Barzin has been compared to such artists as Sparklehorse, Low, Red House Painters and Bill Callahan and his last effort, Notes to an Absent Lover, out on Monotreme Records, was acclaimed by Mojo, Uncut, and Q, and ended up on many year end lists for the best albums of 2009. "It's Come To This" is a previously unreleased song.

"It's Come to This" - Barzin, single release
Barzin on MySpace

This track was provided under the Creative Commons license by Bad Panda Records

San Diego's Lanterns have emerged in the past year as one of southern California's best new indie bands, and have opened for Matt and Kim and ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead. Alternative Press named them one of 2009's "Best Unsigned Bands."

"Midnight Psalms" - Lanterns from Apocalypse Now EP
Lanterns on MySpace


Another San Diego export, the duo named Tropical Depression, is Jordan Thomas and Joe Campesino, are multi-instrumentalists and songwriters who dabble in electronic psych pop experimentation. In November, they released their fourth album, Years on Years.

"Miniature Mountains" - Tropical Depression from Years on Years
Tropical Depression on MySpace

Dresden, Germany duo The Parlophonics are a DIY outfit that began writing and recording songs when they were only 14 years old, but just reunited only a couple of years ago after meeting at a gig. Their latest single release, "Staring at the Sun," was released late in 2009 and reviewed by Noel Gallagher (Oasis) on his MySpace page. The duo are now working on an album release due out sometime in 2010.

"Staring at the Sun" - The Parlophonics, single release
The Parlophonics on MySpace

Listen to more Best Rarely Heard Songs of 2009