Atmospheric and emotive are two adjectives that help to provide a brief summary of the ten-track debut album from Finnish alternative rockers, Strong Addiction. Having pledged their allegiance to Inverse Records with this first offering, the truth is that this five-piece band has been in operation a bit longer, having previously released the single, ‘Empire of Lies’ (2008), and then followed by the EP, ‘Suspicious Reality’ (2010). Therefore, with recording experience on their side and a number of years performing live, Strong Addiction has built up a solid reputation in their native Finland and one that is not difficult to comprehend once the contents of ‘Anesthesia’ start to unfold. Beginning with ‘Fix Me’, Strong Addiction pour out their frustrations which, by the time of its chorus, one can sense that lead vocalist, Sebastian Ulmanen, is equal parts emotionally raw as he is completely jaded due to life’s lack of genuine opportunities. After such a strong opening, the rest of ‘Anesthesia’ does not disappoint with ‘Losing It All’ stretching out its rhythm and, in the process, almost its innards as it reminds of early Jane’s Addiction and, to a far greater extent, American industrial rockers Filter. The ensuing ‘Red Sun’ builds up an impressive wall of sound with the guitars of Anssi Lausmaa and Heikki Virolainen really driving the song, only to be usurped by the epic qualities of ‘Empire of Lies’. Variation is given to the rather superb ‘Sense And Sensibility’, transmitted in the main by Sebastian Ulmanen’s vocal revealing its strength in depth, before reverting to type and providing a fine impression of Richard Patrick (see Filter above) during the blistering ‘Horns’. The ethereal moments of the album’s title track reveals another facet to Strong Addiction, but it’s the manner in which the band force these more fragile sounds through the industrial grinder of noise, where sparks are flying from the guitars and the vocals are close to breaking that exposes the dexterity of musicianship at the core of this unit. If only all debut albums could match the emotional intensity and genuine greatness of ‘Anesthesia’, then the world would truly be in a much healthier state.

It’s been a while since Modest Mouse made an appearance, eight years in fact, but back they are and with a new album under their wing by the name of ‘Strangers To Ourselves’. Conventional they are most certainly not as Modest Mouse flitter between a variety of moods and sounds that can be filed under the indie banner yet remain difficult to define even when placed under duress. An example of this diversity can be detected from the start where the fragile and bruised ‘Strangers To Ourselves’ gives way to the murky yet gripping sentiments of ‘Shit In Your Cut’, that leads to another spanner being thrown in the works with the distorted disco and satirical look at American serial killer Andrew Cunanan during ‘Pistol (A. Cunanan, Miami, FL. 1996)’. Uncertainty is never far away whether in words or music judging by the light and shade expressed throughout ‘Ansel’ via steel drums and kick of the guitar, that really lets fly once the driving rhythm of ‘The Ground Walks With Time In A Box’ gets underway. Despite the lengthy wait for ‘Strangers To Ourselves’ being a frustrating one, all is forgiven when Modest Mouse can whip up such treats as ‘Coyotes’ next to fascinating oddities as ‘The Tortoise And The Tourist’ that gives real credence to the term independent as Modest Mouse continue to avoid the de rigueur of the music industry.

The Dream Brother project has finally become a reality with the release of the band’s self-titled debut album. What began in 2008 has come to fruition in 2015 with a ten-track long player of predominantly American inspired alternative rock songs. There’s a definite pinch of Nirvana added to the rather excellent opener ‘Lost Yourself’, which is abrasive one moment and smooth the next once the melodic pop of its chorus sets in. A fine start that simply builds further with the tight and driving rhythm of ‘Black Leaves’, that can be compartmentalised as a close relation of Jimmy Eat World and ditto the acoustic indie rock of ‘Halfway’ with singer Samuel Sjöman trying his hardest to convince himself that there might be a spark left in a recent relationship breakup, “I still believe in you, I still believe, But we don’t care anymore because we don’t speak anymore” and it makes for compelling listening. There is a sense of claustrophobia given to ‘The Way Out’ via its lyrics, but also the manner in which the song builds on various layers only to find itself returning to the start . The sense of frustration boils over into the pared back sound and confessional ‘LoveHateLove’ that climaxes nicely with a bout of tub-thumping, handclaps and group vocals. Despite ‘Dream Brother’, being a tad derivative in places – the granular yet catchy indie pop of ‘The One’ being such an example – one can only gaze in admiration for a vision fully realised and one that contains enough reasons to return to this debut album for some considerable time yet.

