“Indie Rock” (Used 15 times)

Music of the got lost dreams among industrial drives, skyscrapers and old plants. Wall of the broken illusions and evil shouts of the desperate souls.

Thirteen varied and energetic tracks played excellently...

Complete review on NetMusic Life

Last year, Los Angeles quartet Goodbye Kumiko recorded and released their debut album, "My Wild Arms". The record -- a melange of indie rock, baroque pop and ragtime-influenced piano stylings -- was one of the most satisfying yet underheard indie records of 2011. I caught up with GK singer and keyboard player Michael Barron over email to talk about the album and working with producer Bill Moriarty, a leading light in the Northeast who has manned the controls for Dr. Dog, Man Man, and a host of other extremely creative indie bands.

Who would you say are your influences? Include one from outside the world of music.

MICHAEL BARRON of GOODBYE KUMIKO: My first musical heroes were Scott Joplin and Paul McCartney, in that order. Then later in my life, Frederic Chopin and Harry Nilsson. When I'm playing piano at home, I often play old rags and Chopin's nocturnes. It's fair to say that I'm aiming for the awkward intersection of those pianists even though I know I'm not even in the same universe as any of them.

I think I speak for everyone that we have a lot of 90/00's indie running through our veins. I could go on and on about Pavement, Elephant 6, Phil Elvrum/Microphones, et al. all night long. We love all that stuff and probably will forever.

I love David Lynch, as a filmmaker, as an Angeleno, as an artist and as a man. I'd also say the short stories of Raymond Carver constantly inspire me.

Over the last few months we've released songs we've written directly to our website for you to listen to and download.

We decided to put them all together in an EP CD.

With your purchase you also get a CD booklet PDF and a bonus track!

Get your own copy here.

Originally called "Zeroes," this Montreal-based four-piece had to change their name due to a conflict with another band. They chose "suuns", which means "zero" in Lao.

Their Zeroes EP -- featured at Other Music earlier this year -- is now available as a free download (in exchange for an email address). They'll release their first full-length on Secretly Canadian in October, 2010.

One band that comes to mind when I listen to Suuns is Clinic. Though they couldn't be mistaken for one another there are certainly some common threads in the fabric of their music, like the breath-y, speak-singing style of Suuns' vocalist Ben Shemie. Keyboards often provide a soft addition to the guitar/drums/bass/vocals, and there's a subtle layering of an electro noise compliment.

I discovered Suuns while prowling the web for new bands from the Montreal scene. By luck, they were touring with fellow Montrealeans Palovr, and I was able to snag them for a wfmu live session on July 22, 2010.