Microscopic by Andrés Pichardo

At time of writing London is a slushy citadel of collapsing infrastructure. Cue the crisp dream-pop of 19-year-old multi-instrumentalist Andrés Pichardo, aka Grand Resort. The Massachusetts teen offers a shiny antidote to the winter blues – his is music equally indebted to the slick FM rock of his homeland as to erstwhile British indie. Download Microscopic below.

Friends of Friends by Hospitality

For NYC four-piece Hospitality, making sophisticated, intelligent indie-pop appears, on the surface at least, to be the most effortless thing in the world. No doubt singer Amber Papini and her cohorts toil for days over their neat, dynamic compositions. Or perhaps they don’t and they are in fact geniuses. Today’s MPFree is a taster from their self-titled debut, released April 9th on Fire Records.

Hospitality – Friends of Friends by snipelondon

The Malpractice - Boss Stallion

Danish solo artist The Malpractice makes electronic popSLASHrock with flickers of influence from as far and wide as Nine Inch Nails, Faith No More, Hot Chip and Enon. Boss Stallion is one of the more “pop” numbers from his fantastic debut “Tectonics”, out Feb 13th on Crunchy Frog. Catch him live at Crunchy Club at Camden’s Wheelbarrow on March 8th, with labelmates Snake and Jets Amazing Bullit Band.

Bad for Me by Brendan Benson

Brendan Benson channels his inner Elton to the nth degree on this track. It’s taken from new album What Kind of World, released April 23rd on his own Readymade label. Still one of the most underrated songwriters around.

Brendan Benson – Bad for Me by lojinx

Knows Me Better by The Underground Man

Not much to go on with this guy – his website’s currently under construction. From what we can gather he’s a songwriter living in Brooklyn and his debut EP is pencilled in for a spring release. Today’s MPFree is the enjoyably diverting title track, ‘inspired in equal parts by the early songs of Cliff Richard and the novels of Jim Thompson’.

The Underground Man – Knows Me Better by snipelondon

Sweetest Treasure (Napoleon IIIrd NXVI mix) by Zebra and Snake

Napoleon IIIrd has taken the epic pop of Tapio and Matti’s original and imbibed it with a certain thump. The Finnish duo, otherwise known as Zebra and Snake, release their debut EP, also named Sweetest Treasure, February 27th. Debut album Healing Music hits the shops in the spring. Catch them at the Bull and Gate February 22nd, the Queen of Hoxton on the 23rd and The Nest on the 24th.

Zebra and Snake – Sweetest Treasure (Napoleon IIIrd NXVI mix) by snipelondon

Funny Girl by pacificUV

Originally hailing from Athens, Georgia, pacificUV’s sound is one very much enthral to distinctly European influences – the blippy pace of Kraut Rock, the inherent melodic warmth of early 80s British synth-pop (especially on today’s MPFree). The duo’s debut album was described by Rolling Stone as a ‘masterpiece’; new album Weekends, released January 31st, looks set to garner similar accolades. Exciting stuff.

pacificUV – Funny Girl by snipelondon

You As You Were by Shearwater

A blooming gorgeous new track from Shearwater, taken from Animal Joy, their first album for Sub Pop (released February 27th). Catch them at the Scala, April 3rd.

Shearwater – You As You Were by subpop

Sorry by Victoria Hume

Landing, the second album from Victoria Hume, has caused something of a stir here at Snipe HQ. Three years in the making, it’s a masterclass in pocket-sized, minimal drama-folk. We’re rapidly developing a mini musical crush on the London-based songstress. Download opening track Sorry below. The album is available in its entirety here.

Victoria Hume – Sorry by snipelondon

'Battle Hymn of the Fox Father' by Dad Rocks

Snipe favourite Dad Rocks, aka 26-year-old Snævar Njáll Albertsson, received heaps of praise for his 2011 debut Mount Modern, and deservedly so. His is a particularly charming brand of domesticated folk. Today’s MPFree is album centrepiece Battle Hymn of the Fox Father – possibly the first indie song to mention Twitter. Download a free Snow Kite remix here.

Dad Rocks – Battle Hymn of the Fox Father by snipelondon