Brian Wilson famously approached the vocals as just another instrument, a critical one unquestionably but one which could be blended and moulded much like any other colour from his palette.  And for me it’s been quite a critical element to latch onto, to understand the song and to embrace the melody.  I’ve never been able to quite enjoy instrumental music as much (with the exception of some exceptional contemporary classical pieces by Max Richter, Steve Reich and the like).

So it’s a nice surprise to find William Tyler’s debut LP, Impossible Truth, quite so engaging.  It’s perhaps the Wilson-esque approach to making lush soundscapes where rich harmonies are created by multiple guitar lines instead of men.  Tyler has been plying his trade as a musician for Lambchop and the Silver Jews amongst others over the years and he takes those influences and hints at others (there’s definitely some Strokes and Grizzly Bear style riffs in Cadillac Desert) to weave a beautiful record.

Darkstar’s roots are in dance music but their present lies firmly in a genre I can only describe as ambient psychedelic electronica.  A fancy title perhaps but with the closest touchpoints to News From Nowhere, their second full release, being Panda Bear’s Person Pitch or the under-appreciated High Places, it’s quite apt.  Taking a light and fun approach to experimentation, this record keeps you on your toes with variety, colour and, unlike many false princes of this genre, enough hooks to keep this trick fresh and exciting.  An interesting release that could be the foundation for something great next time around.

Short and sweet, much like the summer you’re probably enduring whilst reading this, Cayucas’s debut record looks on the sunnier side of life.  What started out as a project (originally titled Oregon Bike Trails) that took samples from 60s classic songs and mashed them together with Zach Yudin’s original instrumentation, has now morphed, thanks in no small part to the input of Richard Swift on production duties, into a full band and sound.  But it’s the essence of summer and Californian coastline living (hence the renaming to Cayucas) that still permeates his songs - seemingly simple but with a pang of ennui, echoing that other great West Coast-based beach group.  While nothing on this record quite matches the sublime first single Swimsuit, it’s an endearing set of songs that you can’t help but enjoy.

Foxygen’s delightfully shambolic EP last summer was one of my favourite releases from 2012.  On this, their first full record, they dial down the shambles but stick to their ethos.  Produced by the ever-excellent Richard Swift, We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic is a cool and collected release.  On tracks such as San Francisco and No Destruction you get an evolution of their playful distillation of everything 1960s/70s-based that made their record collections.  With some of the smoothening of their sound comes the loss of chaos and energetic thrill that Take The Kids Off Broadway so effortlessly possessed.  As such, it seems like a step back for the band but maybe in the long run you have to step back to move forwards.

Fade feels like the Sunday afternoon album of Yo La Tengo’s career.  The latter-day effort is slow, soft, undemanding and simple.  As such, it risks fading into the background but never quite does so due to it’s not inconsiderable charm. It sounds a lot more like a C86 mixtape than the sprawling eclectic indie rock of their weekday albums, refining the gentler sound heard on more recent releases.  There’s enough intrigue in the songs hidden away to keep you hearing more on each listen and you’ll happily while the hours away with this as your soundtrack

You may not have heard of Bill Fay unless you’re either a devout follower of either sixties folk heroes or end of year lists.  Because Life Is People is his first record of new work for over forty years and garnered some significant acclaim last year from music critics taken aback by the honesty and vitality of his songwriting.  This is no surprise to some fabled musicians in current circulation such as Nick Cave and Jeff Tweedy who’ve been idolising and referencing Fay for years.  In fact, the latter has covered him at past shows and Bill Fay returns the favour with the stunningly intense version of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’s Jesus Etc..  On first listen, this is a standout track due to its familiarity but listen more and you’ll hear tremblingly tremendous agony and introspection throughout.  

Sleepwalking might just be the sunniest goth record ever record.  Morbid themes and morose thoughts are the backbone of The Casket Girls music and yet when they sing, they sing with a gloriously light and infectious melodiousness.  Discovered on the street by Ryan Graveface of Black Moth Super Rainbow the combination of his grungey, old-school production and their hooks makes tracks like Sleepwalking and Walking On A Wire unsettlingly fun.

Another one dug up from late last year that has snuck its way onto the most played list in recent weeks.  Desert Noises are just that - desert noises, but beautiful and harmonic voices surging up from over that there dune.  The desert in question is somewhere in Utah, much like vocalist Kyle Henderson and his other two bandmates.  Perhaps it’s the Great Salt Lake Desert, which not only provides etymological inspiration but also musical inspiration through the parallel Band of Horses track on Everything All The Time, something of a blueprint for their sound.  In fact, if you were bored and let down by the last BoH album, Infinite Arms, then check out Mountain Sea which takes that and adds a handful of the sand from Local Natives’ castle to great effect.