- Yo La Tengo are a group with a deep history. The first time I heard them was when they covered the Sun Ra epic Nuclear War: a sprawling seven-plus-minute polemic in the form of repetitive expletives sung by children. That was in 2002, so it's been a while since I've checked in with the group that have been dubbed "the quintessential critics band". I guess what I'm saying is these guys don't hold back, and don't shy away from seeing themselves as a serious edifice of the musical canon.

- Like any good punk record, Press Club’s debut outing Late Teens comes out swinging. Recorded live over the span of a week at The Aviary in Melbourne it’s punctuated by late nights, strained vocal cords and blind ambition. The eleven tracks on Late Teens are gnashing teeth, a dog straining at its collar.

- Formerly (and controversially) Viet Cong, and made up of members of the band Women, Preoccupations are a noisy post-punk outfit from Canada that have consistently released music that is intensely dark and evocative. Frontman Matt Flegel described the band’s new album New Material as an “ode to depression and self-sabotage, and looking inward at yourself with extreme hatred.” That should give you an idea about what this album sounds like: dreary, desolate and despondent.