- I’ve always found the quiet bleakness of Emma Russack’s approach to indie music refreshing -and what does that say about me?- she is unique though. Hers are not the lacerating whispers of Elliott Smith, the drunken tragedy of Sarah Mary Chadwick or the deep, mournful and broken crooning of Leonard Cohen. Emma Russack has carved her own little niche in the world of regret. 

- Ahm is an electronic artist from down Melbourne way and you may have encountered his work, over the years, with such folks as Huntly, Gregor, Lalic or Arrom. However Ahm chooses to step out by himself when he really wants to have a dark night of the soul. His latest EP, Why I Let You is self-described as the closing chapter in “explorations of caring for someone who hurts you, and recognising how this shapes one’s identity and self-worth”.

- It's been five years since Freddie Gibbs released Pinata, his full-length collaboration with legendary production wizard Madlib that's already carved a place in the pantheon of classic hip-hop records. Gibbs' gritty street lyricism sounded truly timeless atop Madlib's lush and sample-based scenery, relentlesly smooth beats sanded Freddie's trap-leaning tendencies into something far more refined.

- After releasing his debut album Binary Scenes in 2009, San Francisco ambient artist Atomic Skunk, aka Rich Brodsky, seemed to have a lot to offer. Portal followed thirteen months later, and Alchemy another thirteen months after that. Then... nothing.

So you can imagine my surprise and excitement when earlier this year he blew the dust off the mailing list and announced a new album: Base Camp.

- It’s pleasing to realise that, as the world changes slowly but surely into something I don’t recognise and am increasingly afraid of, the kids are still getting down to songs about getting smashed, bitchy girls, stupid conformists or just having a mouth that tastes like cigarettes. It’s almost unbelievable just how much it sounds like it did nearly thirty years ago, when I first started thrashing about in my bedroom to jams on my walkman. Well it does sound that way if the band you're talking about is Voiid.