New music worthy of your eardrum attention...

Staying true to my original blog, I’m going to introduce you to some music that I’ve come across recently in the vast Myspace world.

First up is a local (that is, Melbourne) three-piece, the pleasantly-titled Hope Diamond. They play ethereal, haunting guitar pop, topped up with some nice vocal harmonies. I guess early shoegaze or Cocteau Twins would be a reference point but they are hard to pigeonhole. Check them out at http://www.myspace.com/wearehopediamond

Next is an intriguing character who goes by the name of Mr Smith. I don’t know much about him but he lists his location as ‘Australia, U.S.A’. There is a South Australia in Texas (would you believe) but I somehow don’t think that is where he’s from. Anyway, his songs are delivered in a distinctive baritone drawl, and they are very quirky. There’s an obvious love of 60s whimsy there, but that’s part of the charm. My favourites are ‘It Didn’t Happen’, 'Broken' and ‘Prince Albert’, which features an old joke you may or may not be familiar with. Have a listen at:
http://www.myspace.com/musicmrsmith

Finally, this isn’t exactly a band but a small independent record label based in Indonesia called Inmyroomrecords. Their ethos is as follows: “To gather fellow bedroom musicians, who are those who play, record, and personally distribute the work, not for sale but for free download.” There’s some lovely stuff on there. I particularly like the first track on offer by ‘Bad Lovers Company’, entitled ‘Heart Rescue.’ They can be found at:
http://www.myspace.com/inmyroomrecord

So that's my attempt at a "showcase" for this week. If anyone wants to recommend some good, independent music to me, send it this way!
-AMCS