In a week or so, you’ll walk into your local record store and see two new albums from two very different female singer songwriters.

Recent Sub-pop signings and Austin indie rockers Shearwater are back with, arguably, their best album to date.

For the release of U&I, Iranian-born, London-based artist Leila has teamed up with DJ/musician Mt. Sims, who provides the male vocals heard in parts throughout the album.

I have to say, English MC Wiley has an incredible work ethic - Evolve Or Be Extinct is his third studio album in less than a year! After two full lengths in less than a year, one would think an artist would be creatively drained and nowhere near ready to release a third. Not the case for Wiley and the sounds on this record are both varied and cohesive enough that it keeps you wanting more.

In their latest release Play, photogenic string quartet bond have produced an absolutely flawless record of classical crossover music that despite its technical brilliance, is sadly rather uninteresting.

School of Seven Bells have always been a bit of a dream like band. Their two previous releases Alpinisms and Disconnect From Desire have set this tone and their new release Ghostory is a new step forward on their journey. It retains much of the same feel that the previous records have developed, while experimenting with new ways of achieving this tone.

When I first read about Steve Smyth the article suggested similarities to Freddie Mercury. Naturally, this set up somewhat of an expectation or preconception if you will. When I heard him, however, the comparison seemed rather incongruous, even confusing.

Sydney local Oliver Tank has quietly gone about making a name for himself over the last year or so; not just here but across the globe. At only 22 that’s quite impressive. National Public Radio in the US recently chose Tank as one of the top 5 BandCamp albums of 2011. Listening to his first EP Dreams, it’s pretty clear why they did.

We Will Die at the Hands of CGI by The Bon Scotts is, quite simply put, brilliant. There. If you read nothing more of this review at least you know that important fact.

There has certainly been no shortage of anticipation and hype surrounding the release of My Best Fiend’s debut album, In Ghostlike Fading. Of course, this means there has also been no shortage of attempts to describe the band’s sound. But perhaps the best description of their sound comes from the band itself – “It’s a noise that doesn’t fit into one idea.”

Labels such as "post-rock" can seem a little ambiguous, even troublesome in themselves, but when reconciled with the artists who profess to be purveyors of such product, the title may present itself as a little less dubious.

Frighteners, a quintet who have been around for roughly four years and call Perth home, bring you their debut self-titled EP and it’s chock full of beautiful melodies, sprinklings of ambient, electronic sounds and all that is good!

This is refreshing. Frànçois and The Atlas Mountains' E Volo Love is an exuberant fusion of styles and languages – and one that actually works!

Area 52 is the latest release from Mexican guitar duo Rodrigo Y Gabriela. Originally devised as a way of keeping the label off their backs, the project soon took on a life of it’s own, growing exponentially. The result of which is nine dramatic and striking re-imaginings of songs from their previous releases.