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So what exactly is "Lean Horse Marathon"? lo-fi noise folk, dream pop, shoegaze? I mean shoegaze never really died, it maybe just had a snooze here and there, waiting for the next special new band to dust off a few cobwebs, or perhaps in the case of Lean Horse Marathon, take some of the best bits and mix them together with warm fuzzy dreamy pop songs.

Sometimes pigeonholes don't really suit, especially when the noise and reverb kicks in, transforming a dreamlike song into a distorted track echoing off in the distance. The opening track, "Today on Bomber Mountain" is a slow-starter, not giving much away and leaving the listener unsure of what to expect, before starting on its wonderful journey, which ends with "The Fuzz Song".

Alongside "Up On Bomber Mountain" comes a bonus EP, "Sometimes", a more rough-around-the-edges release, which shows yet another side to Lean Horse Marathon. Highly recommended.

My badly penned initial review of "Mean Little Girls" contained more Elephant Six references, that is probably deemed healthy for two paragraphs. For myself, the listener, I was really blown away by this potentially lost little gem, that could easily be loved by fans of the many bands linked to the above collective. I then realised that this album wasn't just a collection of tracks, but it had a true story and meaning which could only be really told by the writer...

"This album is a collection of songs written and revised over the past couple of years. The album title "Mean Little Girls" is a direct metaphor for the songs themselves, as I couldn't seem to write anything beyond them, they were just constantly pestering me in the back of my head, which lead to re-writing and re-recording most of the songs over this period of time, until I was comfortable with the way these events transferred into a musical format. The album represents a fairly traumatic period in my life and turning these events into songs proved to be an effective method of moving forward. There are several songs on the album that are purely instrumental, songs that simply weren't compatible with words... an example being "V", which just represents a feeling of absolute freedom, a sense of such great relief that words could never begin to describe. At this point, it seems a shame to show off the ashes, as opposed to the fire that once was... but I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

...I will rescue one part from my initial summary, "In short, this is a wonderful pop record, and one which will surely be loved".

Laika's Child stated in a recent conversation that he felt he has found new influences, and new styles, which is what he wanted to bring together - and move on from what he was doing on the No Disk EP.

This EP still utilises a lot of ideas he pulled from No Disk, there is an element of repetitive electronic sounds, and light drone, coming together in unison under a cloud of 70s style experimentalism.

The new ideas have a childlike feel to them, you could almost imagine tracks like "Cosmic Storm" featuring on a Raymond Scott baby compilation. Merge that together with an element of 'sci-fi soundtrack', and you get a very interesting mix.

This is as much music for listeners to enjoy quiet contemplation, as it is for peers seeking inspiration.

This short album ranges from catchy indietronic songs, which blend fuzzy synth with soft open acoustic guitar chords and electronic beats, to more experimental feedback loops and noise. The sound on this album has been described as “water dripping slowly over antique furniture in a flood” and this unique sound is quite evident on songs such “hospital corridors” and “ice sheet on my bed”. It is at times infectiously melodic and at other times soothingly ambient.

Vocals often fading into the ethereal mist, the listener maybe catching a bit of the story being told, but more often than not these tracks are wide open for interpretation. Meaning that every listen you will get something more from this. Musically there are so many influences that seem to jump out, upon listening to "2009 (A Merman I Will Become In Time), I can personally hear the likes of Mates of State, and Tunng colliding together in pure bliss. On other tracks, the likes of Beirut or Final Fantasy jump out.

One thing is for sure, this is a solid mini album that is bound to become an instant fave.

"It's just music", said Pam, when asked about his second Rack & Ruin record release. Which in one aspect leaves the stylings, decisions, and interpretations open to the listener, but on the other hand it may downplay the obvious beauty on display here. It's not really 'just' music, it's an elegant, warm display of beautiful sweet electronica.

Messy pop is a term that Pam gets a lot, and you can perhaps understand why on the basis of this.

Niña piña, means Pineapple Child (or Pineapple Girl) and it is an interesting release from Pam, not only because of its curious nature, but it is also the first release from Pam to feature his vocals (sung in Spanish), which wash and sway eloquently in the drowning rhythms.

Pam isn't an artist to do things in halves. The beauty of the music is only matched by the wonderful artwork, designed especially for this release.

To summarise, if warm, electronic downtempo pop music is something that appeals to you, then be sure to give Pam some of your ear time.

