Band: Bel Air
From: Brooklyn, NY
Sound: sparse and melodic, rooted in folk, country, and rock but not fully defined by any one category of American music
Similar Artists: Neil Young, Grateful Dead, Jenny Lewis, Wilco, The Band
Listen Now: “Looking Up”
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Band: Love As Laughter
From: Brooklyn, NY
Sound: Raucous, joyous slabs of Americana told through the guileless filter of rock and roll
Similar Artists: Built to Spill, Superchunk, Modest Mouse, The Replacements, Sam Champion
Listen Now: “Crosseyed Beautiful Youngunz”
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Band: The Fab Faux
From: New York, NY
Sound: everything from Please Please Me (and before) to Let It Be (and after); literally EVERYTHING
Similar Artists: The Bootleg Beatles, AC/DShe, Mini Kiss, Lez Zeppelin, The Machine, Dark Star Orchestra
Listen Now: “Strawberry Fields Forever” (live at Radio City Music Hall)
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Band: Sister Suvi
From: “Montoronto,” Canada
Sound: Plucked, strummed and assaulted strings, Medieval vocal rounds stamped with barbershop harmonies and the sludge of 70s glam howls, all cauterized into beautifully meandering sonic roadmaps.
Similar Artists: Oneida, Deerhoof, Bombadil, Pixies, Can
Listen Now: “Lightning Train”
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Band: Sam Champion
From: New York, NY
Sound: A perfect bullseye of classic rock songwriting, muscular riffs and unbridled energy.
Similar Artists: Tom Petty, The Replacements, Pavement, Built To Spill, The Kinks
Listen Now: “Be Mine Everyone”
Band: The Laughing
From: Austin, TX
Sound: dirty jungle smut; or, dubbed-out dance-psych-rock
Similar Artists: Yeasayer, Wolf Parade, Talking Heads, Liars, Tapes ‘n Tapes, TV On The Radio
Listen Now: “Canopy”
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Band: The Walkmen
From: New York, NY
Sound: The brash, reckless, romantic soundtrack to a late night in reverb city, starring impossibly dramatic guitar swells, hazy cathedral organs, and cathartic croons
Similar Artists: The French Kicks, Spoon, Calla, White Rabbits, U2
Listen Now: “In The New Year”
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Band: Grizzly Bear
From: Brooklyn, NY
Sound: haunting neo-psychedelic indie folk-rock constructed with heavy doses of Spector-esque vocals and a love for stretching the boundaries of sound
Similar Artists: The Beach Boys, The High Llamas, Panda Bear, Mercury Rev, Pink Floyd
Listen Now: “Two Weeks” (live on the Late Show with David Letterman)
“Ask yourself whether the dream of heaven and greatness should be waiting for us in our graves, or whether it should be ours here and now and on this Earth.” - Ayn Rand
Band: Extra Golden
From: USA and Nairobi
Sound: A blissful marriage of traditional rock and Benga with shades of Afropop, shuffling guitars, and stuttering rhythms
Similar Artists: Konono No. 1, Kapere Jazz Band, Fela Kuti, Orchestra Extra Solar Africa
Listen Now: “Obama”
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Band: Takka Takka
From: Brooklyn, NY
Sound: laid back layers of guitars upon percussion upon vocals upon percussion that ranges from bar band rock to tribal and new wave influences to folk and then back again
Similar Artists: Orange Juice, Talking Heads, The National, Peter Gabriel, Yeasayer
Listen Now: “Silence”
Band: Torche
From: Miami, FL
Sound: Blistering metal that borders on entirely accessible: more smashing than the Pumpkins with tighter-than-Foo melodies
Similar Artists: Melvins, Queens of the Stone Age, Baroness, Jesu, Saviors
Listen Now: “Healer”
Band: Albert Hammond, Jr.
From: New York, NY
Sound: Guitar-driven, melodic rock with laid-back tinges of reggae and glassy-eyed soul softening the edges
Similar Artists: Sean Lennon, Spoon, T. Rex, Ambulance LTD and uhh, The Strokes
Listen Now: “GfC”