I don't remember how I happened upon Kate Nash, but it was sometime last winter. The track was "Merry Happy", a kitschy piano number with cutesy vocals-- does this sound familiar? If you heard the track and thought "Regina Spektor?", you weren't alone. Nash herself admits that Spektor is a heavy influence on her own songs, which both made me automatically love her music and also kind of made me be turned off by it. But let's weigh the facts: Nash is only 20, came to prominence through promoting herself on myspace, and even Lily Allen says she's the next big thing, and that's she's "well good", and I have to say-- I've been converted.

It happened around the time Nash released "Foundations", a song (which later became a 7" with a radio edit and B-sides) full of programmed synths and beats that is addictive and for lack of a better expression, really fucking good. The track was the first single from Nash's first real album, Made of Bricks, released on the Fiction label-- an offshoot of Polydor Records-- in her native UK just a few days ago, and which has been getting massive plays on UK stations like London's XFM.

Made of Bricks should put the Spektor comparisons to rest a little bit, though certainly not to death since the influence is still there in a subtler manner. However, the record really gives Nash a chance to shine and expand her own vision in longplayer format, and it's a format that suits her well. With the exception of a few quieter, more introspective pieces ("Birds" and "The Nicest Thing"), the record is full of Nash's self-proclaimed love of Garageband-- lots of programmed beats, drums and synths and layered vocals, and of course some good old fashioned piano and guitar playing on Nash's part. It's kitschy while still remaining accessible, and is full of Nash's quirky humour (see "Foundations": You said I must eat so many lemons, cos I am so bitter) and the mess that is being 19 and 20 years old and figuring it all out.

I literally haven't been able to listen to anything else, so that's usually a good sign. The US took nearly a year to get hip on Lily Allen, so I imagine Kate Nash's fate will be much the same, but she will be here eventually. Might as well say you knew her way back when.

Kate Nash - Foundations
Buy Made of Bricks

Dappled Cities (formerly Dappled Cities Fly) have the energy of ten bands put together. You can tell just by listening to their latest record, Granddance, which finally sees statewide release this August after having been out for a while in their native-- you guessed it-- Australia. This energy only became more evident last week at the Mercury Lounge, where the boys played an hour long set full of raucous, hyper tracks with an earnest passion that translated into an amazing show.

The album itself is a nice effort-- the band's second, in fact-- and is full of colourful melodies and a great take on their obvious pop-rock sensibilities. Also their first single and played endlessly on Triple J, the album opens with "Holy Chord", a track that builds on an isolated vocal which is both haunting and exciting until it becomes alush track full of fantastic orchestration and melody. This leads effortlessly into "Work It Out", another toe-tapping number that you'll find yourself humming for the rest of the day. The entire album follows in this vein, and comes together to form a feel-good pop-rock record full of memorable songs that you'll want to listen to on repeat. The band's true strength comes together live, when you can see it all put into action. Catch them if you can-- you won't be disappointed!

Dappled Cities - Peach (from A Smile LP)
Dappled Cities - Holy Chord (from Granddance LP)
Buy the album

I don't think there are any words for the greatness that is Augie March. For a band that's been hard at work in their native Australia for ten years now, it's amazing to be able to see them at such a small NYC venue like The Mercury Lounge. But finally, the band's 2006 award winning album, Moo, You Bloody Choir, is being released State-side, so I was able to do just that, and all I can say is...Wow.

Frontman Glenn Richards and the rest of the band-- David Williams, Kiernan Box, Adam Donovan, and Edmondo Ammendola-- were in nothing short of top form for tonight's show. This is perhaps a result of the seamless bond between the musicians that has been honed over the past decade as a band together, but more likely the result of a connection that is something like magic- rare and incredibly special to witness; a group of people lucky enough to meet the others with whom he blends perfectly. Richards leads the band in the most gentle way imaginable-- they don't seem to need much guidance to stay on the same page-- and the result is a show full of songs that are not only cohesive and technically well-written/performed, but also full of emotion and a kind of fireworks.

Richards' gift for songwriting is strong and understated, and is undoubtedly one of the reasons Augie March has had such staying power. Their music is literate yet subtly sentimental, and is truly gorgeous. I find it hard to write logically or professionally about a band that has meant so much to me personally, but hopefully that won't matter because they've made you feel the same thing.

Augie March - The Cold Acre
Buy Moo, You Bloody Choir

The buzz has slowly but steadily building about Irish singer/songwriter Fionn Regan. The tale is a familiar one-- a guy with a guitar singing folksy songs that make the girls swoon. This was what I originally thought when I sat down preparing to listen to his album, The End of History. And that is indeed what I got, but that's not all.

