House of Summer Nights, Swedish Fish, HIJK

The House of Summer Nights is a singer/songwriter Jason Kesler's EP project. It has a poppy alt. country feel on the opening title track. "We Were Young" has a bouncy piano with a respectful nod to Brian Wilson. "Umbrella Sky" stays in that mode complete with sleigh bells. The remaining ballads are jazzy and countrified respectively.
My Space | CD Baby | Itunes

Swedish Fish "Dark Light" is similar to The Cranberries in style and sound lead by Martha Bouchier's sweet vocals. Formed in 1985 they recently reunited at IPO Toronto. The synth and drum beats surround each tune, and a standout is the dramatic "Dark Light" and the guitar heavy "Lisp." With 16 tracks, it has a lot of stylistic variety to choose from. It ranges from the sunshine pop of "See You in the Morning" to the angry "Secrets." If you like new wavey power pop, this is a decent pick up produced by Jamie Vernon at Bullseye Records in Canada.
Bullseye Records | My Space

HIJK "The Pen and The Letter" is a different kind of indie pop band. They take influences from all over the map, and lead singer David Tsui weaves the melodic and the angst together similar to Loud Family meets U2 by way of the New Pornographers. This is very hard to pigeonhole, but it is original and interesting. If you want something hip from your alternative pop, you can't do better. Each track is engrossing and unpredictable and that's enough to put HIJK on your music radar. Listen to "Alibi" on the My Space page for a sample.
HIJK Site | MySpace | itunes