Reviews

Spelunky

Derek Yu does it again. Spelunky is a probably one of the rare indie games that deserve to be sold commercially rather then played for free. It's a fun, adventure game where you play well, a spelunker; exploring caves and looking for loot. Spelunky is a game that's fit for hardcore gamers and those who can catch up to the humor in Derek Yu's games. It's definitely a game worth getting yourself lost in.

Kleinfelter: Kleinfelter

As Kleinfelter, the group released this 6 track record. It's filled with intelligent math rock cuts that are filled with awesome rock swells and faded vocals. These Chicago natives certainly know how to create music that sticks. Filled with noise, progressive elements and calculated rock, the album takes you on a trip to the unknown and back. Musically, the guys incorporate different elements into their sound. From hard rock, prog and even punk, the sound merges into a coherent sound that satiates any alternative indie rocker out there.

La BlogothequeTake Away Show (Les Concerts à Emporter)

Nearing it’s fifth year and under the close guidance of Vincent Moon, the Take Away Show already produced hundreds of music video clip sessions with bands like Liars, R.E.M, Arcade Fire, Sigur Rós, Caribou, Architecture in Helsinki, The Shins, White Rabbits, Sufjan Stevens, Tom Jones, Phoenix, Yo La Tengo, and Block Party. Those simplistic, informal, yet masterfully shot high-production captures of some of today‘s greatest music is made available to everyone each week as an artist or a band is invited by La Blogotheque, a French music blog, to perform.

Gravity Bone

Gravity Bone is a short game that features a tale of espionage, fun and gorgeous graphics and gameplay that clocks in at, more or less, 20 minutes. However, despite this short game time, the game provides great depth in characters and actually works great in sucking you into its own world. Follow and complete all the mission objectives as a secret agent and complete all stages of the game, yes, all two levels of it.

Ornery Little Darlings: Ooh La la

Ornery Little Darlings create sexy indie rock that they describe as "“a highly improbable ornery-as-hell-love-child between Billie Holiday and Lou Reed." Although in places, it does sound like this, there are more elements to their songs than this. Made up of mainly Emmi Chen, Jason Ewers, and Paul Puschautz; the group's sound is characteristic of acoustic guitars, sultry female vocals and a 50/60s dirty rock vibe happening all over. It's one of those albums that make an impression after you hear the first track.

To Leave A Trace: Fight Your Evil Side

Just after a year of playing music together, this four piece rock band from the Ukraine decided to release their debut LP, Fight Your Evil Side. Leave A Trace certainly knows how to bring a fusion of rock, metal and even melodic screamo to their fans. Their album is packed with 10 powerful tracks that comes with Oksana's hard rock growling. By the way, yes, Oksana is a girl.

iDump

Have you ever wanted to back-up the contents of an iPod and transfer them onto a computer or external hard-drive? Maybe you manage your music manually and do not have all of your contents stored neatly into one folder on a PC? Or maybe your computer has crashed and you no longer have your iPods music or videos stored on it?. iDump is an iPod copying tool and it solves both of these issues. Through this program, a user can individually check the songs in which he or she wants to back-up or they can simply select everything as a mass and back-up every song contained within an iPod. Either way, once the required contents are ticked, all one has to do is click ‘Start Copy’.

Oh My!: 21

Maybe it's The Strokes upcoming album that's getting me into the new wave/hipster mood again; hence, couldn't help but review Oh My! and their new wave flair. This Swedish band was formed in the small town of Sundsvall back in 2008. To say they "sound like" The Strokes is an understatement.  21 is filled with catchy and polished indie pop rock beats that mostly clocks in at 4 minutes or less. Giving you enough time to love it but not too much to make you tired of it. The upbeat sound and energy characterizes Oh My!'s sound. Currently, the group is busy playing gigs in their area and looking forward to making a mark in 2011. The group is made up of Johan Åkerström, Martin Huss, Emil Källman, Adrian Karlman, and Adam Lodin. Enjoy 30 minutes or so of new wave madness from these fine Swedes.

Boxycraft

With Boxycraft, you get a chance to use this little character and maneuver him around. Make him run around, jump and overcome the many different obstacles that come his way. This game has over 10 single player levels and up to 2 players can enjoy and have fun. If you like physics based games and love a great puzzle or two, then this game will fit right on your list.