In March of this year, Chimney Fish went from being another excellent artist on the evergrowing Rack & Ruin roster, to a heavily downloaded (and listened to) artist in her own right. A review on a well known blog led to a few thousand new listeners in March alone, and so those curious new visitors will hopefully return to give a listen to these seven brand new Chimney Fish tracks.

Solo voice, overdubbed, and looped, are the trademarks that are the mainstay of all of the Chimney Fish releases to date, and "Tribal Lace" is no exception. The serene beauty and repetition of rhythms draw the listener in once again, in hypnotic fashion.

This is clever ambient music which utilises the voice over the instruments.

Gnomefoam's Steve Bromley is a very busy man, finding time to work on the Almiqui project with Sister Ruth, anata wa sukkai tsukarete shimai from with _ and bunny, and also his very own Gnomefoam project.

This release is full of remixes, and collaborations with various other Rack & Ruin artists, including the likes of Tyson Brinacombe, and These are Words. The remixes include PJE's 'Convex', as well as a Sascha Muller's 'Burn Korg Burn', and perhaps more intriguingly, a stomping version of the Boo Radleys 'Barney....(and me)'.

With this being predominantly a remix album you will hear a vast assortment of styles, from the cut and paste opener 'Racked', which uses samples from the likes of Sam Golden, Dublin Duck Dispensary, and The if people were paper (amongst others), through to the indie pop stylings of 'Fireflies' (with Tyson Brinacombe).

With the album comes a bonus mini album, entitled "Retina Fanfare!", which contains brand new Gnomefoam tracks - these are more lo-fi synth pop dashed with a little chip tune and a nod to rave. Yes, with that sentence alone you can tell that Gnomefoam is still doing things in his own fascinating and unique way.

'Ahhhmend' is the new EP from Boston, MA's Dean Woods (formerly Dean Angel, and soon to be Dean 01). When asked his thoughts on the new release, Dean stated that he felt that it improves on the previous release 'Crusader of Fruits Island', one thing is for sure, it certainly opens up widely the range of sound in his repertoire.

Apart from the obvious differences: more structured songs; more direct, higher in the mix vocals; and the greater range of high and low end sounds, Dean Woods' twin pillars are still Reverb and Delay, which work together to create blissful sounds akin to flying around in space or driving a sports car on a 90 degree road to heaven; simply put, the album is a fantasy.

Driving the intensity of these songs is the artful use of samples, such as in the screwed and chopped pounding thud of 'Connecticut Ryvr,' an homage to a river adventure gone terribly beautiful. Songs like 'Ahhhmens' and 'Tonio' recycle samples and melodies from releases past, but are hardly recognizable as Dean moves them through his vibrational vortex machine, his main instrument on 'Ahhhmend.' This is a truly cathartic release.

Purple Magpie is an album that was lost and found, and finally shared. The songs contained within were finished within a space of a few months in 2007, when Vincent was meant to be studying for his last year exams in school. Although he admits that last year was spent "mainly in a drugged haze, reading Victorian poetry and falling down ditches".

To explain the lost/found analogy, it involves a computer, a knocked desk, and a window. Contained within the hard disk drive of the computer was a certain Purple Magpie. Thanks to the powers of recovery, this once lost recording has now been technologically dusted off, and is finally being shared for others.

On to the music - there is a definite touch of the industrial, a smattering of punk, a sprinkling of 90s techno, and an off-kilter nod to the past. If you can imagine The Fall, The Shamen and The Shadow Ring meeting in a disused factory for a late night drug fueled jam session, then this is Vincent Lillis' interpretation of how that might have gone.

On a side note, Econ Bust (short for economy bust) was made way before the economic crisis that is eating away at the worlds economy. Vincent Lillis makes music for the future.

Robby Massey has always been one to do things just that little bit different. His artistic brain constantly tipping towards overload, fresh with ideas, be it within art, film, or music.

This idea stemmed from some time back. Asking people to contact him and leave a message on his answering machine. People from around the United States, and Canada, took part in this project, and here are the results. The voicemeal EP.

dessktop has managed to craft this simple idea into a beautiful work of art, whether the tracks are simple ideas with the voicemail dominating the piece, such as the opener 'real', or masterful works of music building layer upon layer, such as the title track 'voicemeal'.

Tracks range from playful strumming of an acoustic guitar, to electronic dominated pieces. Blend in a glockenspiel with found sounds and of course the voicemails, and you have this intriguing and worthwhile little EP.