt

Looking forward to looking back? Give this a listen – watch

The War on Drugs – Slave Ambient

Kurt Vile gets more press, but The War on Drugs are where it’s at – watch

My Secret Seven

Top picks from my playlist this year:

The Black Keys – El Camino
Punchier and pithier and more hook-y than Brothers. Git it! – watch
Boris – Attention Please
Beguiling dream-pop and shoegaze from the prolific Japanese metallers – watch and download ‘Hope’
The Horrors – Skying
The sound of my record collection on one CD? What’s not to like? – watch
Bon Iver – Bon Iver
Warm and welcoming – watch and download ‘Holocene’
Cornershop – Cornershop and the Double ‘O’ Groove Of..
Brilliant. Brimful of Bubbley Kaur – watch
Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat – Everything’s Getting Older
Indeed I am, and this is the soundtrack – watch and download ‘The Copper Top’
Dum Dum Girls – He Gets Me High EP
If this was vinyl, I’d have worn it flat. Pure pop for ‘now’ people – watch

I Could Listen To This Song All Day

Yuck – Get Away – watch

The Old Stuff

You’ve already heard my thoughts on the Rolling Stones Some Girls re-issue. I’ve been listening a lot to the 20th anniversary edition of Screamadelica, and the Drive-By Truckers compilation Ugly Buildings, Whores & Politicians: Greatest Hits 1998-2009. Blueprint – The Best of 808 State takes me back to the good old days, and I bought so many re-issues from the Why Pink Floyd? campaign, I got a free t-shirt.

The Toppermost Of The Poppermost

Gotye (feat. Kimbra) – Somebody I Used To Know – watch and download a remix

The ‘Didn’t They Do Well’ Award for Old Folks In Rock

David Newton & Thee Mighty Angels, for the Paint The Town EP – watch

A Band To Watch

2:54

The Boys Next Door

Ghost Wave – Ghost Wave EP – watch

Best Dressed Sleeve

Mogwai – Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will – a brilliant view of New York by Antony Crook.

See you in 2012, folks.