Holding A Tea Party

[kosmo vinyl]

Yes a number of good UK records are scheduled to be released here this year.  But lets not forget there are plenty of quality US artists releasing records and touring.  Sometimes it seems that automatic acceptence is granted to anything British, while American acts are left by the side of the road.
 
 Here are a few of my picks, some of which are "commerical" if thats really important.
 
 De Novo Dahl
 Brendan Benson
 The Sugarplastic
 The Features
 The Bravery
 Dead Meadow

[Bags]

I'm not sure about that Sugarplastic -- they had some song samples on the website, and the first was awful.  But it's beyond me to imagine Kosmo recommend something awful (especially on the Bags-o-meter), so it must be an anomaly.
 
   

[Jaguär]

And don't forget all the good Canadian bands:
 
 DestroyAllDreamers
 Daydream Nation
 The High Dials
 Readymade
 Hinterland
 Uncut
 
 ,eh.

[kosmo vinyl]

The Sugarplastic I fear maybe to quirky for their own good.  The vocal tracks are manipulated. Slowed down, speed up, multi-tracked, etc.  There is lots going on in the instrument tracks, tempos and dynamics change, and the lyrics can be a bit obscure as well.
 
 They aren't for everyone, little commercial appeal, Kosmette isn't fan of thier entire oeuvre.    While one of those "hip" music review sites, like BigYawn, will probably rip the CD to shreds, someone told me the other day it was the best thing they had heard in years.
 
 The record is like the lost record between the release of The Dukes of The Stratosphere and Mummer. Pyschedelic Experimental Pop. With the ghosts of Rudy Vallee and the White Album overseeing the recording process.
 
 I'll agree that the sample from the first track on the new album would be a bit of putting for a first time listener not familiar with the Sugarplastic.  The song really takes off shortly after the intro.  Full length songs can be heard on the bands myspace profile.
 
 http://www.myspace.com/thesugarplastic