THE GOSLINGS Bloom Again
I'd have thought a band called The Goslings would be indiepop, perhaps twee indiepop, but no, this is lo-fi experimental music. One side of this band is mostly instrumental, often drone based, sometimes with a few spoken vocal parts, and relying much more on atmosphere than tune. The tape started off like this and I was prepared to write the band off as too abstract for me, but then I heard the material with sung vocals. The words are mostly unintelligible and used more as an instrument, and are recorded with lots of reverb. The tracks like this are basically a more lo-fi and more experimental form of dreampop; they also have rather a dark feel, bringing to mind ethereal gothic music. Then there's Green Figurine, a kind of experimental post-punk, quite weird, and Omby Amby which starts off as a song with discordant instrumentation, then turns into a sort of spacerock thing. Rather a bizarre band, more so in fact than some of my descriptions suggest. Contact thegoslings@hotmail.com

MARTOC Romance Under The Heavens (Esoteric)
Martoc calls his usual style "quirky, deranged, off-kilter agitation music", and I would agree with that description. This tape is a definite departure from the usual sound, being a collection of laid-back synthscapes with an apparent classical influence, but there is still a fair bit of strangeness going on here, even though it's not as off-centre as Martoc's usual stuff. Some of Gary K's recordings are a vaguely similar kettle of fish to this, but what this music has that Gary K's doesn't is synthesised choral vocals. Contact martoc@martoc.demon.co.uk

LABR'DOR Dig
5 songs from the home recording artist Christian Richard, aka Labr'dor. Dig is brilliant lo-fi melancholy pop featuring a strummy acoustic guitar and a more spacey atmosphere from the electric guitar and synth. I suppose 'alt-country' is the best description for Silver Clouds. Heavy Rotation starts with a bizarre experimental instrumental, then the song proper begins, backed with some bleepage from what sounds like a cheap 80s synth. Despite the quirky instrumentation, the song itself has an emotional and sophisticated feel. Casual Sex (Has Made A Fool Of Me) is another slice of melancholic pop with an alt-country touch. Bombs Away is 60s tinged homemade pop with dark humour alongside the more serious lyrics. This band is great, if I had any more comp tapes lined up for future release, I'd definitely ask Labr'dor to participate. Contact zeegiantsquid@yahoo.com

ATLAS OF THE EARTH s/t (KAW)
Glasgow band making excellent introspective lo-fi indiepop. Has shades of Shy Rights Movement (another KAW band) and some of the more melancholic music on Sarah. £2.50/$5, payable to Mark Ritchie, from 94 Main Street, Forth, Lanark ML11 8AB. Further info from kawtapes@hotmail.com

CHOWPILOT s/t (KAW)
More excellent homemade music from KAW - this time part way between a Byrds/Teenage Fanclub sort of thing and the melancholic indiepop sound. Chowpilot is basically an alias of singer/songwriter Paul Doucet who is also in Shy Rights Movement with Mark Ritchie. A new version of The Nine Billion Names For God, co-written by Mark Ritchie, and previously recorded by Shy Rights Movement, appears here. Empire of the Air is a very Byrds-like song, but with additional post-rock-ish atmospherics in the background. Happiness O.N.O. is noisepop with a country twang. This is a really great tape, recommended for all janglepop fans. Price/contact details as above.

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