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DOWNLOAD: Damian Lazarus - Dr. Whiskers Theme

As the owner of London's Crosstown Rebels label and an internationally renowned DJ, Damian Lazarus is best known for what he does with records rather than for making them himself. That's about to change this summer as he drops his debut album, Smoke the Monster Out, on Get Physical Music. Those expecting the light and brisk tech-house sound Lazarus peddles through his label and plays in his DJ sets will be surprised by the sound at which he's arrived. Together with collaborators Arthur Jeffes and Swedish vocalist twins Taxi Taxi, Lazarus opts for jazzy chamber pop rather than dance music. "Dr. Whiskers Theme" sways to and fro to the tune of melancholic piano lines and pirouettes between the smokey plucked bass line, the wordless vocals of Taxi Taxi waxing and waning throughout. This is the record Crosstown Rebel fans can reach for after clubbing the night away.

Sounds like: Jazzanova, Mr. Scruff

Damian Lazarus - Dr. Whiskers Theme

Damian Lazarus's RCRD LBL Page

DOWNLOAD: The Unbending Trees - Messages + Two Days

Hungary is hardly the first place cool-hunters search for the latest pop act, but some are making an exception for the chamber pop trio, The Unbending Trees. Helmed by the full-throated tenor of Kristof Hajos, whose love for Jarvis Cocker is evident in his emotional phrasing, the Trees work a Keane-like configuration vocals, drums, piano and occasionally bass. The stripped back, melancholic sound of their debut, Chemically Happy (is the New Sad), has garnered support from the UK press hordes, from the Times to the Independent, as well as the BBC, who invited The Unbending Trees to perform on Radio 1. They've also been signed to Strange Feeling Records, the label of Ben Watt (of Everything But the Girl/Buzzin' Fly fame), but don't expect to hear their floor-clearing sounds in clubs anytime soon.

Sounds like: Jarvis Cocker, Leonard Cohen, Red House Painters

The Unbending Trees - Everybody's Lover (Live)

The Unbending Trees on RCRD LBL

The Unbending Trees on Myspace