Elemeno

Liars - Four Songs (15 mins)
4 track sampler of Liars angular art-punk. Some demos, and a Crystal Castles remix, which sounds heaps like CC (Sailing to Byzantine/It Fit When I Was A Kid)
Little Pictures - Owl + Owl (26 mins)
Minimal bedroom pop from a boy and girl in love. Awww. A bit samey across the album, but heaps of fun. (Owl + Owl/Tiny Gaps/You + Me + My Amplifier)
Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster (42 mins)
Easily my favourite band, just amazing on so many levels. Phenomenal debut. I'll probably post about them later. Anyway, great 'everything in the mix' indie pop. Sound explosions. Vindictive lyrics. Songs about being an aimless 20 something. Relationships. Dance parties. It feels like my life won't be complete 'til I see them live. (all the songs)
Los Campesinos! - We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed (32 mins)
More great stuff, darker than before. Insanely memorable lyrics. 'We kid ourselves there's future in the fucking, but there is no fucking future'. (it's all good)
Jody O Lloyd - Loops of Love (56 mins)
Great hip hop album, reminded me a bit of RJD2. A more enjoyable listen than Trillion's SilentInvisible (Happy & Healthy/Happiness Is.../Recipe for a Perfect Nap)
Lullatone - We Will, We Will Rock You (To Sleep) - (30 mins)
This 'Beginners Guide to Lullatone' is a great intro to the minimal bedroom Japanese pop duo. Lots of soft percussion, and lullaby-esq tunes. A good place to start when defining 'cute'. (Good Morning Melody/Hello Kitty Makes a Band/A Miniature Finale)
Metronomy - Nights Out (43 mins)
'Kind of' a concept album about going out to clubs. Fantastic IDM/pop album, and an amazing live act (The End of You Too/On Dancefloors/Heartbreaker)
Mint Chicks - Screens (30 mins)
One of my most anticipated releases of the year, it certainly did not disappoint. I really like the direction these guys are headed (in to the future, to deconstruct art/pop/punk), and it's a strong album full of great songs. (I Can't Stop Being Foolish/Hot On Your Heels/Life Will Get Better Someday/Enemies)
Mount Pleasant - Horseshoe Lake (34 mins)
Wistful, dreamy instrumentation, with the occasional burst of distortion. Very little singing, just fractured, honest statements. A few 'good vibes' floating around too. (In Lust pt.2/Song With X/Track 4)
The Naked and Famous - This Machine (19 mins)
A great debut ep, with mixes of electro, post-grunge, pop, and shoegaze. Spongelike music. (Part 1/Post)
The Naked and Famous - No Light (19 mins)
Ostensibly the second half of the 'not released as an album-album', more of the same, though less rewarding. (Birds/Part 2)
The O'Lovelys - The O'Lovelys (30 mis)
This was probably the first local band I became a fan of when I moved to Chch. Some nicely written pop songs (Oh No/Clocks/Black Stitch)
Operator Please - Yes, Yes, Vindictive (39 mins)
I hadn't listened to this in ages, and found that I still enjoyed it as much as when I first got it. Perhaps even more. Trashy throw away electro-pop songs from precocious kids - heaps of fun. (Leave It Alone/Zero Zero/Other Song)