With The La’s making a comeback, it might be time for some young lads from this side of the Atlantic to bring back that Manchester feeling in their own Americanized way. The strong bassline, Philadelphia-accented nasally vocals, and infectious rhythm make it clear that The Situation have taken their cue from the flop-topped Brit-pops of the early ’90s. But that’s a good thing when you add a little Philly soul.
POSTSCRIPT: As Oliver astutely pointed out in the comments below, The La’s are actually a product of Liverpool, which geographically is just a short drive from Manchester but psychologically may as well be Athens to Manchester’s Sparta—or vice-versa if you prefer. Anyhow, rest assured of one thing: The Situation is still from Philly, and they still rock it.
This is soft music with slight edges. As such, it’s probably some of the most accessible stuff posted on 3hive for people into folk, Iron & Wine and understated strings. These tracks from GG’s A Lifetime in Heat EP are touching tracks that your average Sum41 or Good Charlotte fan will run screaming from. These tracks are perfect for bringing up next time someone says, “they don’t write songs like this anymore”.
Aside from the obvious ploy to boost our search engine traffic, I offer up Young and Sexy to add to Sean’s early nominations for Pop Album of the Year. This Vancouver outfit’s thoughtful, epic take on pop makes them a perfect foil for the 
Whaddya know, these audioblog things are just plain spiffy—a fantastic way to hear new music. Really! Sniffing around today I see that 
By all accounts Victor Scott shouldn’t be aspiring to what he aspires to — rhythmless porn-funk on “Gotta Go,” hybrid-power balladeering on “Mareel,” couch-surfer-rock on “Golf,” lounge-hop on “Airstream” — but he does. And it works very well. Fans of the eminent Honky King Calvin Johnson will see in Scott the same irresistibly affectless soul. Fans of Quentin Tarantino and David Lynch soundtracks will see in Scott a torch singer who croons charming oddities as if they were ageless standards. Victor’s a different chap, that’s for sure, but once you catch on to his wavelength, you’ll want to ride his current all the way to the shore.
The Amazing Pilots are actually two amazing brothers, Phil and Paul Wilkinson, of Coleraine, Northern Ireland (Come on you Bannsiders!), although they have relocated to Dublin. They play this amazing (sorry) pop that soars like the wonderous landscape of the North Antrim coast, providing relief from the cramped housing estates of Coleraine. This same pop is remniscent of the sounds of 
Lo-fi bitrates for this wonderful, lo-fi shoegazey duo that takes me back to L.A.’s Paisley Underground days—a gritty version of The Bangles or Opal. The stand out track here is “Sober.” It’s, as they sing in the song, “unstoppable.” You’ll end up listening to it twenty times in a row. It’s maddeningly addicting. Thanks to 
Perhaps the name is a subliminal bit of wishful thinking, because these Montreal, uh, rockers? new wavers? Franco-popsters? never seem to stay still for too long. But the great part is that none of their many aural wardrobe changes sound contrived because they’re not mimicking styles; they’re bringing their own sound to bear on what’s out there. Their latest, “In the Beginning,” is a southern rock anthem. “Retour A Vega” is wistful even though I only understand every third word. And “Still in Love Song” is full of intelligent teen angst. So if you’re having trouble deciding what kind of mood you’re in, don’t bother with the shuffle on your iPod. Just load in the Stills and let them do the shuffling for you.
There are two good things about making an airport pick-up at one in the morning: 1) I got to see my sons for the first time in a week, and 2) I got to listen to CBC Radio 2’s