Is Guitar Wolf a Japanese homage, pastiche, or caricature of U.S. garage rock? As with “Iron Chef,” does it really matter? Guaranteed to be the best 2:27 of your otherwise dull day…
Eyes Like Knives
Urgent, angular post-post punk with boy versus girl vocals not unlike their neighbors in Boston who quietly redefined rock music some twenty years ago.
Division of Laura Lee
Meet the Swedish offspring of Blur and the Stooges. (I meant that musically, you perv.)
Oranger
Oranger are just plain old fun — a bunch of guys who sat around listening to the Kinks, the 13th Floor Elevators, and Al Green as teenagers (hey, who didn’t?) — although they’re pushing into more pop these days.
Joel RL Phelps and the Downer Trio
While the band’s name has always been a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy, the new single shows off Phelps’ range and energy with a brazen and emotive Paul Westerberg-style number.
Kennedy
Space-folk-gospel-disco pop, with a hint of The Who. It’s all here, kitchen-sink rock. Gotta hear it to believe.
Read Yellow
[Insert Fugazi comparison here.] But seriously…call it a perfect storm of blistering energy, precision angst, and angular hooks; call it just what I need to make it through the news these days.
Dios
Modern Americana blues from Hawthorne, CA — home of Black Flag and the Beach Boys, though these guys sound more like Grandaddy.
Weevil
Lonely, loping folktronica with a healthy shoegazer sheen.
Audio Learning Center
Audio Learning Center were once members of grunge-era misfits Pond and Sprinkler, bands that disappeared before anyone could notice. “Stereo,” pairing anthemic crescendos with Chris Brady’s endearingly fragile vocals, may just right that wrong.