Connan Mockasin

I saw Connan Mockasin last year supporting Fanfarlo to a relatively empty Clwb Ifor Bach and have since had a burning desire to hear more and more of his stuff. Many of you may be aware of him from his support tour of Late of the Pier not long back and, seemingly by Connan's Last FM shout box, not many of you liked it. Indeed he seems to have a nack for supporting very good acts, having shared the stage with First Aid Kit, Late of the Pier and Micachu in his last few shows (I don't think much of Fanfarlo so haven't included them in this list).

Connan Mockasin is another act from New Zealand, a country which seems to be spitting out great band after great band (see Ladyhawke, The Ruby Suns). Despite being previously known as Connan and the Mockasins and being backed by a full band at live shows, Connan Mockasin seems essentially a monikre for the solo work of Connan Hosford. At gigs he is undoubtedly the man in charge, orchestrating his band so everything is as perfect as he wants it to be. He plays a sort of blues inspired psychedelic pop, topped off with his unusual yet completely addictive high pitched vocals - these unusual vocals suiting the unusual song content brilliantly ("It's Choade My Dear", "Unicorn in Uniform" etc).

His MySpace promises UK album details soon (it's already been released in New Zealand, apparently). For more info, check out the MySpace, Twitter, and website.