The latest collective, this time cider swigging artisans from The South rising to their feet as if a Mill Wall football fan had rediscovered Lynx (sorry guys) paints a wonderful picture. The trio are brother, sister and Terran Tremewan who has found himself in a loosely fruity conundrum, but I’m sure he’s pleased as punch positioned behind the Keyboards either. However, the fact that the siblings have resolved to call themselves Zoe and Toby White Peters has probably treated Terran to a guilt-free swig of mead from the pig’s bladder.

Juan Zelada has had a colourful upbringing in Madrid a brief sojourn in Hong Kong and time in Liverpool (where he received an award from Sir Paul himself) before landing in London to make his musical name. He certainly has made an impression on the music scene with his debut solo being a beautifully sun kissed kick-your-knees up and relax - Jack Johnson/Jazon Mzax style.

This band’s first double A-side ‘Build a Life’ and ‘Ferrous Vessel’ that was so full of potential and undercurrents of rage and desire has finally fermented into a less naive four track that though it shows the initial quiet-loud-quiet of the single in the single its title track starts out slowly but swiftly and epically explodes into riotous harmonies that flow to the tune of rolling percussion and incessant beatific guitar so clinically interspersed into the harmonic vocals that that they are barely audible.

After an undeserved two decades in musical purgatory outside their native Canada, Cowboy Junkies who kicked the genre system up the arse in 1986 with ‘Whites Off Earth Now’ and follow up ‘The Trinity Sessions’ are back, having dumped major label Geffen for the indies with a repackaged repertoire. Not only are they releasing new material by the bucketload, but we can expect four albums in the near future under the guise of The Nomad Series, Volume 3 ‘Sing In My Meadow’ being the current LP under review.

Following on from the success of first single ‘Breakfast In Spitalfields’, which achieved Record of the Month at Radio 2, Spaniard Juan Zelada is set to release single ‘The Blues Remain’ on the 31st of October so put the date in your diary folks because it’s pretty damn good. Zelada might be Spanish but he oozes transatlantic pop sensation from every pore.

Van Susans W/Support from Daniella Brooker & Orijin @ The Indig02, London 24.09.11

With a happily inebriated Saturday night crowd mixed merrily with smatterings of DB ‘Summer Love’ T-shirt sporting teeny-boppers and the regular melange of diehard fans and musos alike, the scene is set for Van Susans’ biggest gig to date.

Ottawa based Orienteers, purveyors of a rare species of music entitled “Space-Folk” have released an eponymous long-player as follow up to 2008’s ‘Staying Place’ (at which point they were known as That’s The Spirit) and it’s aural Marmite.

Superficially ‘Build A Life’ is the perfect track to play when in the mood for a good stare at the rain on the windowpane and the harsh unforgiving concrete pavement beyond, but lurking beneath simplistic melodies and self-indulgence there lies an untapped reservoir of rage ready to tear St. Spirit’s carefully interwoven instrumental impotence a new one.

Canadian act Mother Mother, a band lavishly lauded by none other than Q, Spin and Artrocker – “A consistently remarkable record throughout” - are currently on tour including a gig at The Lexington on the 10th October to celebrate the release of third LP ‘Eureka’ the first single from which is ‘Baby Don’t Dance’...

Letting Up Despite Great Faults’ latest release – EP ‘Paper Crush’ – pushes the new wave of genre Shoe-Gaze (aptly titled ‘Nu-Gaze’) into the new millennium’s second decade with six tracks of beautifully crafted somnolent electronica that leave attachments to early trailblazers such as M83 and The Radio Dept. in the past as the group carves out its own unique sound.