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It's funny what you can find in old shoeboxes. This recent discovery (an old CDR) was located in early 2009, and features six beautiful tracks from Campfire Fight.

The tracks date back to the late summer of 2006, shortly before Ben (aka Campfire Fight) moved back home. In his words, "The songs are intended to reflect a winter-time hibernation narrative that got lost somewhere along the way."

"Leaves" is a release that flows almost seamlessly from one track to the next, yet still manages to have such a glorious progression. A great example of this would be on the penultimate track, "snow leaf", which is perhaps the most playful track on the EP, with its catchy old school computer Pong-like effects, and yet when this finishes it glides effortlessly into the more downbeat "crystal leaf".

One thing is for sure. I hope that Campfire Fight has more old shoeboxes lying around.

Actually, I am Sasha Fierce is the latest release from one of MD's finest, Andy's Airport of Love. Like "A series of Dark Caves" and "Dublin Duck Dispensary", this release was made available before hitting the R&R site.

Not only does that mean that a lucky few have been able to play this over and over already, but it also means that they have been able to formulate an opinion and a view, that I am only all too happy to share...

"this sounds like a poppier version of Blank Dogs" - Matt, Skatterbrain

"i can only imagine what this tape is like, but if i imagine really hard, i would say that it is really good and you guys are going to love it." - dessktop

"i think i like the intros and the last song best, along with incline." - Jason the Swamp

"this is the best tape ever, right guys, people buy more of them. I still have 42/100 left." - Andy's Airport of Love

So there you have it. Solid reviews, for a solid album. This is still available on (yellow) tape for those who wish to have some future ebay bargaining material. Get on board, before everybody else catches up!

Extemporaneous. Definition: Importation. This record is at its heart, a pop-record. ZGRESS is a musician who does not discriminate among genre's, as such this record goes all across the board hitting the breathy, layered sensibilities of the Beach Boys to the electronic shamelessness of Daft Punk and T-Pain.

From the opening hard-synth licks of the title track, to the smooth stylings of "Another Girl", prepare to get off your feet and dance and be occasionally offended. There's something for everyone on this very poppy and also at times melancholy and introspective EP. Another addition to the growing collection of ZGRESS experimental/pop music of records, "Extemporaneous" is a must-have hit.

The ease of writing about a more established, and popular artist is the fact that you can rehash what other more talented writers have to say. What makes this even more easier is if the said item has already been widely reviewed!

Yykes Basket has been available on mini-CD for quite some time now, and already it has been receiving the praise which Bobby must be becoming accustomed to.

Whereas I could go into detail about why this release is indeed special, why this artist is indeed special, and why you should have already bought/downloaded this. I won't. I'll use the resources at hand, and thank those who can put things into words better than myself:

"Like its ambiguous title, Yykes Basket is a strange, beguiling little cornucopia of styles and flourishes. Aherne uses his lyrics as opportunities for the poetic and absurd, with the more memorable lines "Why would I walk when I got a hot air balloon?" and "I think King Midas must have sexually abused you when you were younger". But even the most wilfully odd moments are delivered with such confidence it's hard for them not to make sense" - Totally Dublin

"Yykes Basket, his seventh release, is an odd mix of electronic and dirty folk with a significantly lo-fi feel." - AU (Alternative Ulster)

When you google "Minor Constellations", you receive all sorts of gushing comments (mainly on ukulele forums), and the odd review here and there. Dig a little deeper, and you will find comments such as "I want to hold this boys hand", from some girls twitter account.

In other words - the Minor Constellation fanbase is already here. People who have heard Dean Engle's clever wordplay, and guitar/ukulele-ing(?), will already know what to expect from this new release.

That isn't to say this is more of the same, there always seems to be a growth from one release to the next. If there's one thing for sure, Dean Engle does constantly try to reach out that hand to those on the sideline wondering what to expect from this outfit. When asked about this recording, Engle described them as "sort of somewhere in between Lo-fi and Hi-fi. Maybe 'OK-fi,' or something.", and thats Ok by us.

Elm brings you the album "I am". Twenty tracks of ups, downs, ins, outs, twists, turns, pulls, pushes, sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and feels. Enjoy listening, dancing, daydreaming, and more, to the riffs, licks and phrases of this Indie album fresh off Adam Loomis' brain, tongue, and soul.

