I've added a bunch of new items this week, including: the new Courtneys cd/lp on Flying Nun the new Novella cd/lp on Sinderlyn a trio of ace powerpop reissues on Manufactured the Part Time Punks lp w/Aberdeen, 14 Iced Bears & June Brides the Burnt Palms/Sunset Swim flexi on Golly Jane new Eureka California 7" & Bastards Of Fate lp on HHBTM past releases from Gentle Brent's earlier incarnations as Brent Randall and the Pinecones Have a peek!

After a couple albums under his own name and as the Pinecones, Brent Randall of Toronto is now using the moniker Gentle Brent, but he's still playing many of the instruments on his own (with help from a few friends here and there). A little less orchestral this time around, Brent is leaning more toward jangly powerpop territory - think Harry Nilsson or Paul McCartney meets the Heavy Blinkers, Flashing Lights or even Jigsaw's own Michael Knight. This album has friendly, bouncy AM-styled hits galore, and with eleven of 'em in under half an hour, you'll find lots of wonderful...

Wrapping up a very busy February for the Jigsaw label is the second album from 31Ø8, a one-man project from London that plays rock music with keen pop sensibilities. That is, these are basically simple pop songs, but everything - guitars, vocals, synth-bass and electronic drums - is covered in a layer of fuzz, sounding like some hybrid of Loop and mid-period Jesus And Mary Chain, while more modern-ish references include Honeyrider and Jigsaw's own American Culture & Super Paradise. Not an easy record to describe, but very easy to get into. Have a listen and pick up a copy here!

Funny enough, I know very little about this band; my introduction to them was via a song on the best mixtape I've ever had, so it was listened to a million times. Sadly, that particular song isn't on this album, but what we do have here is their fabulous second album, originally released on the band's own Glutton For Punishment label back in 1988 and lovingly reissued by Firestation Records, in a limited pressing of 200! Take the offbeat, timeless, practically genre-less music of the Monochrome Set, and slather it in the most obscure and witty lyrics this side of Alan Jenkins (Deep...

Jumping ahead a few catalog numbers to PZL121, today marks the release of the debut from Secret Meadow, a new band from Jakarta, Indonesia, and it's a good case of being able to judge a book by its cover. Much like the sleeve, the songs contained within are simple and catchy, but are also shrouded in a haze (of ambient synths). Imagine the sound and atmosphere of the Cure or Slowdive, but with melodies that rival anything the Radio Dept. have ever written, and mostly upbeat songs with driving rhythms and vocals that are soft yet confident. And the guitars! Oh,...