Though Broken Bells featured two of the bigger names in indie and alternative music – the Shins' singer/guitarist James Mercer and producer/multi-instrumentalist Brian Burton, aka Danger Mouse – the duo managed to keep their project secret for a relatively long time. The pair were inspired to collaborate when they met at 2004's Roskilde music festival in Denmark, where they discovered they were fans of each other's work. However, they didn't start writing and recording together as a band until March 2008, when Mercer holed up in Burton's home studio in Los Angeles. The duo took a different approach to their work together than they had with their other projects: Burton avoided the sample-heavy style he used on The Grey Album and Beck's Modern Guilt, and played only live instruments, while Mercer broadened his vocal style to include falsettos and deeper registers. Mercer and Burton announced they were Broken Bells in fall 2009, and late that year they released their debut single, "The High Road." Their self-titled debut album arrived in spring 2010.

..And They Have Escaped The Weight Of Darkness is the 2010 album by Icelandic artist, multi-instrumentalist and producer Ólafur Arnalds. This was released on Arnalds' own label Erased Tapes, which means it was made for the fans.

Obscurities is a 2011 compilation by Stephin Merritt, featuring some of his solo work and tracks with The Magnetic Fields, plus other side projects. This was released by Merge.

Dirty Glow is the 2012 album by Naytronix and who gives this sound a urinating glow? Plug Research for a nice and smelly zest.

Rapprocher is the 2011 album by Class Actress. This comes from the wonderful folks at Carpark.

With her debut full-length album, Wake UP!, Hazel English has traded the hazy, reverb drenched production styles prevalent in her earlier work for sounds synonymous with classic pop records from the late 60's. Production isn't the only dramatic change, however. A move from San Francisco to Los Angeles to explore a collaborative relationship with producer Justin Raisen (Sky Ferreira, Charli XCX, Angel Olsen) proved to bring a fine tuned sense of pop craftsmanship to the songs that would become Wake UP! On tracks like Shaking, Off My Mind, and Five and Dime, English's sharpened sense for songwriting are on full display with timeless pop hooks and addictive melodies. Wake UP!

Set My Heart On Fire Immediately is the fifth studio album from Perfume Genius on Matador Records. It sees artist and musician Mike Hadreas re-teaming with Grammy-nominated producer Blake Mills and features contributions from musicians Jim Keltner, Pino Palladino and Matt Chamberlin. It was recorded in Los Angeles, where Perfume Genius settled in 2017 with longtime partner and musical collaborator Alan Wyffels.

The Magnetic Fields’ Quickies will be released on Nonesuch Records on May 29, 2020 (digitally on May 15). The five 7" vinyl box set features twenty-eight new short songs by Stephin Merritt, ranging in length from thirteen seconds to two minutes and thirty-five seconds.

March 26, 2015: a bolt from the blue strikes the Belgian music scene. Noémie Wolfs announces she’s parting ways with Hooverphonic, the band which she fronted as lead singer for the previous five years. “The end of an amazing chapter of my life”, she says at the time, but she wants to find her own musical footing. It doesn’t take too long for her to get the chance. The dust around the announcement hadn’t even settled when Universal offers her a record deal. The label was impressed with and charmed by her unique voice and by the rough demos of her first songs.

Second albums are supposed to be tricky ones, but not for Lola Marsh. Everything about making this new record felt more fluid for the Israeli indi-pop band led by singer Yael Shoshanna Cohen and multi-instrumentalist Gil Landau. Their sophomore effort, a collection of 12 gorgeous new songs full of compelling hooks, is more tightly focused, Cohen says, and Laudau agrees: “The sound and melodies are more cohesive.” The song are stylish and evocative, blending a vintage sensibility with modern touches.

Purity Ring have been on the cutting edge of electronic pop for so long that they still sound fresh even though five years separate their second and third albums. Instead of giving listeners more of the candy-coated sounds and hooks of 2015's Another Eternity, on Womb they go deeper into their music and the emotions behind it. Aside from "Stardew," which feels like a reprise of their previous album's confections, most of Womb is somber and searching.

2015 is the year when The Fireworks released their album Switch Me On. Shelflife is the company that helped them release this.

Kristina is what Red Sleeping Beauty called their album that they came out with in 2016. Lead by singer Kristina Borg, this was done through the Labrador/Shelflife labels.

Walls is the debut album by English singer and songwriter Louis Tomlinson, released on 31 January 2020 through Syco Music and Arista Records. It has spawned five singles: "Two of Us", "Kill My Mind", "We Made It", "Don't Let It Break Your Heart" and "Walls". The album was met with mixed reviews, but was successful commercially, selling 35,000 copies upon its release and debuting at number 9 on the US Billboard 200 chart.

Anomalies is the 2016 album by Dean Garcia's new project with Rose Berlin, SPC ECO. The follow-up to their debut album Dark Matter, this was also released by Saint Marie.