What saves Regan from the droll passivity of becoming just another folk singer is the same thing that distinguishes musicians like, say, fellow Irishman Glen Hansard of The Frames-- a firm root in the cultural (specifically musical, in this case) background of his nationality. The traditions of Irish songwriting speak loudly and clearly through Regan's music, though perhaps unintentionally. To his credit, Regan has mastered the skill of mixing that influence with the tradition of American folk music. The obvious influence would be Nick Drake, who comes through most clearly on the track "The Underwood Typewriter", which is ripe with plucky guitar work and a melody you want to tap your foot along to.

His talents haven't gone unnoticed, either; on 18 July 2007, Regan was nominated for the coveted Mercury Prize, the UK equivalent to the Grammy (only with much better music). The End of History is a compelling album, one rich with stories of the old country just under the surface, as well as a showcase for a comfortable talent such as Regan's, and it's an album you should definitely check out.

Fionn Regan - The Underwood Typewriter
Buy the album

Having been a Ryan Adams fan for quite a few years now, I feel like we've been through a lot together. From dramatic spats with Jeff Tweedy and answering machine messages left for Jim DeRogatis that border on harassment to the drug-addled Rock n' Roll phase, to the even more recent, also drug-addled Grateful Dead phase, it hasn't always been easy to defend his honour. Now with the release of Easy Tiger, we enter yet another phase in Ryan's ever-changing public persona: the clean-cut, alt-country roots just like the old days.

Easy Tiger is full of the kind of songs you listen to when you want to wallow over that lost love or you're trying to polish off that bottle of Jack-- or maybe just when you want a dose of Ryan Adams at his best (or most predictable-- it's a toss up, depending on who you ask). While only one track borders on actual rock ("Halloweenhead"), the album looms large with ambitious, melodic tunes rich with banjo, steel guitars, and harmonica. While the formula of the album seems, at first liten, to follow close on the heels of 2005's Cold Roses, Jacksonville City Nights, and 29 respectively, there's more certainty to Easy Tiger, and more of a formula that gets better as it goes on, if not vaguely monotonous. Tracks like "Oh My God, Whatever, Etc." and "Off Broadway" take on a folksy, singer-songwriter feel and are lovely but admittedly blend into one another a bit and don't stand out as strong individual tracks. That is the general problem with the album, though: while as a complete LP the album is cohesive and strong, individually the tracks seem slightly mediocre.

Lyrically, Adams is at his best on this album; his prose is sometimes blatantly sentimental, but still coherent enough to be relatable. Admittedly one of his biggest gifts is his voice and the myriad of ways he's learned to employ it over the years-- he can easily switch from a rock-driven rasp to an emotional falsetto at the drop of a pin, and it adds immense emotional volume to his musical landscape, which would probably seem a little drab and not necessarily very worthwhile without it.

All in all, Easy Tiger is a great return to the Ryan Adams that we got to know years ago, but it admittedly lacks the sparkle that was behind songs like "New York, New York" or "Answering Bell". But that's what happens when you're in it for the long haul; it gets hard to discern if you're bored or just comfortable. For now, I'll go with the latter.

Ryan Adams - Halloweenhead
Ryan Adams - New York, New York
Buy Easy Tiger on iTunes

Listen, I like A.C. Newman and all, but I'll be honest in saying that Neko Case was my initial inspiration in giving The New Pornographers a listen when Mass Romantic came out years ago. I could write endless paragraphs on my love for Neko and her smokey, intense voice that just cuts into you and sits in the middle of your chest, anchoring the world around itself. But instead, I'll give The New Pornographers a little credit because not only do they have a new album, Challengers, coming out 21 August, but they're really, really good.

If you order the album early via buyearlygetnow.com, you can pretty much do what the URL says-- pay now and get a live webstream of the entire album immediately. Instant gratification is great, but so is mp3 gratification-- some savvy blogger made a webrip right away. Can't say we didn't see it coming!

The album is fantastic-- full of lots of upbeat rock numbers with just enough variation (read: slower ballad-like songs, which happen to be sung primarily by Neko) to make it cohesive and--yes, pun completely intended-- challenging. Buy the album because it's a nice thing to do. Listen to it a lot. And for those of you as nuts about Neko Case as I am, let's cut to the chase, shall we?

The New Pornographers - Challengers
The New Pornographers - Go Places