January 16th - Me And Cassity 'Appearances' cd/lp/dd Tapete Records 

Dirk Darmstaedter is one of Germany’s underground pop heroes and the cofounder of the influential indie label Tapete Records 'Appearances' is Dirk’s 16th release, this one under the guise of alter ego Me and Cassity. With a crack lineup featuring drummer Lars Plogschties, bassist Ben Schadow, keyboardist Nikko Weidemann, the Me and Cassity group stormed through a five-day session at Le Chatelet studios right in Hamburg’s Altona neighborhood, creating this ten-song collection.It’s a wide panorama, and the moods range from sweet to passionate, pastoral to gritty, vulnerable to tough.  Sparkle and hum. Truth and grit. Appearances can be deceiving, but not this album.

January 30th - 'January Songs' by Darren Hayman - 31 Song Double CD and Digital Download -  Belka Records Via Cargo 

Limited to 1500. Every single sleeve hand drawn. During January 2011 Darren Hayman wrote a song for every day of the month. Each day not only included the writing of a song, but also it’s recording and the making of a video, and an online diary. Co-writes and collaborations include Allo Darlin, The Wave Pictures, Terry Edwards, Ballboy and many more. The physical release of this project comes in a beautiful gatefold sleeve with printed inner bags. Every single sleeve has been hand drawn by Darren. Every page of Darren’s journal as well as 31 song videos and 31 video diaries can be seen at http://januarysongs.tumblr.com/ There will be gigs to accompany the albums release throughout January 2012.

January 30th - Black Bananas 'Rad Times Xpress IV' cd/lp/dd - Drag City 

Download links and cd promos available on request. After three albums under the name RTX, Jennifer Herrema and her bunch decided to flip the script, to kick open the doors of perception a little bit . Black Bananas is set for the next all-inclusive rock and roll crusade, the one that includes even and especially all the shit you don't like, woven into all the shit you can’t live without. This has been the name of Jennifer's game from day one;  a pioneer of comprehensive non-exclusive opposition rock, and Black Bananas is the latest addition to the oeuvre.

January 30th - The Soft Hills - 'The Bird Is Coming Down To Earth' cd/lp/dd - Tapete 

A Seattle band with an appreciation for experimentation and harmony, their songs draw from a wide range of influences from folk to psychedelic to ambient, drawing on literary influences, and incorporating experiences from dreams and visions. To listen to The Soft Hills' music is like wandering through a magical landscape where horse-like creatures run wild across velveteen fields and mythological birds soar under melancholy clouds. It is the band's love of space, melody and sonic exploration that shines through their compositions

February 6th - Ulrich Schnauss & Mark Peters - 'Underrated Silence' cd/lp/dd - Bureau B 

February 6th - Neal Morgan 'In The Yard' cd/lp/dd 

Drummer for Joanna Newsom & Bill Callahan releases drum and voice album. In The Yard, the second drum and voice album from Neal Morgan, finds the writer at the drum kit considering home, wandering his neighborhood to know and become known, calling out villains from his youth, swimming on tour, reaching out to loved ones, and paying homage to the painter Philip Guston. The album extends Neal’s commitment to composing exclusively with drumming and singing. It will be self-released in the UK and Europe on February 6, 2012 with distribution by Drag City. Record release shows in select cities will be announced for January and February.

February 13th - Roedelius 'Plays Piano' cd/lp/dd - Bureau B 

Born in Berlin in 1934. Co-founder of Berlin’s first free art studio, the Zodiak Arts Lab (1967), he was also a founder member of various groups, namely Human Being, Kluster, Cluster, Harmonia, Tempus Transit and Lunzprojekt. He played on around 160 record productions either as a soloist or with band projects. Collaborations with artists all over the world, including Brian Eno, Holger Czukay, Susumu Hirasawa, Tim Story, Dieter Moebius, Michael Rother, Stefan Schneider, and Lloyd Cole. Breathtakingly beautiful piano fantasies from the year 1985 – released for the very first time!

February 27th - Pinhead Nation 'Luck Had Nothing To Do With It' cd/lp/dd - Onomatopoeia 

17 years after beginning to record their first album, Pinhead Nation are now ready to release it. After all the genre shifting, voice lifting and style raiding in the music scene of the last decades, we’re ready for it. A unique, energetic and unexpected contribution to the ongoing saga that is popular music. Its 13 songs are punky, poppy, angry, funny, fast, loud, quiet and always changing. It’s intense. You’ll probably need a lie down afterwards. Produced by Bic Hayes (Cardiacs, Levitation, Dark Star) between1994 and 2011. It was edited and mixed by Bic and Tim Smith at Tim’s Apollo 8 studio in Wiltshire.

February 27th - Qluster - 'Antworten' cd/lp/dd - Bureau B

“Antworten” (“answer”) is the third instalment in a trilogy of Qluster music, following on from the “Fragen” (“question”) and “Rufen” (“call”) studio albums. The fact that the music on “Antworten” was created before “Rufen” and “Fragen” were recorded is less of a paradox than it might at first appear. For the expansive piano fantasies of their 2007 recordings had already provided a clear answer to the two musicians’ question as to whether, and to what degree, they wished to collaborate in the future. Seldom has a musical duo been so united in heart and soul as Roedelius and Bock that January of evening in 2007. Their improvised nocturnes on two Steinways in the Berliner Philharmonie were delectable.

March 12th - Kevin Tihista - 'On This Dark Street' - cd/lp/dd - Broken Horse

Recorded quicky, over a 5-6 week period, in intense 2-3 day sessions in the studio, 'On This Dark Street' may prove to be Kevin’s finest work to date. Gloriously bleak, deliciously dark and with his trademark gallows humour firmly in place, it’s hard to imagine a more affecting album will be released in 2012. Kevin Tihista has probably heard of the likes of Bill Callahan and Mark Eitzel but I very much doubt he’s heard their music. 'On This Dark Street' finds him camping on their lawn.