[rating=5]
Charli XCX, August 22, 2012

Little Bastard is astounded by the energy of Charli XCX in her Sebright Arms gig, August 22, 2012.

“Charli XCX headbangs, she pounds every inch of the stage, and she does it all in vintage platform buffalo trainers (from eBay). She not only owns the stage, but she makes it difficult for anyone to occupy it again! “

[rating=5]
Released June 11, 2012 (digital download), September 3, 2012 (CD)
A real multimedia album, from its story-telling videos and its songs, iamamiwhoami’s kin ranges from wistful dream-pop trip-hop.

“All nine songs swell and pulsate, providing space for Jonna’s commanding voice and personality to blossom. I can’t help but feel that iamamiwhoami is one of the few artists in the last decade who has fully understood and committed to the concept of a multimedia album.”

[rating=3]
Released November 11, 2011
Walter Beck reviews the Charles Manson single Horsefly, recorded in secret in his prison cell. Yes, that Chales Manson …

“The hardest part for anyone listening to it is to separate Manson the Musician from Manson the Monster. He has been America’s boogeyman for the last forty years, but underneath the headlines and photos is a good musician.”

[rating=5]
Released June 11, 2012
Heartbreaks and Earthquakes has Charli XCX taking a chainsaw to the pop mainstream.

“The dark and dirty dubstep of opener ‘Champagne Coast’ is as if Charli is hiding behind PopStep starlet Delilah’s door with a chainsaw.”

[rating=4]
Released July 23, 2012
The soundtrack to his feature film of the same name,, iLL Manors is his third studio album and is as startling and brutal as his debut album.

“The album is an opus, where each song is vital and none is more important or better than another, delivered with his usual lyrical recklessness.”

[rating=4]
Released July 15, 2012
A lo-fi, and throughly real independent release from Eli Van Sickel.

“Eli has delivered one of the best albums of American Midwestern music to come out in a long time. It’s beautiful and brutally honest in its depiction of life for those of us living there. He is a true poet with a guitar.”

[rating=4]
Madonna, July 17, 2012

Madonna’s MDNA tour. A controversial, unpredictable, original and brilliantly executed show.

“The show’s stopper is a thoroughly genuine and passionate reinterpretation of ‘Like A Virgin’, although the dramatic and loaded impact suffers at the hands of the Westminster’s noise abatement legislation. I must admit the show would be far better suited to a more intimate, indoor venue.”

[rating=4]
Karmin, July 16, 2012

Karmin: hip hop without the ghetto, white rap without the poverty. The music journalists have this band all wrong..

“Amy raps at high speed and is a powerhouse vocalist and the music has a sense of fun to it that can be missing from pop music – a kookie kitsch-ness, like Daphne And Celeste but with talent, if you will.”

[rating=4]
Released July 12, 2012
‘Fantasea’ has an authentic, underground, raw sound that separates it from the other American hiphop mix tapes flooding the internet.

“If you grew up with Lil’ Kim and Missy Elliot and have a taste for filthy, feisty Femcees then you should love Azealia Banks. She’s Nicki Minaj without the commercial kookiness.”

[rating=5]
Released July 9, 2012
An album that is vibrant, promising, diverse, heartfelt, eclectic and sincere.

“Lost and Found is truly a triumph for Moya, a stellar and eclectic collection of well-written, diverse songs embracing leftfield-pop, summery anthems, latin, rock, electronica and soul with wonderful sultry and solid vocals.”