Showcase

An occasional round-up of the best of the tracks sent to me recently by new / upcoming bands and artists - all definitely worth a listen.

Death Ships from Iowa make hook-laden alt-pop with indie, folk and country influences. They have been building a name for themselves supporting the likes of The Decemberists and Jets to Brazil, and their debut album will be out later in the year. You can hear four tracks on their MySpace site, and they will be putting up some mp3s on their band site in the near future, meanwhile here's one to keep you going:

Death Ships - Symmetrical Smiles [mp3]

Eagle and Talon is a female duo based in LA who play melodic pop-punk featuring choppy guitar and swirls of Casiotone. They have just released their debut EP 'Eagle and Talon Cares', which can be purchased from their website. They also have a MySpace site with various streamed tracks.
Eagle and Talon - Bird that Breaks [mp3]

Track a Tiger are also from the US, Chicago this time. They play 60s (and 80s) influenced pop with sumptuous male-female harmonies. You can download another couple of tracks from their website or their MySpace page.
Track a Tiger - Glad to be Scattered [mp3]