In a couple of weeks, I’m going to post my full best-of-2008 list, but first I wanted to highlight some of my favourite unsigned acts of the year: Rainbow Party, Marilyn Roxie* and Mt. Moon. My criteria for choosing these particular acts were that they had to give away their music for free and it actually had to be good. There were quite a few others that I wanted to cover, such as Panda steps in chocolate and Tran Qual, but I have a class in a bit, so I’ll show them some love later.

• Rainbow Party are one of the best guitar-rock bands in America today. Their second album, Butt Jamz, which was released in January, was along with Santogold, the soundtrack of my spring and summer. The music teems with inventiveness. In just over half an hour, the band mix and match angular Gang of Four guitars, musique concrete, treated drum cymbals, jangle-pop and primal scream therapy almost effortlessly into a cohesive and somehow musically minimalist whole. It reminds me a bit of Wire’s Pink Flag and M.I.A.’s Arular, two classics in minimalist bedroom-pop, though it sounds like neither. But this album is really a treat for its lyrics, which consist of some of the most astute social commentaries since Blur’s Parklife. RECOMMENDED TRACK: “Hoom Boot.”
  
• Marilyn Roxie is an instrumental artist in Los Angeles, who makes instrumental ambient music inspired by Brian Eno and video game music. She’s a true original though, and her latest release, I Dreamt of Sound, is billed as “an experiment in dream textures,” which sounds about right. It’s only about 19 minutes or so long, but it’s a stunner. Using only a Korg Triton LE Workstation, Marilyn creates shimmering, gorgeous waves of sound. There are strong Eastern undertones, along with hints of Indonesian and Brazilian rhythms, Kate Bush, shoegaze, and IDM. No, it’s not meant for the pop chart, but stick with it, and you’ll be richly rewarded. Also check out her single “Bring Back The Old Last.fm Group Theme,” which has been likened to a synthesizer being raped, if only to hear what that might sound like. RECOMMENDED TRACK: “Shh!”
  
• Mt. Moon were a dream-folk band up in Maine who only got round to cutting one full-length record before packing it in. Fortunately, A Burial in Seven Births was absolutely sublime, featuring the strongest set of songs Jakob Battick (of 1800s Sea Monster, another great unsigned act) had yet penned. Delicate acoustic guitar, meticulous harmonies, sepulchral organ. It’s tops. RECOMMENDED TRACK: “Waltz.”