Shelf Life: Boxed In, H. Hawkline, Native America

Boxed In – “Boxed In” (Nettwerk)

A favorite of KCRW DJ Chris Muckley, this one-man (Oli Bayston, by name) band’s self-titled debut finally sees a domestic release at the end of March, and for fans of catchy 80s electro-pop anchored by a classic Motorik beat, the wait is worth it!

H. Hawkline – “In the Pink of Condition“(PIAS)

Welsh artist Cate Le Bon has produced the new album from her sometime-collaborator and fellow countryman Huw Evans, akaH. Hawkline, who plays a similarly quirky brand of indie rock.

Pop hooks pop up when you least expect them, while his song structures don’t seem limited by traditional modes.

Either way, it is one of the modestly distinctive albums of the moment.

Native America – “Grown Up Wrong” (Inflated)

Falling somewhere in between the slack stylings of Mac DeMarco and the chugging drive of The Strokes, this New Orleans-based band knows how to rock!

Echoes of Surfer Blood, the Zombies, the Shins, Allah-Las and others all co-mingle in this band’s zesty gumbo of a record.

ERIC J. LAWRENCE