I am, is a meaty double album well over the hour mark which will be essential to the Elm fanboys (and girls) out there. This album is the first from Elm since "Yours Truly", which was of course a collection of older songs that he had put together - so in other words, here we have 20 fresh pop songs, which have been building up for a while now.

If you are new to Elm then there is definitely an accessibility to his music, a la The Postal Service. However the vocalisations can drift easily from Ben Gibbard into Owen Ashworth territory.

Summers here kids, and Rack & Ruin is proud to present their latest "Various Artists" collection. "Never mind the brollies" contains many of your Rack & Ruin favourites, but also some wonderful bands who have also offered their tracks to this years summer collection.

The album is as wide a mix as you would imagine from the label. After the fuzzy scuzzed up lo-fi singalong opener from These Are Words, it isn't long before you hit the hi-fi electronic mastery from artists like T Bear, and TASRU.

Mixing lo-fi with hi-fi is no mean feat, but fortunately Tyson Brinacombe was on hand to pull this album together. After his beautiful mix of the Violet Hour EP, there was only really one man who could gel this all together.

Back to the music - anybody familiar with Rack & Ruin will know what to expect from the said artists, if you're a Dublin Duck Dispensary fan, an Andy's Airport of Love lover, or a fan of Gnouli Monsters tap-along rock and roll, these are all here, and will certainly not disappoint.

The friends of Rack & Ruin are a special bunch too! We have "Incredible Nigga Band", Troy Thrills (Cheap Thrills) new project, NME forum favourites "The Whiskers", with a gorgeous live cut of "Furlongs", new kids on the block, "The Backbone of Science", who encapsulate summer in 3:33, and the gorgeous NunParty, who should quite simply be coming out on a tape on Captured Tracks if there is any justice in this world!

A Rack & Ruin special wouldn't be the same without a sombre end to the story, and that comes in the shape of starstarstar. After a couple of beautiful albums, the star boys will be moving to opposite ends of the US. All summers come to an end, but let us enjoy this one whilst it is with us. Thanks to all artists involved in making this such a special release.

The last time Jason the Swamp released a Rack & Ruin album it ended up featuring on quite a few "Best of 2008" lists. It's nice to see him back here, and aiming to repeat that feature with the glorious "As Is The Sun" album.

Jason's trademark laid back fuzzy vibe is dusted off and appears once again (in full effect), although unlike his other releases, "As is The Sun" is definitely an album that could have easily been one track, and it is thirteen. The tracks flow effortlessly into one another, and in no time the 38 minutes have passed, and once again you are left amazed at how easy he makes this "music making" look.

"As Is The Sun" is also available to purchase on CD directly from Jason, and it has the added bonus of containing five extra tracks, so you can continue this gorgeous journey for a little while longer.

Like many before him, girls are the biggest non-musical influence on "A Series of Dark Caves", so when it was announced that his latest EP was going to be entitled "Animals", I naively thought that this EP would cover tarsiers, axolotl, and maybe an otter here or there, branching out from his bigger influence.

This niave thought is quickly dispelled, and we are left with a beautiful melancholy driven pop record. In the olden days of 7" singles, we would have an A side, and a B side. The A side would be "the hit", the B side would be "the song you didn't listen to as much as the hit", with this EP it is hard to say which of these three tracks would be "the hit", as all have the ingredients to be the tracks that people will be wanting to hear.

This EP may be wildlife free, but I have a suspicion that girls still remain Davids biggest non-music influence.

There were times that the "Yunes Single" didn't look like it would see the light of day. Scheduling issues, and numerous other unforseen problems saw this moving around the Rack & Ruin release schedule on a weekly basis.

Thankfully it all came together in the end, and the new Picayunes single is upon us. This two track offering takes a playful nod back to yesteryear, with it's two tracks simply entitled "Side-A" and "Side-B", reminiscent of days gone by with tape singles.

It's not the only nod to the past, Picayunes sound, although very fresh and interesting, definitely has its roots in a period of 90s indie that many sorely miss. This wouldn't be a Picayunes review if it didn't contain at least one Pavement reference, but 37 seconds into the opening track you almost expect Malkmus to jump in.