Rock/pop with an alt country twist, The Cliffords play hook filled songs with roaring choruses and lyrics that stick. ‘You guys would be the best pop band in Melbourne if ya pulled ya finger out’, a Melbourne publican told them. So they did, and finally produced their first full-length album.

They’ve been playing the pub scene for years, rocking out the sweaty, pounding gigs for which the Melbourne scene is renowned. It’s difficult to pick highlights out of this 13 track album as each song delivers an equally powerful but varied pitch. Personal favourites are Saturday Morning, Whiskey in the Water and Wagon Wheel.

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Driven by a wide spectrum of influences, the music of Brass Bed moves easily through an eclectic mix of genres: from alt-country ballads and progressive rock hooks, to sticky-sweet, heart-felt lyrics, and dissonant experimental freak-outs. As some wise folk have noted, it’s kinda like a cross between The Beach Boys and The Flaming Lips. Now, how could that be a bad thing? We have two of their songs — Olivia [listen below] and Polar Bird — available for free download in the Music Download section in the third column of Lost At E Minor.

Despite their volatile history, 90s alt-country upstarts Whiskeytown somehow managed to get it together when they were in the studio. Now released in an expanded version, their sophomore album is a lasting testament to the talents of the band’s stalwarts Ryan Adams (then 22) and Caitlin Cary. Memorable tracks like 16 Days and Yesterday’s News are joined by a goldmine of session demos that include covers of Fleetwood Mac and Johnny Cash tunes. One protracted album later, Whiskeytown were no more, but Stranger’s Almanac would stand as a defining album from the No Depression era. [watch Whiskeytown live in concert]