THE APARTMENTS
The best way to define the Apartments would be: "the best kept secret in the universe." Peter Milton Walsh, founding member of this Australian group, describes his universe as a place of absence and loss. Nevertheless, he has managed to become an essential fixture in our CD collection thanks to the abrupt elegance and melancholy of his alternately clear/dark songs.

Track : "Knowing You Were Loved" (acoustic version)
Band site: http://www.tt.net/hot/apartments.html

ASHTRAY
Frail, pale, fragile, diaphanous, anorexic melodies with a twisted soul, Ashtray's music has a discrete charm and a disturbing attraction to it. The world of Ashtray is made of all these shades of dark which haunt our daily routine. This is music of rainy autumns and winters by the fireplace; the improbable chants cast a spell and attract the listener's attention, hypnotized like prey by a snake. Dangerous music.

Track : "Fall Into You" (previously unreleased)
e-mail : contact

BRIAN
Irishman Ken Sweeney, sole member of Brian, has written little pop jewels since 1992. A crystal-clear pop, beautifully powered by a moving voice, that ranks alongside the Field Mice. It is so delicate and refined so as to make most English songwriters envious. Ken Sweeney occupies a special place in our musical universe; his melancholy and fragility won't leave us anytime soon.

Track : "She Takes You Away" (rare)
Site : http://www.aald.demon.co.uk/brian/

BURZINSKI
Behind this nearly unpronounceable name, Burzinski, hides a unique person. Having passed through the usual phases of musical life in groups, Laurent chose his own path: work alone and try to master as many instruments as possible to avoid a power struggle. To make a long story short, he learned to play guitar and bass, to sing and write songs (in French), and to rely on his computer for drum programming. Burzinski must have felt quite a shock when he discovered the first two albums of the Jesus & Mary Chain ("Psychocandy" and "Darklands"). And yet, sometimes, despite an always tense sound, the guitar relinquishes the foreground to the pop melodies delivered by his vocals. But what moves us the most are his lyrics, dark and poetic, without ever falling into the trap of easy tears, sung by this uneasy voice.

Track : "L'amertume" (previously unreleased)
Review : Le soir des songes distants
Band site : http://burzinski.free.fr

DAKOTA SUITE
Dakota Suite favorably compares to the likes of Tindersticks, Lambchop, Arab Strap, or Migala. Although the group hails from Leeds, we will focus our attention on the States to track down its influences and kin. Dakota Suite doesn't have anything in common with pompous British groups and is more like a mutant cross between the spleen of Sophia's guitars and the fragility of Low's songs. Frontman Chris Hoosen's carefully chiseled melodies -- buffed to a fine sheen by Andrew Thrower's bass and especially by the various instruments played by Richard Formby (organ, lute, piano, harp, harmonica...) -- invite us to close our eyes, to cut ourselves off from the outside world so as to fully enjoy these songs which insidiously take over all our senses.

Track : "When Skies Are Grey" (previously unreleased)
Review : Alone with Everybody/Songs For a Barbed Wire Fence, Navigator's yard
Band site : http://www.hooson.demon.co.uk/

EDITH FROST
Considering her Chicago address and her curious last name, one could hardly be surprised by the initial chill experienced from Edith Frost's two albums. And yet by snuggling up with her melodies and cuddling up with her gentle voice, one discovers little by little a delicate warmth in her compositions and an undeniable pleasure in loafing about with them.

Track : "Follow" (previously unreleased)
Band site : http://www.edithfrost.com

IDAHO
Los Angeles group Idaho has strung together little bits of genius since 1992, jumping from label to label, but still clinging to life thanks to the stubborn and thrifty Jeff Martin, with consistent help from Dan Seta. These guys don't give a damn about the charts or post-rock or other considerations to help them "evolve." They quietly blaze their own trail. It's useless to play the rock critic match game here; this music is just too personal. The songs are emblazoned with a late-afternoon melancholy, broken rhythms and vagabond melodies, wonderful background feedback, four-string guitars, and linear morcels of music. Then there's their trademark sound: an extraordinary ability to establish a mood by striking two simple notes. Jeff Martin's sublime voice is near extinction, narrowly escaping total silence. It's music as catharsis. Or rather, music as intimate diary.

