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.
On!Air!Library!
The chin-stroking ambience of O!A!L!’s 2003 material (see “Ex’s and Ho’s Oh’s”) makes way for a more diverse palette of bristling pop and sprawling sonic gems in ’04.
Despistado
Elastic, eccentric punk-wave with some really rewindable lyrics. Plus they’re from Regina, which makes me giggle.