Hailing from Australia, The Preatures has been making great strides having supported the Rolling Stones last year, as well as writing and recording their debut album. Having two well-received EPs to their name, it was time for this Ozzie five piece to set their collective ideas to a full-length record. With producer Jim Eno from Texas rock band Spoon jumping on board to guide The Preatures through their first album, this debut was recorded at Public Hi Fi studio in Austin, Texas and then finalised at Doldrums Studio in Surry Hills with the band’s own Jack Moffitt (guitar) co-producing. The end result is ‘Blue Planet Eyes’; an album that sets pop music as its central source but, at the same time, possesses shades of dance music and indie guitar rock. It’s a bold manoeuvre that starts ‘Blue Planet Eyes’ with, in fact, the album’s title track as it’s more of an instrumental composition, gliding on a wave of mild electronics and offering the slightest of vocals from Izzi Manfredi. The Preatures personality really comes out from its hiding place once ‘Somebody’s Talking’ bounces into view and proves to be utterly irresistible with its 80s classic pop feel; the kind of which the likes of Blondie used to produce during the early part of that decade. There’s a bit of a funk groove accompanying ‘Is This How You Feel’, with Izzi Manfredi showing the ranges of her vocal to great effect which, again, takes a slight deviation once the mild rock influences of ‘Ordinary’ take a hold. It remains true that ‘Blue Planet Eyes’ embraces a variety of influences whether a stirring ballad via ‘Two Tone Melody’ or darkened, distorted pop of ‘Rock And Roll Rave’. Despite such diversity, the lines never become blurred as to its overall intentions as The Preatures remain rooted in pop music, but one that lends itself to other influences, making this nothing short of an absorbing debut album.

Having been the recipient of several awards, as well as a Spellemann (Norwegian Grammy) nomination back in 2010 for her vocal duties with eclectic sounding Norwegian outfit Pelbo, Ine Hoem takes the plunge into the deep end by setting out her own stall with solo album ‘Angerville’. With this being a first album for vocalist Ine Hoem, her debut release actually came in the form of an EP by the name of ‘The Island’. This was the step in a new direction that saw Ine Hoem adopt a pop approach, which proved a success as the EP received heavy rotation on the nation’s radio networks and a further award as winner of ‘Musikkprisen’ at Ocean Sound Recordings. Once momentum had gathered, Ine Hoem set to task writing and recording the songs for ‘Angerville’, with additional production duties coming by way of up-and-coming producer Kristoffer Bonsaksen. With the first sign of life arriving last autumn with the single ‘This Year’, Ine Hoem immediately captured the imagination with her unforced vocals and lyrics purporting to achieve a longlist of ‘to-do’s’ when the reality of such dreams remains on far safer grounds. Ine Hoem manages to retain much attention via her pristine vocals; exemplified by the heavenly introduction to ‘Caroline’ which proceeds to carry the rest of the song and entire contents of ‘Angerville’ in similar fashion. Elsewhere, ‘Lost Lovers’ is a relatively pared-back composition and has the feel of a first-person narrative given the natural qualities of the vocals helping to piece together the initial steps of a relationship before its ultimate demise, which comes as no surprise considering its bold pronouncement of not feeling the ‘love’ for Bob Dylan! There is time for reflection with the joyful sounding ‘When We Were Young’, but is let down slightly by the twee narrative. Such a discrepancy is soon amended by the fragile and honest admissions of ‘I Will Follow’ only to be outdone (just) by the sublime ‘When We Collide’, which is equally sincere in its emotions only it’s the thorny opposite in terms of its predecessor. Engaging, heartfelt and gifted with a vocal of divine qualities, Ine Hoem will have no problems making a name for herself along this solo route just as long as she can continue to stave off the feelings of loneliness that seem to be impregnating ‘Angerville’ at nearly every turn.

Busy rummaging through old memories from their vast catalogue of songs, Appleton, Wisconsin-based Tenement reappear with a collection of tracks under the heading ‘Bruised Music Volume One’. The decision to include a mixture of rare and out-of-print songs lifted from seven of the band’s earliest recordings including tapes, EPs and split singles was an inspired one as those less fortunate to experience this material during its first outing, now have a chance to familiarise themselves with Tenement’s early punk rock sound. With comparisons ranging from Husker Du to The Replacements in relation to the time period covered from 2006 to 2009, the rarities selected provides an insight into the band’s development and the various teething problems associated with this. However, far from being a ragbag collection of loose ends and unfinished demos, ‘Bruised Music Volume One’ is far more accomplished than perhaps one would think, considering the aforementioned early years’ time period. An example of this can be gained from the rough and tumble of ‘Sitcom Moms’, with its retrospective lyrics and scorching hot guitar break rendering this song good enough to grace anything Tenement currently has scheduled for later release.  Following on from this is the hard-edged pop tones of ‘Spaghetti Midwestern’ and ensuing ‘The Fire Is Out’, albeit with a coarser texture yet still containing a pop influence. Eclipsing its customary two minute mark is the initial thrash happy ‘Summer Streets Parts 1 & 2’, which eventually stretches its creative limbs and provides another indicator of the talent at the centre of this three piece. Casting our own vote, however, the rhythmically tight and seared vocals of ‘The Best and Worst of Times’ wins hands down, and probably due to providing a reminder of Boston unit Buffalo Tom, who had a knack of writing similar sounding songs on a frequent basis. This current collection might be a bruised reminder of a few memories best forgotten when it comes to Tenement, but for the rest of us on the outside looking in, ‘Bruised Music Volume One’ makes for a fascinating insight into the early foundations of one of America’s ongoing punk bands.