Ya No Solo - "Last Chance" featuring Rebecca O'Brien

Ya No Solo is a Sydney based musician/producer named Tim Hempton. Like a lot of his peers, a guest vocalist is always on hand. With "Last Chance" he has succeeded, firstly with a great vocalist in Rebecca O'Brien, and secondly, a great song that is catchy... but without cheese. Eureka!

The Shaky Hands - "We Are Young"

The Shaky Hands are much more than just a cool band name. This Portland band are hard to label - there is an obvious indie swagger but delve a bit deeper and you will find some old rock and folk influences. On "We Are Young" I can even hear some reference to the Flying Nun bands of the 80's.... although, it may be coincidence over influence. "We Are Young" is the type of song that may not make an impression straight away, but add it to a playlist and I'm sure you will soon be hooked.

Steriogram - "Walkie Talkie Man"

I was lucky enough to be at the NZ vs Australia world cup cricket match at Eden park on Saturday - the atmosphere was amazing and the cricket surpassed expectations. It was easily the best game I've been to. It went from excitement, to nail-biting tension, and ending back with excitement, at a level that was nothing short of fever pitch. Anyway, the Steriogram connection is this.... if you've been to any cricket matches lately, or any sporting event at a stadium, you'll know that they play music at every stoppage. I don't have a problem with that at all, although the music is usually predictable, it still adds something to the occasion. The unexpected surprise was Steriogram's "Walkie Talkie Man", which I had kind of forgotten about. I couldn't have been reminded about this song at a better time, as those Aussie wickets were tumbling. Howzat!