Released 15th March.

By Sophie Stratford

Music video to ‘Come Home’ from Children and Corpse Playing in the Street’s debut album ‘Honey I’m Home!’. Directed and animated by David Mahler.

From Vinyl and Vodka:

“We have finally finished the 2nd issue of Vinyl and Vodka Magazine. I’m so happy because the 2 months seemed like forever! I didn’t get much sleep at all and finishing the magazine in time was always on my mind. I intended to get the issue out by the beginning of February before Valentines day (if you click through the magazine you’ll see why) but that didn’t happen, so oh well.

This issue features an interview with HEALTH and articles like The Internet and its Effect on the Music Industry, along with reviews of Tim Burton’s art gallery at MOMA. We also featured 500 Days of Summer and A Single Man. 5 bloggers (We All Want Someone, The Culture Of Me, Pigeons and Planes, We Listen For You, Both Eyes Closed) also participated in creating a cool feature.

There are 2 editorials that are in this issue, and thank you SO SO SO SO much to Shaun Scade from Scade Photography for fighting the cold and dealing with us for two days straight, shooting our models.

P.S. Be sure to download the Vodkast here and stream it while you’re reading the magazine because it will make the experience so much better!”

Mumford & Sons have begun this decade much as they ended the last, with word-of-mouth recommendations and a fearsome live reputation helping them to become one of the most significant British success stories in recent years.  The band has already received enormous radio airplay, even including a place on the Radio 1 A-list.

Single The Cave is a pounding tale of hope and defiance, starting with gently picked acoustic and this gradually escalates into a huge wall of sound with a myriad of strange and traditional instruments. 2010 is definitely shaping up to be Mumford & Sons year.

Released 1^st March 2010.

By Sophie Stratford

A modern take on the Parisian-Gypsy sound of the early 20th century, they sing tales of Brunswick (the bohemian enclave of Melbourne’s suburbs) with the improvised charm of a true street performance and enough character to fill a Dickens novel.

Never Turn Your Back On Tha Sea – Rapskallion

I made a purchase of their album ‘One Up For The Little Man’, an enthralling 11 track piece. You can visit their myspace here or get the album from iTunes.

One thing I can say for definite is that the busking in Melbourne is better. The lighting and acoustics of the London Underground don’t do anyone any justice.

By Charlie O’Shea

‘Go’ is now set to be released on the 5th of April 2010. The North American tour dates have been posted here and the first show is to be in Vancouver; a day after the album is released worldwide.

No dates in other continents have yet been announced but it is still being called a world tour so I expect they will be in the near future.

Hopefully I’ll be featuring more Melbourne/Australian bands from now on. Sophie Stratford is still back in England and will still be doing her thing so I suppose we now have a bi-hemispherical blog. Awesome. Bye.

Golden pop phenomenon Mika is releasing his brand new single Blame It On The Girls, taken from his acclaimed seconds album The Boy who Knew Too Much. The single is a massively happy slice of timeless, sing along pop bliss incorporating hand claps and floor stopping piano. Already a live hit Blame It On The Girls raised the roof at this year’s iTunes Festival. The single comes with fantastic mixes from mighty Wolfgang, Paul Woolford, Anorak & Starmith and an old-school video spectacular directed by acclaimed director Nez (who has shot promos for Lily Allen and Kid Cudi). This single is just another great track under Mika’s belt.

Released 15^th February 2010.

By Sophie Stratford

Goodbye Falkenburg was recorded over the space of nine months and the band took an unorthodox approach to this debut. “We felt bored with all modern music,” says singer Meilyr Jones. “We wanted to make our fifth album first, if you know what I mean.”

Cake – Race Horses

Race Horses also brought out a 4 track concept EP ‘Man In My Mind’ in December 2009. Although it was an incredibly short release at just under 9 minutes in length, it’s depth made it clear that Race Horses are a band that have the means to last.

Man In My Mind – Race Horses

Released 18th January 2010.

Adam Young is the mastermind behind the music collaboration that is Owl City. Single ‘Fireflies’ has hit the No. 1 spot on the U.S Billboard charts in November 2009 and the U.S iTunes chart. It has also already sold nearly two million copies and is the fastest selling electronic track of all-time. Young has fashioned an elegant and seemingly effortless connection between fashionably arty, retro-nouveau electro pop and the kind of fresh-faced, sweetly melancholic hit factory songwriting.

Owl City pop has a purity of purpose – an innocence that breathes fresh air in to the electro-pop revival. It sounds like a sparkling wintry day in a place full of nature, rather than electronic music’s usual urban nocturnal vibe.  Fireflies makes a world of adventure to combat quietness and the boredom around you.

Released 22^nd February 2010.

By Sophie Stratford