Avalanche City's Our New Life Above The Ground is available as a free download/name your price on their site. Avalanche City is Dave Baxter who sequestered himself to a house in the country outside of Auckland to write these songs. This album is a complete indie pop vision that has anchors in the likes of Arcade Fire and The Decemberists with a hint of 80's UK pop via Crowded House. This collection of songs is indebted to the craft of writing songs and the music comes after which is recognizable immediately upon first listen of this album. The infectious bounce of "The Streets" is the song I keep gravitating towards most. Please pass this link or review along to someone you know who loves indie pop.
I first heard some of these songs on The Waiting Room Radio Show's cool free podcast on i-tunes.