Fernando plays geetar with the skill and freewheeling spirit of a Crazy Horse by the name of Neil, and that deep and raspy voice of his is begging for an arena with cavernous acoustics so it can get lost in the reverb for a while. Anyone waiting for the second coming of Mother Love Bone, now’s a good time to pull your lighter out and lift it to the sky.
Azure Ray
Not just for fans of “Felicity.”
n.ln
A prolific chap, Nyles Lannon (Film School, n.Lannon), a double major (how far can a I push the collegiate allusions?), hard at work in his computer science courses (I can run them into the ground I tell you).
Film School
San Francisco psychedelic outfit crash headlong into wall of sound. The result? Stripped down indie rock with detours into lingering, epic rock operas awash in layers and layers of guitars.
Havergal
Prairie drawl and bug zapper glitches = campfire music for the computer age.
Magnus
Distant vocals served over cool techno and coupled with solid funk basslines and snappy guitars bring an old-school (circa 1994?) vibe to today’s dancefloor.
Variable Unit
Sinewy, smokey grooves bob and weave to Azeem’s verbal left-right combos. Major league hip hop at home in the underground.
Meow Meow
Christopher O’Brien’s gently wilting vocals find uneasy peace around screechy, scratchy, scrunchy sounds from a guitar that, like a good cowboy, just canÃt be tamed. Fans of dissonance, Meow Meow give you a twister-full of noise. Fans of pop craft, Meow Meow give you the bittersweet sunny day after the storm.
Mahjonng
Mahjongg is an ancient Chinese tile game responsible for the academic downfall of countless college students. The band Mahjonng has similar powers with their frenzied pop disarray (a la the supremely underrated Beatnik Filmstars). Be strong.
Arab Strap
Like the Scottish tongue: lots of burrs and still a great listen.