Allow me, if you please, to continue this pretence that I am patriotic with yet another post about an Australian group. Though perhaps I have not stretched that particular sentiment very far, considering they’re performing a cover of a rather famous English DJ’s tune. No matter! Despite the compositional simplicity of Praise You, it’s always been an indelibly catchy, toe-tapping kind of song. And, because it’s yet another tune in the oeuvre of musical history that is comprised solely of pre-existing samples, it’s not one that tends to get trotted out for live performances. But The Belligerents manage to maintain the spark of the original, and give it the pep that only a live performance can bring – there’s something almost Courtney Taylor-Taylor-ish in that screaming falsetto.

Let us uplift the mood in here, shall we? But let’s not go nuts: we don’t want a Ferris Bueller-esque dance party breaking out. I don’t have the space for that! And my neighbours will voice complaints in a most irritated (and irritating) manner.

Here is a song by a fellow by the name of Ryan O’Reilly who plays in a band called, coincidentally, Ryan O’Reilly. But enough of my ribbing: it’s an intensely charming guitar and piano driven pop track, with just the merest, tiniest hint of hip-hop in the form of a solid back beat. A very lovely and spirited ditty indeed, that will surely make you feel just that little bit warmer, particularly in that special region inside you that tends to beat rather incessantly when you see someone pretty (your heart, for all those smutty people out there thinking otherwise!).

It is a most auspicious day today: my birthday! Sort of! Well, thanks to those crazy ancient Romans, I don’t technically have a birthday this year, but that’s just a minor detail. Anyway, it’s party time and you know what that means: wild, raucous frivolity that stretches on for days! As such, I’m here today to bring you music that doesn’t suit that atmosphere at all. Instead, it’s some more dreamy indie pop from Melbourne-based group The Paper Kites. Regular readers may know that I have a love of tunes that hit just the right spot, and boy, does this song hit that spot. Perhaps I’m getting mature in my old age… cripes, I hope not!

It seems odd that I’ve never investigated Emilíana Torrini’s music, considering her contribution to the Lord of the Rings trilogy with the beautiful Gollum’s Song. Then again, I never profess to be particularly good at this job!

I clearly have a thing for deceptively simple, folkish pop sung by women with beautiful voices. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! And how could there be anything wrong with that, particularly when it’s tender, deeply relaxing, and inherently beautiful? If this track floats your aural boat, you ought to cast your ears over the rest of this album: you shan’t be disappointed.

This song popped into my head this morning for some reason, and I felt that given the mood of Sydney (where I’m based) this week, it seems ideal.

This is quite the lovely little song from Australian group Axiom. Though that name is perhaps not particularly well known in Australia, it was the progenitor of Little River Band being as how Glenn Shorrock and Brian Cad were both members of it. So kick on back and ride out the week with just a little more joy.

Oh my goodness, a lot of great music has dropped into my inbox lately. I am not worthy of such delightfulness. But I’ll sure as heck take it anyway!

Angela Moyra has the kind of voice and compositional qualities that will just make your heart melt into a pile of pure, unadulterated, sugary delight. Draw a Picture carries a folky-pop aesthetic, with an utterly wonderful chorus – something about those chords and melody and the way they pop in when they do makes me giddy. Couple that with some very pretty lyrics, and you’ve got a recipe for certified gold.

Saturdays are for inadvertently waking up early, realising that it’s the weekend, and then doing a little dance in bed to celebrate. Of course, having a suitably poptacular tune to dance along to is ideal, so here’s one I prepared earlier.

For those who like to keep up with the exploits of the Bluth family, this tune may sound quite familiar, as it bookended the last episode of season 4 (her father being David Schwartz, composer for the show). Boomerang is some delightfully catchy pop with a thumping beat (though not one that’s irritatingly piercing, thankfully). It is the perfect song to get your bed-ridden groove on with!

Friday is a day to continue being completely and utterly smitten with Pisces. My incoherent rambling yesterday did no justice to her, and no doubt today won’t either.

The ‘her’ in the previous sentence refers to Ms. Sarah Negahdari of LA indie group The Happy Hollows, of which Pisces is her solo side project. From what I’ve heard so far, there’s quite the dose of ethereality to her tunes, which is demonstrated quite nicely in the vaguely country-ish Glen Echo. I am going to buy the absolute heck out of this album!

Thursday are for taking a deep breath and gazing at the sunset with a sweetheart. I have none of those things right now (curse you, morning!), but on the off chance the stars align, I have the perfect song for it!

Being a member of the fishy, celestial brethren myself, I felt I could not ignore an artist with the same name. Though, as I am an ethical music writer of words, it takes more than a flimsy name link to get me to post about something. Thankfully, Being With You is an achingly lovely piece of folk pop, with a rather delectable smattering of dreaminess. It is relaxing, sweet, and (hopefully) something that brings a pleasant smile to your face.

Evidently, this will be an entire weekend of relaxation. I mean, what better way is there to follow up that saturday morning sleep-in than watching movies at home in comfortable pants with a tub of ice cream? Yes, you’re right, there is no better way.

To lend some class to that potentially distasteful image, here is quite a beautiful song from newcomers Ocean Music. The vocals have a kind of Isolation Years type quality to them, and the music itself has a folk-ish, Iron and Wine appeal to them. Those are two things I just cannot say no to!