Robyn - "Fembot". I cannot deny Robyn. There is cherry in her voice, in the flick and fling of her phrases. I hate this "fembot" conceit - the robot metaphors, the mecha-pop rehash of Robyn's "Robot Boy" &c. But I simply cannot deny Robyn, the cherry in her voice, that flick and fling. Pop music doesn't always ask permission. [from one of Robyn's three (!) upcoming albums / website]

Richard McGraw - "Hurting Heart". A song that only starts making its case at 0:41, when McGraw shows there's more to him than his frown. (He opens by declaring that he could never write a hit: this is not the best way to win my confidence.) But the thing I discover, finally, is that he has written a small & perfect chorus, with words like a bead on a string, matching and good. He sings it so well, especially at its quiet moments: steely, grassy, leathery, shades of Win Butler and Mike Feuerstack and ok creakier old dudes too. The production, by Fulton Lights' Andrew Spencer Goldman, is light but revitalising, sending new sprouts through these old chords. This is a great little tune. [buy Burying the Dead - and a quick word on the "limited edition" packaging... It's one of the most elaborate indie album packages I've seen. Signed and numbered, artwork in metallic copper by Kevin Prouls, temporary tattoos, a little magnifying "lyric enlarger". So handsome. Elsewhere on the album, covers of Leonard Cohen and Billy Joel. Listen at MySpace.]

(image by Christoph Niemann)