I was planning on a different track today, but this just snuck in, took my hand and stole me away.

Ghosts comes from Sofia’s first album, Blue Moon, and proves beyond doubt that ice and snow help make the best music. Her second album Street of Dreams was released in 2007. Like all wised-up musicians she runs her own record label and store.. and blogs!

Blue Moon, Street of Dreams – Official Store
Sofia Talvik – Official Website
Blue Moon – iTunes UK
Street of Dreams – iTunes UK

Pretty Balanced are a band of three originally from Columbos, Ohio. They describe themselves ‘quality ctrl+alt+tronica’ which I’m still puzzling over because that’s not how they sound. If, indeed, it conveys any meaning whatsoever.

Centred around Judith Jewcakes Shimer’s piano-ing, vox-ing and synth-ing, Pretty Balanced write and play unpretentious beautiful music. Kinda like Tori, but without the angst. Or more like Regina but without overdoing the drama pills. Added to this mix is Forest Creatures Christenson’s drum-ing and Parker Car Ross’s bass-ing. They end up sounding like a piano version of Galaxie 500 with more smoke and whisky, three feet set in reality, the others in a basket of photographs, dreams and memories. Perhaps. Anyhow, they’re just plain wonderful.

Couch comes from their first album Icicle Bicycle, which you can buy here. It aches and soars in all the right places. Often at the same time.

Their second album Conical Monocle is available for pre-order now and ships 15 January.

Couch (MP3, i.B. ReLease version)
Pretty Balanced – Official Website

Margaret Berger’s second album, 2006’s Pretty Scary Silver Fairy is sublime electronic super-pop and just the thing to start a new year with. Refined to perfection without an ounce of excess baggage, it could well be a rare flawless creation. If this doesn’t end up in my top 10 of 2008 I’ll eat my ears. Here’s hoping for a UK release – and given the recent impact of Robyn, it must be a possibility.

Pretty Things In Life is the penultimate song, which with the exception of drums, several dirty scrubbed basslines and some tick tocking accompaniments, uses Margaret’s voice, reverbed and chorused, as its melodic hook. The song’s chorus comes in and ups the gorgeousness by adding more vocals. Still not enough to convince? Well, the ‘get over yourself’ break is especially delicious, due to the (easily missed) call-response backing vocals the second time round.

Pretty Scary Silver Fairy – Amazon UK (Import)
Stylus Magazine Album Review
Official Website (Norwegian)
Margaret Berger – MySpace

Probably the best kept secret of 2007, if the number of listeners on Last.fm is anything to go by. Liz Tormes ‘rocks’ according to her website, but if she does, she does so in the most understated way.

Crossing the boundaries between alt-country, first-generation Cowboy Junkies and Mazzy Star, plus the aforementioned rockisms – subtly blending noisy fizzing guitars with their acoustic neighbours, plus piano and organ, her songs and her voice are warm and inviting.

Maybe You Won’t comes from her self-produced and self-released debut album Limelight. It features vocals from Teddy Thompson and cuts back the instrumentation to drive the rhythm and hint at the melody which is carried by Liz and Teddy’s voices.

Liz Tormes’ website
Limelight – iTunes Plus UK
Limelight – CD Baby

Disappointed that Morcheeba went drippy, repetitive and uninspiring after their second album? Missing the soul in trip-hop? Try Gothenburg’s Little Dragon.

Scribble Paper is the extraordinary final track on their eponymous debut, borrowing the strings and upright bass from a thousand 4 Hero songs, then diverting them through Sufi-style chill out, William Orbit bleeps and late-night jazz ramblings. Yukimi Nagano’s vocals lightens the mix, making this six minute song far too short.

iTunes UK
Amazon UK