Caught in the Net: Sisters are doing it for themselves

Last summer the leather-jacket toting sisters Colette and Hannah Thurlow, better known as 2:54 (see below), got attention for some roughly sketched demos of doom-laden fuzz rock.

They've been honing their game since with support slots for the likes of Warpaint and Yuck. Next week sees the release of their debut single "On A Wire", backed with a second track called "Cold Front". Both put flesh on the template set out in their early demos, with the east London-based duo piling hazy guitar wails over hushed vocals. The single is released on House Anxiety and both tracks can be found on the label's Soundcloud at ind.pn/gxwEJ2.

Derivative? Yes, but still good fun

Following their well received 2008 album Alight of Night, Brooklyn band Crystal Stilts will return shortly with their follow up, In Love With Oblivion. The second single from the impending album is released on iTunes next week. Called "Through the Floor", it's a fine fuzzy slice of throwaway garage rock, running the gamut of somewhat familiar influences; the Velvet Underground, Nuggets-era garage, C86 indie, Jesus and Mary Chain drones and tones. Derivative, yes. But fun nonetheless. There's also a video of colourful abstraction for the track at vimeo.com/21156560.

Effortless magic from a rising star

Last year, the disconcertingly young New York composer and pianist Timothy Andres released a fine album, Shy and Mighty – a collection of 10 beautifully spare compositions for two pianos. It wasn't perfect but demonstrated the 26 year-old's immense potential. Another such example comes from a piece he posted on his website, Andres.com, over the weekend – it's available at ind.pn/gWf6WT. The new work, "At The River", is a 13-minute-long piano composition, which Andres says was written and recorded hastily, and rolls along incessantly and swiftly with dramatic turns here and there. A lovely effort from a fascinating and fast-developing musician.

Farewell to underground Arthur

Coming on like every day was 1969, for most of the past 10 years US bi-monthly publication Arthur Magazine has been exploring the far reaches of the counter-culture and the various strands of the underground music scene – including, among other things, a regular column by Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and the writer Byron Coley. Last week, however, the publisher brought the journey to an end. The magazine's archives though are being preserved for now at arthurmag.com, while they signed off with their last monthly podcast, including a live performance from Balitmore band The Lower Dens, who, in Twin Hand Movement, released one of the standout records of last year. Hear that at ind.pn/gT22Dq.

l.ryan@independent.co.uk