Track : "Evolution Is Cold" (previously unreleased)
Review : Alas
Band site : http://www.idahomusic.com/

LENOLA
After three albums chock full of tremolo-heavy pop and psychedelized punk, this Philadelphia quartet has become amazingly adept at paralyzing the senses. Comparisons to My Bloody Valentine were justified at the release of their debut album, "The Last Ten Feet Of The Suicide Mile", in 1996. But, little by little, with each successive disc, Lenola has evolved into true magicians, into young wizards capable of creating a new solar system with a simple stroke of the guitar. Waves of distortion and oscillating chords buoy their delicate and elegant melodies. After a single song, you feel as if you're witnessing Creation itself.

Track : "I Hide Behind" (previously unreleased)
Review : My Invisible Name
Band site : http://www.phillymusic.com/lenola/

PALOMA
When you live in Moulins in l'Allier, it's hardly a shock that you would find heroes in those wonderful American "losers" Will Oldham and Sparklehorse. Such is the case with Laurent Vaissière, sole captain on board the ship known as Paloma. On this miniature vessel, minimalist guitars, electronic tinkerings, and discreet vocals all rub shoulders.

Track : "Let's Sign For" (previously unreleased)
Band site : http://www.multimania.com/darjeelingsounds/

SALOON
Saloon are three boys and two girls who, through their classy and original music, have suddenly become our dear friends. Amanda on guitar and vocals, Matt on guitar, Mike on drums, Alison on violin, and Adam on bass entered into our lives very recently, yet it seems like we've known them for years. Their music rests on a bed of gliding instruments and gentle, hypnotic vocals. Adam mistreats his bass (and occasionally his keyboards) to squeeze out a groove in which the violin and guitars wrap themselves up. As difficult as it may be to label them, to find a shelf to place them on, they associate Velvet-y experimentations with Saint Etienne's pure pop. A sort of Felt on the moon or My Bloody Valentine during recess hour, the five Saloon-ers have created their own universe, a universe with blurry borders where all visitors are welcome.

Track : "Conquistador" (previously unreleased)
Band site : http://www.saloon.co.uk/

SPLINTER
A schizophrenic group that battles with/against its influences, Splinter offers the listener the opportunity to dive headfirst into a melting pot of Placebo-esque guitars or to drift away with the current of controlled vocals that are at times raging and at times detached.

Track : "Besides" (previously unreleased)
e-mail : contact

STEPH SONOTONE
Under the wings of Jason Falkner and Mark Linkous, Steph Sonotone delivers an electric and festive brand of pop with Lemonhead-y, power pop guitars and a masterful voice that gushes forth carefully worded texts. The lyrics sometimes recall a Miossec with a constant hard-on sharing writing duties with a wise-ass Matthieu Boogaerts. Sections that are never completely the same link together and grip the listener. With Steph Sonotone, a new yellow brick road opens up and leads us down a path to beautiful French pop.

Track : "Toufland" (previously unreleased)
Review : Toufland
Band site : http://www.multimania.com/sonotone/

VERA CLOUZOT
On their first two self-released albums, Vera Clouzot seemed to have set their Red House Painters and Mark Eitzel discs on a constant loop and emerged with the same intensity, the same vulnerability, the same intimacy as those two groups of artists. This Lille trio returns for a third album -- this one in French -- on which they display a more personal sound while maintaining their trademark elements: dry guitars, a discreetly used accordion, and an acrobatic cello, not to mention the nonchalant but equally poignant voice of Pierre Laplace.

Track : "L'orage" (previously unreleased)
Review : The Moon When The Cherries Are Ripe
e-mail : veraclouzot@popnews.com
Band site : http://www.popnews.com/veraclouzot/

WILLARD GRANT CONSPIRACY
More than just a group, Willard Grant Conspiracy is a veritable collective gravitating around the nucleus of Robert Fisher / Paul Austin and feeding off the influences of all its members. With their third album, "Mojave," they justify our confidence in their melodies, melodies that offer a natural mix of the country/folk of our American heroes (Lambchop, Vic Chesnutt) and the urban rock outlined by the Velvet Underground.

Track : "Sunday Morning Coming Down" (previously unreleased)
Reviews : Mojave, Flying Low
Interview : octobre 1999
Band site : http://www.popnews.com/wgc/

WILLIAM PEARS
In 1994, William Pears initiated us in French "geste pop." Their songs were so simple, so obvious that they seemed natural, as if they had always been a part of our record collection. In 1999, they returned, at the top of their form, a little older, less candid but always ready to show off the "geste pop" at which we had previously marveled once upon a time. But always with the same know-how for lyrics that will now be in French. The perfect melodies and vocal harmonies remain, as do the mesmerizing refrains shouted at the top of the lungs. William Pears return, and just like our first meeting, it's love at first sight.

Track : "Big Bang" (previously unreleased English version)
Review : Déçu par l'an 2000